EUGENE — They will have to wait through eight other races before they get their turns on the course, but Saturday’s OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union cross country state championships could be special event for the Lincoln Cardinals.
First up, Ellery Lincoln has a chance to put a stamp on her cross country career with the one in-state individual achievement left on her to-do list, the fastest time ever recorded by a girl on the Lane Community College championship course.
Then the Lincoln boys have a chance to win their first state cross country title in more than 70 years.
A busy day of racing in Eugene starts with the 2A-1A girls at 9:25 a.m. The 6A races aren’t until hours later, with the girls scheduled for 2:55 p.m., followed by the boys in the final race at 3:30.
The day should be filled with several good individual and team races and includes a new division, with 3A girls separated out from 2A/1A for the first time.
In addition to Lincoln, the Summit boys and Crater girls are among elite teams in the country, and South Eugene’s Youske Shibata -- like Ellery Lincoln the defending 6A champion -- is among the best in the nation.
Ellery Lincoln will be remembered as one of the greats in Oregon history. Cardinals coach Eric Dettman, who has been at Lincoln for 14 years, has had the joy of watching her development from freshman phenom to future University of Oregon runner.
Dettman said coaches sometimes congratulate him on her success, but is quick to point out that her parents — Daniel Lincoln and Sarah Schwald — both were stars at the University of Arkansas and on the national stage.
“The genes were there,” he said.
He has enjoyed coaching her through high school.
“It’s been really special to watch her grow,” he said. “When I say that, some of it is her development and growth as a runner, but it’s also her growth as a person.
“She leans on me, but I lean on her sometimes, too.”
He gave as an example, asking Ellery to give pep talks to teammates.
“She is going to go down as one of the all-time bests as a runner, but also one of the all-time bests as teammates, too, and that’s what matters to me.”
Dettman looks forward to seeing what Ellery does at the University of Oregon and beyond, and to their tight bond continuing.
“Ellery is going to make an Olympic final some day and the night before she’s going to call me,” he said. “That’s really special.”
Dettman isn’t sure it’s important to Ellery to be considered one of the all-time greats. But it is important to her that she has helped the Cardinals win the past two state titles.
“She doesn’t really talk about (individual greatness),” he said. “She’s doing a really good job living in the moment. She loves Lincoln and loves her teammates. I think senior year is about living in the present.”
Lincoln’s career has been spectacular, especially on the track. During the summer she ran the fastest mile by a junior in United States history.
Dettman said her cross country journey included learning how to run a 5-kilometer race as a freshman, battling through health issues while helping the Cardinals win state as a sophomore and winning her first state title as a junior as she built up more strength, which he said also helps her in her track races.
Her senior year has had a limited schedule since she focused on the under-20 world championships until deep in the summer. Bur that schedule included two impressive runs.
Dettman took the Cardinals to Arkansas for the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival, a top national meet, and Lincoln ran to victory in a personal best 16 minutes and 13 seconds, edging Hadassah Beshears of Har-Ber (Arkansas) by 2 seconds.
“That was the first cross country race where she was in control,” Dettman said, adding that she now has the strength to dominate a race from the start and still finish with a big kick.
Just a week later, Ellery ran the fastest in-state time of the year at the Rose City Championships in Portland. Dettman didn’t plan on her racing since it was so soon after the Arkansas race.
“She wanted to do it one last time because it’s our home invite and she wanted to run it with her teammates again,” he said.
So they planned to run a tactical race, taking control in the second mile and speeding up in the third.
The result was a time of 16:34 and a comfortable win over two of the state’s other top runners. South Eugene’s Evangeline Johnson Hess edged Coquille’s Ella Henthorn, last year’s 3A-2A-1A champion, in a photo finish as both crossed the line in 17:01.
Last fall, Ellery won the state meet in 17:11, not quite fast enough to top the course record of 17:05 by former Crescent Valley star Emily Wisniewski in 2023.
Dettman didn’t have a goal time in mind for Ellery on Saturday, but did say “I think she can do something kind of silly in the state meet in a really impressive way.”
Jesuit’s girls are favored to win their first title since 2023, with five of the fastest 20 girls in 6A this season.
Meanwhile, Lincoln’s boys are eyeing the school’s first team title since 1955 (the Cardinals also won in 1951 and 1954).
But Dettman said that hasn’t been a discussion point for the squad.
“My assistant brought it up once,” he said. “It’s not something we are actively discussing. It was so long ago. I don’t want the kids to feel any pressure of doing something that hasn’t been done in such a long time. They are just focusing on the present.”
Lincoln is favored in the race over Portland Interscholastic League rivals Franklin and Grant.
The Cardinals beat their two foes at last week’s district meet by having five of the top 11 runners across the line, even though senior Peter James didn’t race as a precaution because of wet conditions as he nurses an injury earlier in the year.
Franklin’s Felix Snyder won the race, followed closely by Lincoln seniors Jack Denton and Malcolm Dimoff. Seth Kugel was eighth, Desmond Conser 10th and Henry Tachouet 11th for the Cardinals.
James is ready to run this week, giving Lincoln its top lineup and a chance to hoist the top trophy after finishing second to Jesuit last year.
Lincoln has been growing toward this moment since James and Dimoff had strong freshman seasons and were joined by Denton during track that year, Dettman said.
“We thought we had a pretty good nucleus that could be special,” Dettman said.
Throw in the current juniors Kugel, Consser and Tachouet and talented sophomore Malachi Lawson and Lincoln has a squad ranked among the best in the country. Dyestat has the Cardinals at No. 12 and Mile Split has them eighth.
“They are aware of those things,” Dettman said of the squad. “It’s flattering they are thinking those things (about us). Those rankings really matter the first Saturday in December when NXN (the NikeCross Nationals) happens.”
Dettman has kept the Cardinals focused on the moment.
“We’ve got to focus on our own individual jobs,” he said. “Pete has a job. Jack’s got a job. Seth has a job. If each of those guys does their job, we are going to be OK.”
He’s not worried about Lincoln taking things for granted Saturday.
“We’ve been fortunate to be in successful positions in state meets in previous years,” he said. “We’ve won a bunch of trophies. You realize when you’ve been in that situation enough, you know you can never go in overconfident. We have just tried to focus on controlling our destiny.”
He said the biggest race for the boys, just like for Ellery Lincoln, was the trip to Arkansas.
“I wanted the boys to race in a giant meet with people they didn’t know,” he said, comparing it to the regional meet where they might be trying to keep track of runners they are familiar with from Jesuit or Crater or Summit.
“I wanted to go somewhere where it’s a big field. They obviously did a great job.”
The Cardinals won the 66-team race with 82 points as Denton finished sixth and Davis eighth.
Now comes state. And while Lincoln hasn’t won the team title in more than 70 years, the Cardinals have never had the individual boys champion.
South Eugene’s Shibata is defending champion and has the fastest time this season, 14:20 at the Rose City Championships.
“Yosuke’s an incredible athlete and a guy in the hunt to win NXN as an individual,” Dettman said. “The kids all love the opportunity to try to go with him, but they recognize that’s not in the best interest of the team to do that (and maybe have a bad race).”
Instead, they will focus on running smart and great things might happen.
“I think we can have the fastest total team time in the history of the state meet,” Dettman said. “That’s equally as cool a goal as trying to be an individual state champion.”
A look at the other races:
5A
The Summit boys and Crater girls have historically good squads, each ranked second in the nation by Dyestat.
Crater’s depth includes nine of the top 18 times for 5A girls this season. The Comets won the prestigious Asics Clovis Invitational and have four of the top five times this season, all from that meet — Adley Damon, a transfer from St. Mary’s of Medford (5A leading 17:01); Brynn Davenport; Gwen Vanwart and Mari Dunlap.
Maddie Carney returns to defend her individual title for Caldera.
Crater’s boys have won the past five titles and eight of the past nine, but Summit is the team to beat this year and has posted six of the top 15 individual times this season, most at the Nike Bob Firman Invitational back in September. Bjorn Blankenship leads the way for the Storm and ran 14:32 at that meet, the same time North Eugene’s Ashenafi McKinnis ran at the Rose City Championships.
Crater is led by defending champion Garrett Faught.
4A
Marist Catholic’s Corbin Sage is the defending boys champion and has the top time in the state this year (14:48).
The team race could be a tight fight between defending champion La Grande, Klamath Union, Molalla and Marist Catholic.
Scappoose freshman Katherine Kessi has had a strong debut season and leads the girls (17:19) while Philomath’s Cassidy Smart is back to defend her individual title.
La Grande is the defending team champion, but newcomer Banks, up from 3A, will push the Tigers. The Braves have four of the top 10 times this season, led by sophomore Molly Schoolmeester.
3A
Coquille’s Henthorn easily has the top time in the new girls division with her finish at the Rose City Championships after last year joining her mom, Holli Dieu (21 years earlier), as state champion for the Red Devils. Corbett freshman Claire Horton has the second best time this season.
Oregon Episcopal is the team to beat, led by Abby Wilson. The Aardvarks, who have three of the top five times, benefit from a new rule this year for the girls teams in the lower two classifications, that only four runners count toward the team score instead of the traditional five. OES won titles in 2023 and 2024 before Banks took the crown last year.
Siuslaw is the defending boys team champion and returns its core group of juniors Henry Stone, Bentley Nelson and Ezra King. But Neah-Kah-Nie has three of the top six times this season, led by overall leader Gus Kirby. The Pirates are hoping for their first state championship since taking three straight from 1998-2000.
2A/1A
This is new territory for the smaller girls schools without 3A in the mix. Bandon’s Jael Legutki has the top time this season, just ahead of Trout Lake’s Melody Stock. The combined Union-Cove team appears to have a slight edge in the team race.
Paideia Classical Christian of Milwaukie is in the state championships for the first time, getting one of the three at-large berths after finishing second behind Knappa in the District 1 championship.
Knappa won the boys team title last fall and appears to have the pieces in place to win again, despite the graduation of champion Wyatt Jacobson.
Bandon’s Beckett Pahls, last year’s runner-up behind Knappa’s Wyatt Jacobson, has the top time this season, followed by Knappa’s Rowdy Justice and the Loggers have five of the top 17 times overall.
Race capsules
2A/1A Girls (9:25 a.m.)
Teams To Watch: Union, Lakeview, Bandon, Heppner.
Top Times: Jael Legutki, Bandon, 18:32; Melody Stock, Trout Lake, 18:37; Evelyn Hodgson, Weston-McEwen, 18:51; Jolee Woody, Days Creek, 19:07; Piper Braseth, Imbler, 19:14.
Last Year: Union-Cove was the top team finisher among schools in the new 2A-1A division, placing fourth, just ahead of Heppner-Ione-Cove. Bandon was the only other school in the top 10 that wasn’t a 3A program.
Top Returners: Piper Braseth, Imbler (eighth); Jael Legutki, Bandon (12th); Melody Stock, Trout Lake (13th); Anya Griffith, Central Linn (16th).
2A/1A Boys (10 a.m.)
Teams To Watch: Knappa, Bandon, Union, Regis.
Top Times: Beckett Pahls, Bandon, 15:31; Rowdy Justus, Knappa, 15:39; Stuart McLaughlin, Regis, 15:45; Harper Stoops, Regis, 16:00; Isaac Williamson, Oakland, 16:04.
Last Year: Knappa had three of the top five finishers, led by winner Wyatt Jacobson, and comfortably beat Bandon to take the team title.
Top Returners: Beckett Pahls, Bandon (second); Rowdy Justus, Knappa (third); Ian Garlitz, Union-Cove (fourth); Jacob Carpenter, Southwest Christian (eighth); Peter Davis, Pine Eagle (ninth); Stuart McLaughlin, Regis (10th).
3A Girls (10:35 a.m.)
Teams To Watch: Oregon Episcopal, Enterprise-Joseph-Wallowa, Glide, Siuslaw.
Top Times: Ella Henthorn, Coquille, 17:01; Claire Horton, Corbett, 17:39; Abby Wilson, Oregon Episcopal, 17:51; Andy Bryant, Oregon Episcopal, 18:02; Kate Vasanth, Oregon Episcopal, 18:11.
Last Year: Coquille’s Ella Henthorn won the individual title while Banks, now in 4A, won the team title ahead of Enterprise-Joseph-Wallowa and Oregon Episcopal.
Top Returners: Ella Henthorn, Coquille (champion); Lilly Weer, Enterprise-Joseph-Wallowa (fifth); Emma Whitton, Sweet Home (seventh 4A); Grace DeLay, Trinity Lutheran (10th); Kate Vasanth, Oregon Episcopal (11th).
3A Boys (11:10 a.m.)
Teams To Watch: Neah-Kah-Nie, Siuslaw, Nyssa, Oregon Episcopal.
Top Times: Gus Kirby, Neah-Kah-Nie, 15:11; Henry Stone, Siuslaw, 15:13; Tytus Janssen, Santiam Christian, 15:17; Pedro Santana, Nyssa, 15:35; Dylan Sigman, Neah-Kah-Nie, 15:35.
Last Year: Warrenton’s Jayden Warner dominated the individual race with the fastest time of the day (14:55) while Siuslaw won the team title.
Top Returners: Gus Kirby, Neah-Kah-Nie (third); Henry Stone, Siuslaw (fourth); Bentley Nelson, Siuslaw (12th); Ezra King, Siuslaw (15th).
4A Girls (11:45 a.m.)
Teams To Watch: La Grande, Philomath, Banks, Scappoose.
Top Times: Katherine Kessi, Scappoose, 17:19; Cassidy Smart, Philomath, 17:45; Molly Shoolmeester, Banks, 17:57; Olivia Hernandez, Philomath, 18:00; Lindsey Brown, La Grande, 18:14.
Last Year: Philomath’s Cassidy Smart won the team title while La Grande’s Brooke Perry and Lindsey Brown were second and third, respectively, to lead the Tigers to the team title.
Top Returners: Cassidy Smart, Philomath (champion); Linsey Brown, La Grande (third); Hallie Pyfer, Klamath Union (fourth); Alexandra Curtis, Newport (eighth); Addison Horning, North Bend (10th); Molly Schoolmeester, Banks (fourth 3A); Lydia Shellman, Banks (seventh 3A).
4A Boys (12:20 p.m.)
Teams To Watch: La Grande, Klamath Union, Molalla, Cottage Grove.
Top Times: Corbin Sage, Marist Catholic, 14:48; Cooper Altenburg, La Grande, 15:24; Mark Madsen, Klamath Union, 15:27; William Acord, Phoenix, 15:32; Kaden May, La Grande, 15:33.
Last Year: Marist Catholic’s Corbin Sage ran to the individual while La Grande won the team title, led by Cooper Altenburg and Kadey May, who finished third and fourth.
Top Returners: Corbin Sage, Marist Catholic (champion); Cooper Altenburg, La Grande (third); Kaden May, La Grande (fourth); Nick Wood, Molalla (fifth); Avery Chandler, Newport (seventh); Jake Kenton, Molalla (10th); Harlen Sampson, Valley Catholic (10th 3A).
5A Girls (1:45 p.m.)
Teams To Watch: Crater, Summit, Bend, Corvallis.
Top Times: Adley Damon, Crater, 17:00; Brynn Davenport, Crater, 17:03; Gwen Vanwart, Crater, 17:16; Alexa Montgomery, Crescent Valley, 17:26; Mari Dunlap, Crater, 17:52.
Last Year: Summit returned to the top after missing the team title for the first time in 15 years in 2024 while Maddie Carney became the first individual state champion in Caldera school history.
Top Returners: Maddie Carney, Caldera (champion); Brynn Davenport, Crater (second); Miley Morical, Caldera (fifth); Mari Dunlap, Crater (sixth); Adley Damon, Crater (sixth 3A-2A-1A for St. Mary’s).
5A Boys (2:20 p.m.)
Teams To Watch: Summit, Crater, Wilsonville, Bend.
Top Times: Bjorn Blankenship, Summit, 14:23; Ashenafi McKinnis, North Eugene, 14:32; Clayton Jero, Summit, 14:38; Garrett Faught, Crater, 14:39; Charlie English, Summit, 14:53.
Last Year: Garrett Faught was individual champion and his Crater squad won another team title, fighting off a strong effort from Summit with both teams placing five in the top 21 overall.
Top Returners: Garrett Faught, Crater (champion); Bjorn Blankenship, Summit (second); Ryder White, Crater (sixth); Adrian Estes, Springfield (eighth); Clayton Jero, Summit (ninth); Charlie English, Summit (10th).
6A Girls (2:55 p.m.)
Teams To Watch: Jesuit, Sherwood, South Eugene, Franklin.
Top Times: Ellery Lincoln, Lincoln, 16:13; Evangeline Johnson Hess, South Eugene, 17:01; Grace Keene, Mountainside, 17:21; Eleanor Wyatt, West Linn, 17:35; Quinn Hanley, Jesuit, 17:47.
Last Year: Ellery Lincoln won the individual title, leading her Lincoln squad to the team crown.
Top Returners: Ellery Lincoln, Lincoln (champion); Evangeline Johnson Hess, South Eugene (third); Lauren Gerlach, Tualatin (fifth); Eleanor Wyatt, West Linn (seventh); Maeve O’Scannlain, Jesuit (ninth).
6A Boys (3:30 p.m.)
Teams To Watch: Lincoln, Grant, Franklin, West Linn, South Eugene, Sunset.
Top Times: Yosuke Shibata, South Eugene, 14:20; George Lora, Ida B. Wells, 14:31; Khalil Sabzalian, South Eugene, 14:43; Felix Snyder, Franklin, 14:47; Peter James, Lincoln, 14:47.
Last Year: Jesuit had five of the top 10 finishers and won the team title while South Eugene’s Yosuke Shibata was individual champion.
Top Returners: Yosuke Shibata, South Eugene (champion); Faysal Ibrahim, David Douglas (fifth); Peter James, Lincoln (sixth); Malcolm Dimoff, Lincoln (seventh); Jack Lavier, Jesuit (10th).
dorklefin2003@yahoo.com
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