Concordia Adidas Classic Preview

      Fernhill Park in Portland will be the site of what is arguably the biggest meet in Oregon for the season.   Certainly with the ridiculous watering down of talent into so many divisions at State the meet offers a finer field than does the State meet in many ways.   Although a number of important teams from Oregon will not be on hand, many of the top teams will be:   save Central Catholic (boys), St. Mary’s Academy and Jesuit.   It would also be nice to see some of the squads from Idaho but there is much to like in this event.    In their place will be some of the strongest teams from Alaska plus some teams from Washington & California.  

     Unfortunately I am not aware of what teams will be competing in the various divisions making it hard to depict, so we’ll just look at the entrants in total.  We’ll assume for argument purposes, that all the top runners will be racing in the elite division, which of course will not be the case.   On paper the girls’ field of individuals appears to be the strongest.   To start with it will have the Summit girl’s, who are the best in Oregon and quite possibly the best in the northwest even including Glacier Peak.   Leading the way for Summit is two-time Oregon 5A champion Megan Fristoe, who roared to a 17:56 clocking in her triumph at Albany’s Harrier Classic & then won the Bend Oxford Invitational last Friday.   Her team mate Piper McDonald is but a freshman, who is really coming into her own after a second place finishes in Bend.   Ashley Maton placed second to Megan at Albany & won the New Balance Invitational earlier in the season.   Summit also has Sara Fristoe, whose star is on the rise after having some issues cleared up along the way plus Kira Kelly.

     The South Eugene girls did not run at Bend last week but coach Jeff Hess said they will be ready at Concordia.   The team is a likely suspect to unseat the Jesuit Crusaders in 6A and they have a wealth of talent upfront like Summit.  Erin Clark won a State title in track and placed second in her division at Sunfair.  Sara Tsai placed sixth in the top division at Sunfair with 17:59 and could be ready to make her mark, yet behind the Axemen ‘s top two is Paige Kouba, who is also a fine runner.   GracieTodd of Sheldon won her division at Danner and has to be considered one of the favorites along with Alexis Fuller of Union , who won yet another division at Danner along with the Run-A-Ree in Vancouver.  

     There are a number of very capable invaders from Alaska including the 2011 champion Megan Edic of Lathrop, who ran 18:38 on the challenging Bartlett course.   The course is a XC ski trail, so it is demanding and we can take it for granted the Megan is coming to Portland for a PR and is very capable of winning the race.   Jenette Northey of Service was second in Alaska, using the warped standards of Alaska anyway & should have been the defending champion by normal standards, and fifth this year.  The Bartlett Invitational winner is also a threat to win as is Audrey Michaelson of Colony, who placed third at State in 18:45 & also claimed the Twilight title.  Other Alaskan runners of note include Brooke Lizotte of Lathrop, who was 7th at State, Eliza Rorabaugh of West Valley, 12th, Mariah Burroughs & Peggy Mathes from Wasilla, who placed 8th & 10th at State respectively.  Jenna Ford, also from Wasilla, did not have her best day at State but is a four-time State qualifier.

     As stated this is a quality field and there are a fair number of runners, who should not be overlooked including Brooke Klingma of Henry Jackson, who placed ninth at Richland.  Shannon Susbauer of Milwaukie has already had a solid season with a second place finish at the Fanning plus a third at the Harrier Classic with 18:16.   Kelly O’ Neill of Lakeridge won her division at Wilsonville and was fifth at Danner.   Emily Weber of South Salem won the South Salem Invitational & Morgan Anderson of Silverton won the Silver Falls Invitational & has been near the front in a number of others.   Tara Rawlings of Wilsonville was second on her home invitational, while Claire DeVoe of Lincoln won the top division at Wilsonville & was 2nd at Chapman.   Hopefully we will see defending 4A champion Alisha Luna in the elite division but she ran & won the weaker division last Friday at Bend, so it is hard to say where she’ll be entered.  She also won the Northwest Classic earlier in the campaign.     

      With Kyle Thompson Central Catholic not running the complexion of the boys’ race changed considerably.  Although he would not necessarily have been the one to beat, he certainly would have been in the mix.  That said Travis Neuman has been on a tear since his early season second place finish to Anthony Armstrong at New Balance.    Losing to nationally ranked Armstrong, who is undefeated for the season, is hardly a big deal, but since that race he has blitzed XC courses in Oregon.   He ran 15:06 in Albany & then 15:20 in Bend & both her winning efforts.     Californian J J Dominguez placed third at Don Bosco, as he lost to another nationally ranked runner with his three mile time of 15:03.  His team mate Gabriel Castro is no slouch either.  

       As in the young ladies’ field Alaska is sending in a strong contingent including Alaskan large-school champion Kuba Grzeda of West Valley, who won State with 16:01 on a challenging course.   His team mate Peter Noon ended up in the hospital after the race was over but look to the Palmer Invitational champion to be a big part of the race on Saturday.   Cole Christianson of Kodiak was in the title hunt until the very end but finished fourth in 16:08, so he too will be in the mix.   Kodiak with Foot Locker National Runner-Up Trevor Dunbar leading the way, has a strong tradition at Concordia and Cole Christianson of Kodiak should be in the heart of things this year.   Lathrop’s Kyle Hanson also had one of those days at State but the winner of the West Valley, Bartlett & Interior Invitationals should be expected to return to form.   Not to be overlooked is Andre Ionashku of Delta Junction, who placed second in the small-school division.  Andre won at Palmer & Cavanaugh and may well intend to make amends for an off day at State.   Service will be bringing its team, which includes Max Romey, who just missed at State with his time of 16:04.  

      Oregon will have plenty of its male standouts on hand to compete including Jackson Baker of Franklin, who has already won at Wilsonville, Hermiston & Hood River Invites.   Crater’s Jon Obeso & Neil Seibert seemingly have been waiting to up their games as in past years and can be counted on to be at least near the front on Saturday.   Hudson Eustace of Cascade Christian is on the mend after earlier problems, as his 16:05 at Bend suggests, while Alex Dillard of The Dalles-Wahtonka has had a strong season with his last race (Bend in 16:03) being his best.   Ryan Byrd of St. Helens has to be a factor after his Star City triumph, while Nick Obletz of Oregon Episcopal won at Tualatin & Zach Holloway won at Silver Falls.  Justin Rocereto of Southridge is also a winner (Chapman).  

      Hermiston has a very strong team in 5A and it’s always a guess, who will be their top runner.   That said Alejandro Cisneros, Jose Macias & Ed Juarez can be pretty much be depended upon to be in the mix.   Not to be forgotten is Eric Aldrett of Summit, who has really improved of late with his 15:58 at Bend being an example in case.    It is anticipated that Siuslaw’s Mitchell Butler, who won at Molalla, & the Northwest Classic, and Matt Campbell, who won at Woahink, will be in the other division but, if they take on the big schools, they could make things very interesting.  

     Washington will also be sending in a few invaders of note including Mark Tedder of Battle Ground, who won the Run-A-Ree plus Roman Kirkov of Union, who was 2nd at the Run-A-Ree.   Colby Gilbert of Skyview placed second in his division at Danner.   Henry Jackson has a freshman to watch, Aaron Roe, who ran 15:38 at Sundodger on the short course & also ran well at Richland. 

       All in all Concordia promises to offer a very interesting day of racing and hopefully the weather will cooperate.   There will be strong fields on hand with a spectrum of runners from throughout the northwest that is rarely seen out this way.  Just the infusion of runners from Alaska makes this event one to star on the calendar every season.  My apology to anyone inadvertently overlooked and special best wishes to the Alaska runners, who are in search of their personal bests.   This is two weeks after their season has ended, which makes it a special challenge to hang on to training as the post season still has a ways to go.  On Saturday Fernhill Park is the place for true harrier fans to be regardless of the weather.