Hayden Boaz Breaks Course Record With 14:31.1 As 11 Go Under 15 Minutes At Rose City Golf Course; Chloe Huyler Holds Off Two-Time Champ Emily Wisniewski

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

RESULTS | INTERVIEWS

PORTLAND - The Boise cross country team made a nine-hour trek on Interstate 84 to Portland and won the boys and girls team titles on a perfect weather day at the Rose City Championship Invitational. 

The girls, ranked No. 4 in the latest DyeStat Northwest regional rankings, proved to be perhaps even better than that as the Brave scored 125 points with five scorers under 18:30 on a 5,000-meter course that was running fast. Lincoln of Portland, second in the region, was second with 140 points. 

Chloe Huyler, a recent Notre Dame commit from Lakeridge, won a sensational race against Crescent Valley's Emily Wisniewski, 16:32.1 to 16:35.9. North Salem's Nelida Dalgas was third in 16:46.3. 

"I raced (Wisniewski) three weeks ago and it wasn't as close, but I knew it would be a battle coming in," Huyler said. "It was hard towards the end, but it was a lot of fun to racer again and have it be so close."

Wisniewski, a two-time winner of the event, ran a course record 16:27.2 on the course last year before going on to win NXR Northwest and placing third at Nike Cross Nationals. She has been recovering from an illness, she said, but hopes Friday's effort indicates she has turned a corner.

"It feels great come out here and start feeling better after being sick for so long," Wisniewski said. "I'm excited for the next couple weeks and hope to get some regular training in."

Boise also pulled out a competitive boys victory, with Jack Sheesley running 14:36.8 for third place.  The Brave scored 112 points and Ida B. Wells of Portland was second with 139. Summit was third with 146. 

"It's unbelievable," Boise coach Aaron Olswanger said. "We come to Oregon or Washington once a year to race. We don't get fast courses where we are. 

"This is our fourth race of the year. We have districts in two weeks and we've under-raced intentionally to keep our legs fresh and get some good training in."

Eighty-nine of the 100 boys who finished the varsity race PR'd on the undulating course with generous downhills and gradual climbs. 

Summit OR's Hayden Boaz, broke the course record by a second with his winning time of 14:31.1, just 4.3 seconds ahead of Central OR's Ty Cirino. 

Boaz is undefeated through four races this fall, with wins at the Northwest Classic (14:58.9), Nike Portland XC (14:42.4) and Oxford Classic (15:32.9). 

"I'm so hyped," Boaz said. "Even before the race I was super excited to race these guys again. It's just so cool how we all get together and push each other."

The top 11 ran under 15 minutes. Mason Morical of Caldera was fourth in 14:40.3, Dylan Weniger of Sherwood ran 14:41.8 for fifth, and Sheldon OR's Malachi Schoenherr ran 14:46.4 for sixth. 

Sage Creek CA's Josiah Bowman ran 14:49.6 for seventh place. 

Kai Jensen of Portland's Cleveland (14:58.2) and Roman Radecki of Portland's Jefferson (14:58.4) were eighth and ninth, respectively. 

Siuslaw's Clayton Wilson was 10th in 14:58.4 and Yosuke Shibata from South Eugene was 10th in 14:59.6.