Sprague OR's Sara Abbott Ran To Second Place At Ash Creek XC Classic Despite Threat Of Evacuation The Night Before

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Another late-summer wildfire season is taking its toll on the West. 

And Saturday in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, the combination of smoke-filled skies, warm temperatures and wind made the Ash Creek Preserve XC Classic in Monmouth, Ore. a challenge for high school runners gettting their first big invitational experience of the season. 

The nationally ranked Jesuit boys and girls ran without a couple of top runners, out with illness (non-COVID), won the team titles. Sophomore Maura O'Scannlain of Jesuit ran out in front of everyone to win the 5,000-meter race in 18:21.8. 

Behind her, Sara Abbott of Sprague plugged along and ran most of her race in second place, crossing the finish line in 18:50.0. 

INTERVIEWS

Abbott's experience was emblematic of a weekend where stresses were heightened. 

A wildfire that broke out in the hot, dry, windy conditions in Salem's south hills and scorched 10 wooded acres and sent a plume of smoke above the neighborhood that feeds Sprague High. 

"Last night was very stressful. We almost had to evacuate my house," Abbott said. "(Fire officials) told us be ready to leave any moment. It was a little bit of a stressful night."

Fortunately, that fire was quickly contained and extinguished and the evacuation alert was lifted. 

Abbott was able to sleep in her own bed, or at least try, before an early wake-up and bus ride to the course. 

"My coach said we're going to go here and we're going to run it and do what you can," she said. 

Abbott, who was 20th at the NXR Northwest Championships last year, didn't let the previous night's worry affect her performance.

"It went better than I thought it would," she said. 

 Alex Garcia-Silver from Marshfield High won the boys race in 15:09.7 after coming three hours north from Coos Bay, where Friday's temperature of 95 broke a record. 

Garcia-Silver warmed up in a mask and used ice to help keep his body cool. 

"Some of the guys may have seen me out there warming up with a mask on," Garcia-Silver said. "I was doing that because I wanted to keep my lungs primed and ready so that when I went to the start line I don't have that two, three miles warm-up of smoke in my lungs."

Garcia-Silver ran in a lead group that whittled down to four and felt good over the final 800 meters as he pulled away and went for the win. 

O'Scannlain ran by herself for most of the girls varsity race and pushed herself to try and run faster than she did last year, when she was 10th in 18:38.1.

"I definitely could feel the smoke. It made my throat hurt a little bit, and my stomach," O'Scannlain said. "But it wasn't too bad. The hardest part was probably running by myself."

O'Scannlain expects to have company this season with teammate Emma Bennett, who was one of the Jesuit athletes who sat out Saturday. (Bennett is preseason No. 30 in the Dyestat 100). 

Josie Fale of Ida B. Wells was third in 18:56.9 and North Salem's Nelida Dalgas was fourth in 18:59.6.

Jesuit's Gus Clevenger finished second (15:17.0) behind Garcia-Silver and led a 1-7-8 finsh for the Crusaders,who scored 54 points and beat West Salem by 11. West Salem's Jack Meier was third.