Three of the top five girls @ the Concordia/Adidas were frosh. Oregon XC has a bright future… keep it up ladies!
Corcodia/Adidas XC
1 Sara Tsai 17:41 South Eugene 9
2 Erin Clark 17:43 South Eugene 11
3 Megan Fristoe 17:44 Summit 12
4 Gracie Todd 18:08 Sheldon 9
5 Piper McDonald 18:10 Summit 9
Central Oregon freshmen and where they rank among the best in the state (freshmen ranking).
BOYS
1. Matthew Maton, Summit (16:20)
2. Dakota Thornton, Mountain View (16:28)
3. Alex Stevens, Redmond (16:29)
8. Gabe Wyllie, Mountain View (17:08)
46. Alec Carter, Redmond (18:38)
GIRLS
1. Piper McDonald, Summit (18:20)
8. Jessica Cornett, Summit (20:22)
11. Olivia Moehl, Summit (20:42)
20. Tia Hatton, Mountain View (21:10)
36. Emily Hyde, Summit (21:53)
42. Madison Boettner, Sisters (22:09)
So many great prep athletes here in Central Oregon. Here are four who you pay close attention to this Fall.
Girls
Megan Fristoe 12
• Summit Cross County
• Two-time reigning state XC champion.
• The Summit girls cross country team is pre-season Nationally ranked 24th and going for their fourth-straight state team title.
• View her “Athlete Profile”
Piper McDonald 9
Summit Cross County
• An incredibly talented freshman on an already loaded team.
• She’s been one of Central Oregon’s best runners since she was a tween… now she gets her shot at prep XC.
• View her “Athlete Profile”
Boys
Joel Skotte 12
Mountain View Football
• 2010 IMC defensive player of the year.
• Has committed to Oregon State University.
• When people talk about Skotte the word you hear a lot, and rightfully so, is “beast.” With him carrying the ball more on offense this season, the beast will be even more fun to watch then last year when he was a defensive wrecking crew! Don’t expect the defense to let up either, he’ll still be running around the field like a wild man no doubt.
• View his “Athlete Profile”
Travis Neuman 11
Summit Cross County
• 2nd @ 2010 State XC meet.
• Top returning runner in Class 5A.
• No Summit boys has ever won an individual state XC championship (older brother Kenyon took 2nd in 2004 – 15:46).
• Travis could join an elite group of past Individual State XC Champions. No Central Oregon boy has won state since Bend’s Lane Neely won the then big-school 4A in 2000 with a time of 15:35.
• View his “Athlete Profile”
“Marc Bloom’s 2011 Super 25 High School”
The three-time defending state-champion Storm may have their best team ever with – Megan Fristoe (two-time defending state champion), Ashley Maton, Sara Fristoe, Kira Kelly, Brit Oliphant, and freshman Piper McDonald among the front runners.
I received the picture above and the following message, which is an excellent illustration of what Central Oregon Athlete is all about!
“I very much enjoyed the article about 13 year old Piper McDonald. Probably more so
than most because I am her grandfather. I have to take issue about when she ran her
first race. The enclosed pictures show her running at the age of two (1999). She came in
dead last and it took our whole family to keep her on the course. She loved getting a
ribbon. She has improved a lot since then!”
Piper McDonald… expect to hear that name a lot in the upcoming years. The 13-year-old 7th grader at Sky View Middle school isn’t just fast for her age, she’s one of the fastest “women” in Bend. That’s right, when it comes to running, McDonald is fast beyond her years. Here are a few examples of what she’s done in adult races in Central Oregon:
(These are Overall results, not age group)
1st – Duel in the Desert 2009 Two Person Road (with Mike Larsen)
1st – Pilot Butte Challenge 2009 (New women’s course record)
2nd – Girls on the Run 5K 2009
2nd – Heaven Can Wait 5K 2009
Those are just a few!
Piper was kind enough to slow down and answer a few questions for Central Oregon Athlete.
Central Oregon Athlete – How old were you when you entered your first race?
Piper McDonald – When I was 11 i entered my first race which was a 10k in Portland on 5-18-08
COA – Do you remember the first race you ever won?
PM – The first race I won my age group in was my first race and the first race I won over all female was the Pilot Butte Challange in 2008.
COA – How did you get into racing?
PM – The reason I got into running is because of my parents. I have always been into sports and have done them my whole life but even before I really got into running my parents used to keep me and my older brother’s in shape by having us do some running, every now and then and then one day I just decied that I liked running and wanted to make it my primary sport.
COA – Do you have a favorite race?
PM – My favorite race would probley be Trask Mtn. I did it one year when one of my older brother’s Jake was in it with his high school. I love it because there is big hills, mud pits, and creek crossings.
COA – What’s coming up next for you, any races planned?
PM – I have a few races planned for the future I will probley do a lot of the COCC races and I’m planning on doing the Dirty Half.
COA – What are your short and long-term goals?
PM – My goals in order are first to win cross country nationls, then to go to boarder clash all 4 years of high school, then to go University of Oregon, and then my big goal for the future is to go to the Olympics.
COA – What sports do you enjoy?
PM – My favorite type of running is cross country because there is a big range of distances and you get to run on all different tirains. Then I like track and another sport i like is cross country skiing which I do in the winter to take a brake from running but to also stay in shape.
COA – Any non-athletic hobbies?
PM – A non-athletic hobbie I have is sewing.
COA – What’s your favorite workout in Central Oregon?
PM – I have a coach named Mike Larsen who has made me the runner I am today and I could not have done it with out him. One of my favorite workouts he has had me do is a bunch of strenght exersizes where I just worked on building up strength.
With 562 finishers the New Balance Girls on the Run was a big thanksgiving day race in Bend. the 5k race was won my marathon standout Sopagna Eap originally of Thailand, with a time of 18:01. Second was Mike Larsen of Bend (18:29) and third was young phenom Piper McDonald. The middle schooler clocked in at 18:43.
For full results go to Time2Race.