BAKER CROSS-COUNTRY: Baker girls win team title to qualify for state meet; Daniel Brown and Jack Joseph will also compete at state as individuals

Published 12:35 pm Wednesday, October 30, 2024

The Baker girls won the team title, and two Baker boys also qualified for the state meet as the Bulldogs hosted the Greater Oregon League cross-country district meet Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 30, at blustery Quail Ridge Golf Course.

The Baker boys finished third in the team standings, a single point behind second-place La Grande.

The top two teams in boys and girls qualified for the Class 4A state meet Nov. 9 at Lane Community College in Eugene. That’s Baker and La Grande for girls, and  Pendleton and La Grande for boys.

Baker’s Daniel Brown and Jack Joseph will also compete as individuals, however, as both placed in the top seven.

Girls varsity

Gwen Rasmussen paced the Baker girls, placing third overall in 21:16.41, followed by Sofie Kaaen in fourth at 21:52.96, and Matty Gressley in fifth at 21:55.68. Ruby Heriza was eighth at 22:46.51, Liz Timm was 11th at 23:42.59, Grace Tracy was 14th at 24:08.51, and Arianah Andersch was 15th at 24:20.10.

La Grande’s Brooke Perry was first in 19:11.12 , and her teammate, Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson, was second in 19:56.89.

Baker, with five runners in the top 11, won the team title with 31 points. La Grande was second with 41.

Boys varsity

Baker’s Daniel Brown placed third in 18:05.29, followed by Jack Joseph in fifth place at 18:26.54. 

Baker coach Suzy Cole said Brown, a senior, showed his toughness with a strong performance despite having been ill the past two weeks.

Josef Simonis of La Grande was first at 17:31.87, and Jack Reynolds of Pendleton was third at 17:51.05.

Other Baker runners: William Spriet, 11th, 19:20.46; Jarrin Bott, 13th, 19:56.03; Jace Whitford, 14th, 20:02.43; Kegan Bott, 21st, 20:30.40; Harris Gaslin, 25th, 21:49.64.

Pendleton won the team title with 39 points. La Grande was second with 45, Baker third with 46.

Girls JV

Baker claimed the top two places, with Anna Johnson finishing first, followed by Ellie Murphy. Baker won the team title over Pendleton.

Baker individual results: Anna Johnson, 1st, 25:21.47; Ellie Murphy, 2nd, 25:26.09; Hannah Sullivan, 4th, 25:38.25; Kara Regan, 7th, 26:34.30; Anne Hindman, 10th, 27:36.35; Avery Collier, 11th, 27:53.17; Reagan Ritter, 14th, 28:48.57; Gabriela Alves Maluf, 17th, 29:37.14; Jericha Hearne, 20th, 32:44.23.

Boys JV

Jarren Cikanek paced the Bulldogs with a fourth-place finish in 21:19.68. Other Baker runners: Judah McBride, 11th, 22:23.81; Joseph Chastain, 16th, 23:36.34; Caedmon Myers, 24th, 26:10.66; Gage Bingham, 25th, 28:56.14; Zayne Hills, 26th, 29:11.34.

“The girls were really focused on getting that district title, as it has been a while for the girls,” Cole said. “They ran the perfect race, even the JV girls killed it. The varsity girls ran super tough and smart, and as a team. I had told everyone earlier this week not to worry about times as this is not a fast course, but to really focus on beating other uniforms. Well turns out in the varsity race four of the seven ran personal best times.

“Gwen did exactly what we needed her to do, and Sofia Kaaen ran super smart helping keep Matty with her,” Cole said. “It was just an amazing effort by all seven. In the girls JV race there were 10 PRs in the total race with eight of them being Baker runners. Anna Johnson, Ellie Murphy, Hannah Sullivan, Kara Regan, Anne Hindman, Avery Collier, Reagan Ritter and Gabi Alves Maluf all ran PR’s.

“On the boys side unfortunately we were not as fortunate but we still competed really hard, missing taking the team to state by one point,” Cole said. “Daniel Brown ran a very smart race after being sick with pneumonia, the main goal was to qualify so we could have another week and a half to recover, and he did that exactly. Jack Joseph ran a smart, gutty race that not only earned him a PR, but more importantly a trip to state. Jace Whitford and Harris Gaslin both ran PR’s as well. In the JV race Jarren Cikanek ran an incredible race earning a PR by a minute and 20 seconds. Joe Chastain, Caedmon Myers, Gage Bingham and Zayne Hills all ran PR’s as well.

“I am just extremely proud and excited for all of them,” Cole said. “Home meets are tough because both coaches are having to manage the meet, so it is really up to the kids to make sure they get themselves ready, obviously they did a great job of that on a difficult course.”