by Scott Sacry
The Cross Country teams from Darby, Corvallis, Stevensville, Hamilton, and Frenchtown met in Corvallis on Friday, August 25th for the Corvallis Kickoff meet.
It was an early season race and everyone was in high spirits. Corvallis’s Laurie Davidson won the girl’s race, while Hamilton’s Taylor Doleac won the boys race. The Corvallis Cross Country team is coming off a great season last year – the girl’s finished 2nd at State while the boys finished 3rd.
Corvallis’s Joanne Cleveland is in her 19th season as head coach. “I think it was a good start to the season,” said Cleveland. “It was a small meet which is nice for a starter. Everyone learned where they were at and what we need to work on.”
Cleveland feels optimistic about the season for Corvallis. “We have a young boys team with no seniors, three juniors, the rest are sophomores and freshmen,” said Cleveland. “We have lots of potential and we have high expectations for the season. Our girls team has three seniors. Laurie Davidson is our top girl. We only lost two girls from our state team last year, so we have high expectations for them as well. The runners are motivated to work hard, which is exciting.”
The top six finishers in the boys race:
1. Taylor Doleac (17:05), Hamilton. 2. Evan Bennett (17:41), Hamilton. 3. Jack Davidson (17:47.3), Corvallis. 4. Ben Martin (17:47.8), Darby. 5. Bryson Poulsen (18:00), Hamilton. 6. Carter Koerner (18:35), Corvallis.
The top six finishers in the girls race:
1. Laurie Davidson (21:00), Corvallis. 2. Ella Varner (21:52), Corvallis. 3. Aleigha Child (21:58), Hamilton. 4. Lily Adair (22:22), Darby. 5. Violet Jessop (23:03), Corvallis. 6. Jillian Huls (23:23), Corvallis.