Nyssa cross country ready to run at state meet
Vale girls qualify for state meet; Ontario sends one to race
By Scott Ford
Argus Observer
Friday, November 6, 2009 10:52 AM PST
Nyssa —Cross country is a sport where the athletes get to compete as individuals as well as a team.
For each individual that does well on the team, the team improves its chances at placing higher in the state meet.
The Nyssa Bulldogs cross country program has two opportunities to bring home some hardware at the 2009 3A/2A/1A state cross country meet at Lane Community College in Eugene.
“Our girls team has a lot of senior leaders that have ran at the state meet for the past three years, and we have some good young talent,” Nyssa head cross country coach Tom DeLong said. “Our boys are led by Brian Nelson and Ryan Maag.”
Nyssa recently swept the district meet and will now look to bring home a title at the state meet Saturday.
In 2008, the Bulldog boys placed second at the state meet, and DeLong said, this year, they are hungry for the top spot.
“Our goal is to win it all,” DeLong said. “We are on track to do that. The two-time defending champ, Union, will be looking to make it three-straight, so we will have to run well.”
At the district meet, Nyssa had all five of its runners place in the top 10, with Maag taking second place and Nelson placing third.
Jaimie Venegas placed fifth, Gabriel Ramirez placed eighth and Tyler Wentz finished ninth.
In the girls 3A race, DeLong said his girls have set a goal to finish in the the top four, following a sixth-place finish in 2008. The Lady Bulldogs had three of its five runners place in the top-10 at the district meet with Nadine Yniguez placing third, Allie Hartley taking ninth and Markie Hartley finishing 10th.
The Vale girls will also be competing as a team at the state meet, and they are led by Kassie Anthony, who took second at the district meet.
The Viking girls placed third in 2008 and will look to outrun that pace this year.
Vale head coach Don Wayne said his girls team is not quite as strong as last year’s team, but has four solid runners in the fold.
In the 4A ranks, Ontario will send one harrier in Melissa Carbajal to compete at the state meet.
