Murv Fanning Beach Run

The weatherman did not cooperate, so that sunny & warm day promised
turned into an overcast, cool (57) & breezy morning. Still it was once
again a pleasant day for runners & spectators. The race, named for former
Newport XC & track coach Murv Fanning, is flat as it is run on the beach
near the ocean shore. The start depends upon the occurence of low tide,
so it varies from year to year.
In the varsity girls' race Erin McLaughlin of Milwaukie blasted away
from the start. The Mustang runner came as a surprise to many for she
had lost virtually her last year due to injury & health issues. With
McLaughlin flying she quickly opened up a sizable gap on the chase pack
made up entirely of Crescent Valley runners. Soon she was almost out of
sight. The course is an out-and-back one with the start & finish virtually
in the middle, so the runners run out one way & then return to the start
before heading out in the opposite direction.
When McLaughlin came motoring back toward the start she held a good
30 meter lead over the Central Valley chase pack that consisted of Erin
Schoper, Claire Krizan, Mackenzie Entrikan & her sister Maddie, and Megan
Evans. They in turn held a ten meter lead over Sweet Home's Olivia johnson.
McLaughlin continued to roll as she headed into the opposite direction
into the stiff breeze. The CV girls assumed that she would begin to fade
but that thought was quickly dashed as the Mustang star raced back the
finish. Her winning time of 19:54.8 was well ahead of last year's winning
time of Amelia Yeager of Crescent Valley who ran 20:31. A comparison of
times is not truly relevant as last year runners ran into a stiff wind that
was at times approaching a gale. Erin Schoper of CV claimed 2nd with a
time of 20:31.87 just ahead of her team mate Claire Krizen. Mackenzie
Entrekin & her sister Maddie placed 4th & 5th for CV and Megan Evans added
a 6th plae finish for CV.
Olivia Johnson of Sweet home finished 7th - ten seconds ahead of Emily
Everetts of Cascade. Carissa Swanson of Sweet Home earned 9th while Hannah
Steffey of Molalla took tenth. Kelsey Ward of Crescent finished 11th. The
team race, of course, was no surprised as CV overwhelmed their competition
finishing 50 points ahead of second place Molalla. Cascade placed 3rd with
125 points edging Marist by a point. Sweet Home was 5th ahead of Corvallis
145 - 156. The Corvallis score is misleading as they did not run most, if
not all, their varsity including Jen Johnson, who placed 2nd in this race
last year. As far as Crescent Valley is concerned, inspite the loss of their
leaders from last year, Amelia Yeager & Sara Auer, they look like a very
formidable 5A power.
The boys' individual race appeared at first to be a rerun of the ladies',
as Ben Condrea of Crescent Valley rushed into the lead shortly after the
start. As he neared the start on his return, however, he looked over his
shoulder to check his competition: a sign that things were not all fine.
Jared Christian of Marist trailed him about 7 meters back. Further back
was Javier Orozco of of Central.
They headed back away from the fans towards the Yaquina Bay lighthouse
and there was no real change in the running order until around the 3500 meter
mark. Looking through the distance with binoculars showed that Christian
was making a move. He had noted yet another furtive glance back by the leader
& said to himself it was time to go. Down the stretch he caught the leader
and then drew away to a convincing victory in a time of 16:56.83, which was well
ahead of last year's winning time of Jon Snyder of West Salem of 17:31.
Again conditions were worse last year. Ben Condrea cruised home in 2nd with
a time of 17:08 well of third place finisher Javier Orozco who edged Jayce
Calhoun of Sweet Home. Rob Callahan, his team mate, was a second back in 5th.
Matt Auer of CV earned 6th and Bryan Sanders of SH was 7th. Nathan Klammer
of CV took 8th edging Josh Slate of Cascade. Thomas Guerna of Taft finished
tenth ahead of his team mate Tony Puralta.
The team battle saw Crescent Valley take the boys' title with a score of 52
while Sweet Home had 61. North Salem with 118 points placed 4th edging Cascade
with 119. Crescent Valley fared well in the JV competiton winning easily as a
team but impressive was Meredith Wells of CV, who led all runners with a fine
time of 11:58 for 3K. Her team mate Charlotte Fisher placed 2nd with a time
of 12:25.
Hats of to Newport for sponsoring an enjoyable race, which afterwards
offered a picnic to go with their awards ceremony. Teams wishing to foster
team unity early in the season ought to consider this race.

Girls Individual Results 5K
1 Erin McLaughlin Milwaukie 19:54.8
2 Erin Schoper Crescent Valley 20:31.87
3 Claire Krizan Crescent Valley 20:32
4 Mackenzie Entrekin Crescent Valley 20:36
5 Maddie Entrekin Crescent Valley 20:37
6 Megan Evans Crescent Valley 21:11
7 Olivia Johnson Sweet Home 21:26
8 Emily Everetts Cascade 21:32
9 Carissa Swanson Sweet Home 21:34
10 Hannah Steffey Molalla 21:36
11 Kelsey Ward Crescent Valley 21:44
12 Rachel Botsford Molalla 21:46
13 Mary Botsford Molalla 21:55
14 Allie Sibole Marist 21:59
15 Lizzie Vitello Crescent Valley 22:00
Girls Team Results
1 Crescent Valley 20
2 Molalla 70
3 Cascades 125
4 Marist 126
5 Sweet Home 145
6 Corvallis 156
7 Milwaukie 195
8 Taft 240
Boys Individual Results
1 Jared Christian Marist 16:56.83
2 Ben Condrea Crescent Valley 17:08
3 Javier Orozco Central 17:37
4 Jayce Calhoun Sweet Home 17:38
5 Rob Calligan Sweet Home 17:39
6 Matt Auer Crescent Valley 17:43
7 Bryan Sanders Sweet Home 17:49
8 Nathan Klammer Crescent Valley 17:51
9 Josh Slate Cascade 17:52
10 Thomas Guerna Taft 17:52
11 Tony Puralta Taft 17:55
12 Casey Miller North Salem 18:02
Boys Team Results
1 Crescent Valley 52
2 Sweet Home 61
3 North Salem 118
4 Cascade 119
5 Taft 145
6 Marist 157
7 Molalla 169
8 Milwaukie 196
9 Central 210
10 Corvallis 212
11 Waldport 234