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State leaders battle for XO Elite championshipsPublished by
State leaders battle for XO Elite championships Almost all the state's top distance talent will be competing at Hayward Field for the second week in a row. These top athletes will battle in 3 Elite high school races during the Oregon Invitational as an extension of the XO Invite. Click here for an Oregon Invite Schedule - by goducks.com Hayward Field, EUGENE, OR - 4/20/06 –Everyone knows that winter in Oregon brings its fair share of wind, rain, and cold temperatures; a typical day in January or February might boast temperatures in the upper 30s, a 15 mile-per-hour wind, and rain, but no one expects that type of weather in late April and no one in their right mind wants to spend ten hours at a track meet braving those elements. But that’s exactly what happened at last weekend’s XO Invite at Hayward Field. The day saw rain and wind lashing against the stands and pummeling the runners, jumpers, and throwers and cold numbing both those competing and watching. Somehow though, some performers shone through the weather, and this weekend Team XO is going to give them and some other outstanding performers from around the northwest another shot to strut their stuff. This Friday and Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, the top finishers from last weekend’s distance and relay events and a select group of other athletes will have the opportunity to compete in the XO Elite Sections being held in conjunction with the Oregon Invite. That means that on Friday night the boy’s two-mile will be sandwiched in between events featuring the likes of Dathan Ritzenhein and Adam Goucher and on Saturday the boy’s and girl’s mile will be right behind a race starring University of Oregon All-American Galen Rupp. If the professionals don’t watch out, the high school athletes are going to steal the show, because these races are sporting some fast times of their own. Headlining the XO Elite Sections are the participants in the mile races taking place Saturday afternoon at 4:35. Two of the XO Invite’s most amazing performances this year came from Sheryl Page (Sr., Sandy). First in the 1500 she set a blistering pace right from the gun that burned off her close rival Alyssa O’Connor (Fr., Summit) and the rest of field, brought her through the 800m mark in 2:20, to the finish line in a state-leading time of 4:39, and caused her to collapse in exhaustion, splayed out on the track in lane one. Her fatigue was short lived, however, as Sheryl came back to win the 800, setting a new XO Invite record, personal, and then state-best time of 2:14.10. Sheryl might have to pull another state-best time to claim the XO Elite Sections’ title though, because she is going up against the 3A duo of Lauren Zaludek (Sr., Elmira), who was 2nd at state last year in the 1500m, and Hayley Belli (Jr., Philomath), who was 6th at state last year in 1500m and 2nd in 3000m at this year’s XO Invite. Last weekend the 3000m steeplechase provided one of the closest finishes of any race at the XO Invite as Taylor Morgan (So., Central Catholic) dove past teammate Kenny Klotz (Sr., Central Catholic) at the line for the victory, 9:38.33 to 9:38.37. This weekend they will be going head-to-head once again, this time in the mile, where Klotz enjoys an advantage of around nine seconds in season’s bests. But those two won’t be alone. They’ll have to outlast a number of out-of-state stars like Joe Churchill (Sr., Auburn Riverside) from Washington, who was a finalist in the mile at the Washington State Championships last year and who will be joining the burgeoning training group at local Lane Community College next year, Austin Fritzke (Sr., Mt. Shasta, CA) who has run a 4:22 mile this year, and Craig Kochis (Sr., Kelso, WA) who ran a 1:58 800m as a junior. Not to be forgotten amongst all the other big names are Kenny Scoggin (Sr., Cottage Grove), last weekend’s 3000m champion, Brian Saxe (Sr.,Sandy), 800 XO champ, Jerhoemee Murray (Sr.,Century), distance up and comer, Matt Hollander (So.,Marist), local favorite, and Issac Stoutenburg (Sr., Crater), who holds the best time in the state this year in the 1500m, 4:01.28, and who was 4th in the event at the 4A state championships last year. On Friday night at the distance carnival, Team XO will also be putting on a boy’s two mile, headlined by Eric Lynch (Sr., South Eugene), who placed 4th last weekend in the 3000m, and 1A star David Sherman (Jr., McKenzie), who leads all 1A runners this year in 300m with a time of 9:17.0. And on Saturday afternoon, the high school competitions will be wrapped up with the boy’s and girl’s 4x400m relays. In those events the boy’s event will feature (St. Helen’s), currently 3rd in the state and anchored by 800m star Ryan Waite (Sr.), who will be challenged by (McNary), who was the runner-up in the event at this year’s XO Invite. In the girl’s race there will be three of the top five teams from the XO Invite—(South Eugene), (Marist), and (Sandy)—plus (Churchill), which is anchored by star 800m runner Devon Williams (Sr.). Dathan Ritzenhein, Jonathon Riley, Adam Goucher, Marla Runyan. Who cares? We’ve got Kenny Klotz, Issac Stoutenburg, Joe Churchill, and Sheryl Page and Team XO is banking on the fact that these high school athletes are going to be the performers at the Oregon Invite. We’re also banking on the fact that a few of this year’s Elite Section athletes will soon enough be considered amongst the ranks of those track and field stars and that their rise to stardom starts this weekend at Hayward Field.
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