West boys claim 2nd place at Oregon cross-country meet

The West High cross-country team tested itself against Outside competition Saturday and passed with flying colors.

The Eagles, who dominated the large-school boys competition at the state championships earlier this month, placed second in the boys team standings at the George Fox Cross Country Classic in Salem, Oregon.

Led by ninth-place Finn Walker, West placed five runners in the top 25 in the 5-kilometer race at blustery Willamette Mission State Park.

"The conditions were fierce … with the big storm that came in," West coach Ruth Barndt said by email. "High winds and rainy!"

Taking first place with 40 points was Summit High School of Bend, Oregon. West was second with 87 and Camas, Washington, was third with 102.

Yacine Guermali of Camas won the race in a swift 15 minutes, 58.2 seconds.

Walker was ninth in 16:37.6. Joining him in the top 25 were teammates Everett Cason (17th, 16:53.6), Declan Dammeyer (19th, 16:56.5), Ethan Davis (17:01.77) and Tristan Wiese (24th, 17:10.8).

Two of West's top runners — Luke Jager and Foster Birnbaum — did not make the trip.

"They had other commitments so we took two JV runners," Barndt said.

Both finished in the top 40 in a race with 106 finishers. Joaquin Montero was 38th in 17:20.8 and Daniel Bausch was 39th in 17:40.5.

The meet attracted a number of Alaska runners. West Valley placed sixth in the girls team standings and seventh in the boys team standings.

Kendall Kramer led the Wolfpack with a 10th-place finish in the girls race. She finished in 18:52.8, well off the pace of winner Olivia Brooks of Summit (18:08.5.). Elliot Kenaston topped the West Valley boys, clocking 17:11.8 for 25th place.

Rianna Boonstra of Kenai Central was the next Alaska finishers in the girls race, finishing 32nd in 19:58.9.