LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, EUGENE – The Baker and La Grande boys’ cross-country teams saw quite a bit of each other on Saturday, Nov. 6 at the state 4A cross country meet. As the meet came to and end, the Bulldogs and Tigers ended side by side in the team standings with Baker placing ninth followed by La Grande taking the tenth spot.
Baker ended the day with 223 points while La Grande had 275 points showing on the score board. The 4A state championship was won by Siuslaw with 42 points. Sisters placed second and Cottage Grove was third.
In a crowded field of runners, Baker junior Thaddeus Pepera placed 26th to lead the Bulldogs. Pepera posted a time of 18 minutes, 5.80 seconds while freshman Daniel Brown recorded a time of 118:38.90 in his first state meet, good enough for 38th.
Junior Jordan Mills was 58th and junior Seth Mastrude was 68th. Junior River Clark placed 78th followed by freshman Peyton Waters in 80th. Junior Reeve Damschen ended the day in 82nd.
Running with Baker and La Grande as the lone member of the Ontario Tigers, junior Michal Gomez placed 59th.
La Grande was led by junior Caleb Murie in 40th after running the course in 18:43.10. Senior Connor Heather finished in 19:20.90, a time 58th in the race.
Senior Donald Sweet ended the year with a 65th place finish and sophomore Dallin Perry was 81st. Sophomore Michael Gisi was two sports behind in 83rd and junior Chaz Howard was 85th. Placing 89th was senior Riley Martinez.
Team scores: 1. Siuslaw, 42. 2. Sisters, 88. 3. Cottage Grove, 93. 4. Valley Catholic, 93. 5. Hidden Valley, 135. 6. Klamath Union, 148. 7. Philomath, 171. 8. Astoria, 194. 9. Baker, 223. 10. La Grande, 275. 11. North Marion, 304. 12. Molalla, 333.
Individual results: 26. Thaddeus Pepera (Baker), 18:05.80. 38. Daniel Brown (Baker), 8:38.90. 40. Caleb Murie (La Grande), 18:43.10. 57. Connor Heather (La Grande), 19:20.90. 58. Jordan Mills (Baker), 19:23.10. 59. Michael Gomez (Ontario), 19:24.40. 65. Donald Sweet (La Grande), 19:35.60. 68. Seth Mastrude (Baker), 19:46.00. 78. River Clark (Baker), 20:18.00. 80. Peyton Waters (Baker), 20:29.90. 81. Dallin Perry (La Grande), 20:32.40. 82. Reeve Damschen (Baker), 20:34.60. 83. Michael Gisi (La Grande), 21:15.50. 85. Chaz Howard (La Grande), 22:29.70. 89. Riley Martinez (La Grande), 24:15.90.
