John L. Braese
LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE – The 3A boys will leave the start line at 11:10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 in pursuit of a state title on the campus of Lane Community College.
Valley Catholic is the defending state champion with Siuslaw again making the race as a team after taking the team title in 2023.
Eastern Oregon will be represented by teams from Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa, Burns and Nyssa along with individuals from Vale and Riverside.
The state meet will mark the final race of his high school career for the Outlaws’ Jett Leavitt. The Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa runner takes the start with the third best time in the state among 3A runners. Although top times can be skewed depending on courses ran, Leavitt and Siuslaw’s Clayton Wilson both ran in the 4th Annual Rose City Championship Invite on Oct. 11 with Wilson posting a sub-15-minute mark at 14:58.4, the top time among 3A runners this year.
The 15:07.5 at the same race was Leavitt’s all-time best time for a stellar career. Between the two, Oregon Episcopal’s Ronan Gantzos has the second fastest time coming in at 15:04.5.
Running as an individual at the state race, Riverside junior Nathen Hammond holds down a top 20 time in the state 3A, coming in at 16th after a 16:30.7 showing on Oct. 17. Also among the top 20 times in the state, Outlaw senior Lucas Goodrich’s 16:24.4 is the 20th best time for 3A runners.
Nyssa holds down two top 30 runners with junior Diego Trinidad at 24th followed by teammate and freshman Pedro Santana at 26th.
An analysis of runners scheduled to attend the state meet show Banks as the team to beat based on previous times this season. Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa is slated just outside the top five teams, coming in at sixth in the team standings.
