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By BEN MCCARTY
News staff writer
August 30, 2008
Last season saw the departure of several elite runners in the
Mount Hood Conference cross country ranks.
The graduation of Leo Castillo of HRV, Taylor Morgan, Joel
Turkheimer and Austin Jones of Central Catholic, Daniel Vo of
Reynolds and Michelle Dettman of Centennial seemingly left the
race for the honor of being considered among the top cross
country runners in the league wide open.
However, an HRV team filled with key returners on both the boys’
and girls’ sides has several key contenders who will be vying
for the top spots when Hood River Valley hosts the MHC district
meet in October.
Yonny Castillo, who finished 11th at district last year as a
freshman, highlights a team that includes returners Gary
Thompson and Frank Zartler and newcomers Jordy Mallon, David
Frasier and Mitch Detham.
On the girls’ side senior Erin Jones will make another run for
state, where she finished sixth last year, and will be joined by
several up-and-coming returners including Boo Lucas, Grace
Viuhkula and Alex Ostler.
The biggest changes from last year came on the boys’ side of the
team with the graduation of the 1-2 punch of Leo Castillo and
Alex Van Slyke and the retirement of coach Rich Hedges.
Kristen Uhler, who had primarily been coaching the girls team,
assumes the head coaching mantle this year and is excited to get
to work.
“It’s encouraging to spend all this time with these kids and see
them flourish,” she said.
It has already been a busy summer for the Eagles with numerous
camps and training sessions.
They opened fall practice with two days spent camped out at the
Mt. Hood Town Hall, which served as their base for running the
Paradise loop and Lost Lake.
“We are just so fortunate to have the outrageous places to run,
too,” Uhler said.
After returning to Hood River they had a day off before a large
portion of the team ran the Portland to Coast relay over the
weekend.
“It was long, but it was good team bonding,” Lucas said of the
run from Portland to Seaside.
The busy summer will transition into a busy fall.
After a pair of races in Portland, HRV will host the Skip Sparks
Invitational on Sept. 24. They will not return to Hood River for
a race after that point until HR hosts the district race.
Last year, in pouring rain at Centennial High School, Jones and
Leo Castillo put in second place finishes behind Dettman and
Morgan.
Whether rain or shine, Uhler wants to make sure her team has its
sights set on the district race in Hood River.
“I’m looking forward to a good district meet,” she said. “That
is what we are training for.”
This year, Uhler thinks the makeup of her team fits well with
HRV’s home course.
“It has a lot of hills and we have runners who like hills,” she
said.
For Jones the race will present her with a chance to show that
she can be the top runner in the conference.
“I want to have fun with this being my last year,” Jones said.
“But I want to make it to state again this year.”
To help the team get further training, Uhler is teaching an
Advanced Endurance Technique class during the school day which
will help runners and non-runners alike better train their
bodies to deal with the rigors of distance running.
And there are plenty of rigors involved in getting up early in
the morning to pound out mile after mile in the cold and often
wet fall in the Northwest.
But for those runners who want to be the best, it is all worth
it.
“You put into it what you want to get out of it,” Jones said.
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