Saturday was the culmination of all the hard work that the cross country athletes have put in over the last few weeks, months and years.  Not even a cold could keep Carter from defending his state title.  After the first mile there was little doubt that Carter was going to make it two in a row.  With the win Carter becomes the only CGHS runner to win two cross country state championships, and he will go down as one of the best 4A distance runners of all-time.  Carter is only the 6th male athlete in our classification to win multiple state titles in cross country.  What an honor it has been to have Carter as an athlete wearing the CG on his chest and as a teammate in our program.  Our time with Carter as a Lion is quickly running out, don't miss watching him race this spring on the track! 

Ella Cardwell became the first girl from CGHS to break into the top 10 since Patricia Guterrez did so in 2009.  Even more impressive, Ella's time of 19:33 for 9th place is the fastest ever for a CGHS runner on the state meet course.  Entering the race Ella was ranked 17th based on time, but the goal was to stand on the podium.  She ran a brilliant race getting out to 15th place at the 1K mark and then methodically moved up into the top 10 before hitting the track.  What a rise it has been for Ella as she has finished 50th, 23rd, and 9th at the state meet over the last three years.  

The boys team entered the meet ranked 6th based on season best times, but they knew they could be in the mix for a top four finish and a team trophy.  The depth of the boys team was the difference maker on Saturday which allowed for a less than perfect race in order to edge Molalla for 4th place.  Easton Hutchins punctuated his meteoric rise of the last two years with a 26th place finish and all-state honorable mention honors.  David Culbert held on for a top 40 finish and Micah Hanke stormed past 11 runners in the final 1k to capture a top 50 finish.  Micah moved up from the 6th team spot to the 4th spot in the last 500m, and that would be the difference for the boys as they finished ahead of Molalla by just two points.  Jackson Gifford ran strong as did Frank Garcia while he battled through some foot pain.  Jennings Albrecht was close behind in 58th and Cottage Grove trailed only the state champions from Newport in getting all seven runners to the line first.  The top four finish and team trophy is only the second for the CG boys squad since 1975.  However, it is the second time in the last four years (3rd in 2021).  

The girls showed courage once again as five of the seven runners stepping to the starting line were fighting illness.  Hailey Fergason ran one of her best races of the year for nearly a personal best on a course that was not very fast.  The rest of the girls fought valiantly to complete the 5k course.  Sometimes the outcome is less important than what we can learn from the journey, and this season was a seminar on how to keep fighting when things happen that are out of your control.  As if running isn't hard enough when you're feeling healthy.  What a tough group of young ladies that kept showing up for each other even when it was not fun.  It was also a good reminder of how far the girls program has come over the last four seasons and how much the bar has been raised.  

Some other notable stats for the season:

• This was the first year in school history that CGHS has had a boy and a girl finish in the top 10 at state in the same year.

• The boys team tied the school record for most consecutive top 10 finishes at state with four.  The last streak was 1956-1959.

• The girls team extended their school record streak of qualifying for the state meet by racing for the third year in a row.

• They boys and girls teams extended the school record streak (3) of qualifying both teams for state.

• Carter remains the fastest ever over the 5k distance at CGHS.  His time of 15:41 is the fastest ever by a Lion on the state meet course.

• Ella becomes the fastest ever from CGHS over the 5k distance on the state meet course with her time of 19:33.

• It is the third year in a row that CGHS has had three all-state cross country athletes (2024: Carter, Ella, Easton -  2023: Carter, Maddison, Ella - 2022: Jaden, Carter, Allison).

• For complete lists of CGHS all-time state qualifiers use the quick link above.

Details for the week:

Monday (11/11):  NO SCHOOL and NO OFFICIAL PRACTICE.  It was an intense weekend so we won't meet officially for practice, but athletes that are healthy and going with to NXR should get in a 30 minute steady run.

Tuesday (11/12) - Thursday (11/14): Regular practice should be done by 5pm.

Thursday (11/14):  5:30pm - Team awards night in the library.  Not ideal to host this the night before we leave for regionals, but there are activities happening on the other nights of the week.  The following week we start to have winter sport practice conflicts.  Thank you for being flexible.  

Friday (11/15):  Departure for Boise at 4:30am from CGHS.  Full details HERE.

End of season details:

• Athletes that are done racing should return washed uniforms to Coach Knutson.  

NXR Idaho Details: 

• We will have these parents on the list as official drivers: Dustin Bengtson, Ryan Gifford, Jared Hutchins, Sara Sallee, and Ricky Knutson.  We will be sending home a form that we will need on file for each driver and a transportation permission form that we will need for each athlete.  

• Thank you to those of you that have offered to provide food for our first dinner in Idaho.  Thanks for packaging the food so that it may be easily transported in a cooler with other food.  Even better if all we need to do is reheat the food and it is in a container that is disposable so that we don't have to bring dishes back.   THANK YOU so much!

• Last week we sent home a packet with travel details (also LINKED HERE).   

• The $150 fee may be paid in the CGHS webstore, in person, or on the phone with Lena Twyman.

The CGHS runners reminded the rest of the Sky-Em league last Thursday that the road to the state meet runs through Cottage Grove.  Personal best times were thrown out as the runners stepped to the line to attack the same course in the same conditions.  How fast someone ran was less important and where each runner placed made all the difference.  By the time the rain decided to really start falling, Cottage Grove was the only Sky-Em program sending both the boys and girls teams to the state championship.

Although the girls were not yet at full strength, the seven girls would not be denied their third consecutive trip to state.  Quite an accomplishment considering that prior to 2022 the girls team had only qualified a total of three times in school history.  Ella Cardwell put herself in the mix early and held on for third place while running 10 seconds faster than she did on the same course in September.  Only eight athletes in the entire race ran personal bests on the course, but two of those PRs came from Hailey Fergason and Carly Knutson.  Both girls also managed top ten finishes as Hailey took 8th and Carly placed 9th.  Allison Palluck ran her second fastest time of the season to finish 13th.  Maddison France, who has been dealing with illness and hasn't raced in a month fought through the 5k race for her teammates to hold on to 14th place.  It made all the difference as the girls placed second, and barely edged North Bend by two points for the last qualifying spot.  Despite fighting a cold, Lilly Dubbs made an impact by running a one minute PR and finished ahead of the fifth runner from North Bend.  Zoey Knutson pushed through the race just six days after her four week stint in a walking boot.  This tough group of young ladies is looking forward to another week of rest and recovery so they will be prepared for the state meet!

Entering the district championship as a heavy favorite never ensures success.  However, the boys were excited to make a statement and achieved their goal of placing all seven runners in the top 10 and scoring 27 points.  There have only been three Sky-Em teams (Marist 21 in 2007, Marist 23 in 2018, and Siuslaw 16 in 2020) in the last 18 years that have scored better than 27 points.  Carter Bengtson repeated as district champion as the rest of the team piled into the back half of the top 10.  Easton Hutchins (5th), David Culbert (6th), and Frank Garcia (7th) earned first team all-league honors and will have banners hanging in the gym next fall. Jackson Gifford (8th), Jennings Albrecht (9th), and Micha Hanke (10th) rounded out the final three spots for the Lions. It's the first time in school history that the boys cross country team has won three district titles in a row and it is the first time since 1957-1960 that the boys team has qualified for state four consecutive years.  

The JV runners put an exclamation point on the day!  The goal all season for the boys JV team was to achieve the perfect score (15) and they delivered even more.  Cottage Grove had the first eight runners across the line and five of those times were personal bests.  Braeden Bomar, Lucas O'Hara, Remington Sharkey, Desmond Corely and Braxton Robinson all ran times that would have earned all league honors in the varsity race.  Luke Fery, Tyler Smith, and Peyton Ellison were right behind the top five with personal bests.  Had the Cottage Grove boys been their own team in the varsity race they would have defeated the varsity teams from North Bend and Junction City!!  Gracee Kaleese and Jocelyn Pleitez also ended the season with personal bests in the JV race!

For the third year in a row Cottage Grove is sending both boys and girls teams to the state championship.  While most of the athletes in the program right now may see this as the norm, we are encouraging athletes to never take these moments for granted.  This is only trip number 17 for the CG boys over the last 70 years and trip number six for the girls in the same time frame.  However, it's four in a row for the boys and three in a row for the girls.  The first time both teams qualified in the same year was 2022.  The varsity and JV athletes that have been in the program over the last three to four years have been part of a culture shift that we hope to continue for years to come.  

Carter Bengtson will look to defend his state title this week against the other top 4A runners in the State.  The boys team will look to make it four years in a row with a top ten finish.  The last time this was accomplished was 1956-1957.  If things go well they will be in the mix for a top four finish and state trophy for the second time since 1975 (last was in 2021).  The girls are also looking to extend their streak of top ten team finishes at the state meet to three.  

Monday (11/4): This will be our main workout of the week.  We will end practice in the classroom finalizing registration for the NXR meet.

Tuesday (11/5): Practice will be done by 5pm

Wednesday (11/6):  State qualifier team dinner at Coach Knutson's house @ 6pm.  We will make sure athletes have directions and details.  Carpooling because of limited parking is encouraged.  

Thursday (11/7):  Practice done by 5pm.

Friday (11/8):  Practice will end with state prep in the classroom and should wrap up by 5pm.  

Saturday (11/9):  State Championship at LCC!  Departure time 9:45am.  Girls race at 11:45am and Boys race at 12:20pm.  For full details on tickets, schedule and apparel please use THIS LINK.  If you are planning on purchasing apparel we highly recommend using the preorder option to avoid long lines on the day of.  The preorder link for apparel may be accessed HERE. 

End of season details:

• Athletes that are done racing should return washed uniforms to Coach Knutson.  

• We anticipate that awards night will be the week of 11/11 - 11/15.  We will try to set the date and time early this week and get it posted here.

NXR Idaho Details: 

• We will be taking both our boys and girls varsity teams.

• Athletes must return THIS FORM on Monday so that we can finalize registration at practice.  Most athletes received a copy of this form at practice last week.  

• On Monday at practice we will send home a packet (also LINKED HERE) of information and a paper that needs to be returned by Wednesday.  We are trying to determine our driver situation.  We have had a couple people confirm and several maybes.  Please look over the information thoroughly and fill out the form to be returned to practice by Wednesday.  We will communicate with drivers and potential drivers once we have a count of who is willing to travel.  

• The $150 fee may be paid in the CGHS webstore, in person, or on the phone with Lena Twyman.

It was a quick trip to the coast on Thursday for a fast 3k tune up race.  The unique race format blended athletes from different schools to form teams that raced for a plate of brownies.  Carter took home the individual win against one of the top 3A runners in the state, and Ella "scooted" (a compliment from the Siuslaw Coach) to a fast time for second place in the girls race.  Athletes will be healthy and ready for the district meet this week!

The Lions enter this week looking to continue some important streaks.  The boys are looking to three-peat as district champions and qualify for the state meet for the fourth consecutive time.  The last time the CGHS boys qualified four years in a row was 1957-1960.  The girls are also defending district champions and are racing to qualify for state for the third consecutive time.  Prior to 2022, the CGHS girls had only qualified three times in school history and now they are looking to make it three times in a row!  The JV boys are also excited to establish CGHS as the deepest 4A team in the state and are hungry to finish the season with a clean sweep of the scoring spots (1-5) in the JV race. They will be running in a combined race with the another league, but the sweep is possible once the Sky-Em spots are separated.  Varsity teams must finish in the top two spots to qualify for state and the top 7 individuals also qualify.  It's going to be a great week!

Just a heads up that the boys lineup is subject to change based on what happens at the district meet.  It won't be purely based on times, but we want to put the strongest lineup on the starting line at the state championship.  We've been transparent with the boys all season and they have done a great job supporting one another. Typically we give varsity letters to the top seven runners, but any athlete that runs a time on Thursday that is equivalent to the 21st time (last all-league honorable mention spot) in the varsity race will also earn a varsity letter.   

Last Friday we wrapped up practice in the classroom and gave seniors an opportunity to share some advice or some thoughts on what they would do differently if they did it all over again.  Thank you to all the seniors that shared some heart-felt messages with the team.  It's clear that we have many athletes that are part of our program because of the positive support that teammates provide for one another.  Running is tough, and we are thankful for all of the athletes that have chosen to be part of our family.  

We've had a bit of an issue with punctuality at practice recently.  Athletes that are late to practice for the rest of the season will not practice at all.  It's the championship time of the season and we need to be focused on details.  We discussed this on Friday at practice and all athletes should be aware of this moving forward.

Monday (10/28): As usual, this will be our main workout of the week.

Tuesday and Wednesday (10/29 and 10/30): Practice will be done by 5pm.

Thursday (10/31): Districts.  Students will be dismissed at 9:25 and the bus will leave at 9:45.

Friday:  (11/1): We will meet as a team and celebrate the success from the district meet.  Only athletes moving forward to the state/regional meet will practice beyond Friday.

Upcoming Dates:

November 6th: Tentatively the state qualifier team dinner at Coach Knutson's house.  Details to be determined.

November 15 - 17th:  We will be attending the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Thank you to the Bengtson's for helping get a place to stay all booked.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  We are in need of a couple more drivers in order to take a full boys and girls team.  Please let Coach Knutson know if you are able to help transport athletes to the meet.

A HUGE thank you to everyone that helped out at the meet on Saturday!  It takes an enormous group effort to put on an event like that and we had the right people in the right places.  Thank you Dustin Bengtson for organizing the potluck and thank you to everyone that contributed.  Thank you to Gina Hutchins for being meticulous with collecting finish line tags and thank you to Carly Tucker for running the backup timer.  Thank you Clark Robinson for setting up and handing out free beverages as well as collecting donations for our new track surface.  The tip jar ended up with $181.40 toward the cause!  Thank you to Sarah Bickford for running the concession stand.  Thank you to Danny Fergason for loading up and moving all of the rubber mats after the race.  We can't list everyone and don't want to miss anyone, but thank you to all who helped monitor the finish line, helped to direct runners, and helped with clean up of the event.  It was a great event for CGHS and our community!

As far as the actual racing went, the CG boys showed off their depth once again to take the win at home!  Like many other teams at the meet on Saturday, the Lions were missing several "starters" on the varsity team.  It wasn't a problem for CG as Braeden and Remington shifted to the varsity team and the boys took care of business.  While the bigger schools are known for having depth, it was the Cottage Grove squad that bested four 5A schools for the victory!  Carter improved his own course record by 20 seconds while Easton, Micah, Jackson, and Braeden filled out the scoring five.  The JV boys were a little short handed after donating two runners to the varsity team, but they still ran well for a second place team finish behind 5A Churchill.  Lucas had a strong race for second place and the CG boys put seven runners in the top 19.  

Patience remained the story on the girls side again Saturday.  Hailey ran almost 40 seconds faster than last year on the same course and Carly returned to the lineup and felt healthy after the effort.  There are really only two meets that matter all season and the girls will be ready on October 31st at the district meet.  

Pictures aren't up yet as Coach Tucker had a long day between helping with the meet and also taking pictures at Homecoming on Saturday night.  

We are excited to shift our focus to district meet preparation.  The meet this week will be on a smaller scale and also a shorter distance (3k) to help sharpen up our racing and prepare us for our final meets.  It also has a unique format which is explained below.  As we shift to the championship part of the season please help encourage athletes to do the really important things outside of running such as sleep, hydrate, eat well and stretch.  It has been a grind so far and this is the time when we recover in order to race fast.  There are great things ahead!

Monday: "Challenging" workout of the week.  

Tuesday and Wednesday: Normal practice start, but we will be done around 5pm.

Thursday: Run for the Brownies. Athletes will be dismissed at 12:55 and the bus will leave at 1:15pm.  We are fortunate to be guests as part of this small event hosted at Sandpines Golf Links by Siuslaw coach Chris Johnson, one of the greatest coaches in Oregon high school cross country history.  It's meant to be a fun tune up for the district meet the following week.  While all of our athletes will be racing in a CGHS uniform, they will be part of small teams made up of runners from different schools as well.  Coed teams are designed to be even based on 5k times and runners from each team will be identified with a different team ribbon tied to the jersey.  There will be one coed race and it's scored in similar fashion to a cross country meet, but the runners are part of small mixed teams.  The winning small team gets the royal plate of brownies.   Due to the fact that it takes time to form teams ahead of time it is critical that athletes let Coach Knutson know as soon as possible if they will not be able to race.

Since there is only one race at the event we will not be bringing a team tent.  Please dress accordingly and bring a garbage bag to put your stuff in while you run.  We will not be there for a long time.  It is also a bit of a walk to the race course from the parking lot.  

Friday:  Normal practice time, but we will be done by 5pm again.

Saturday:  Athletes that are most likely competing at the state championship should be getting together to run.  We will talk more about this during the week.

Upcoming Dates:

November 15 - 17th:  We will be attending the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Thank you to the Bengtson's for helping get a place to stay all booked.  Last year we took the top six boys and top six girls on the trip, but the number of varsity athletes we take will depend on transportation. This message is a heads up that the trip will be happening in some way.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  Again, the number of athletes we take per team will depend on the amount of transportation/drivers we have.  Last year we had an opportunity to sell 50/50 tickets to raise some money, but we can't promise that this will happen this year.   We just want to make sure families have the chance to plan ahead.   More info to come as we get closer. 

Saturday was a big test for the #4 ranked CG boys team as they faced off with #3 ranked Philomath and the #2 ranked team from The Dalles.  The boys team lost to The Dalles by 39 earlier this season at the NW Classic, but after the dust settled on Saturday it was clear that a lot has changed since September.  The goal was to close the gaps between the CG runners and the runners from The Dalles; Easton, Frank, David, Micah, and Jennings did just that.  Despite missing Carter and Jackson from the lineup the Lions still managed a third place finish, but the final scores don't tell the whole story.  The boys may have finished 32 points behind The Dalles, but with a healthy Carter inserted back into the lineup the boys would have finished ahead of Philomath and they would have been only 7 points behind The Dalles.  Add Jackson into the scoring and things may have been even closer.  It is all going to come down to who performs best at the state championship on November 9th.  The boys will be in the mix for their second top four finish at state in the last four years, but for only the second time since 1975.

While the girls are closer to being healthy they were still short of having a scoring team on the starting line.  Ella ran a strong race to take 6th place while Hailey finished 15 spots better than where she was ranked going into the race.  Allison also ran well and finished 7 spots better than where she was seeded.  With a healthy Maddison and Carly in the lineup the girls would have most likely taken 3rd place.  Patience will continue to be the key with the girls team as the most important races are still ahead.

The JV boys continued to dominate by placing all five scoring runners in the top 11 and winning the team race by 43 points.  Ethan, Desmond, Lucas and Luke finished 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th to take home some individual hardware.

This is a busy week with our home meet on Saturday followed by our team potluck.  Thanks for taking a moment to read through the details. 

Monday (10/14): 3:45 practice

Tuesday (10/15): 3:45 practice.  This will be the main workout of the week since there are no soccer games on this day.

Wednesday (10/16): 3:45 practice

Thursday (10/17):  3:45 practice

Friday (10/18): We will be on a special school schedule for the homecoming parade.  Practice will still be at 3:45, but athletes should be done by 4:45pm.

Saturday (10/19):  THE CG BRAMBLE SCRAMBLE.  There are 16 middle school teams and 26 high school teams signed up, so it should be a great event again this year.  

• Athletes should be at the track by 9:45am to help with the middle school races.

• We will need help in several places during the meet including a few course monitors and lots of people working the finish line chute.  While the jobs are not difficult, they are critical for pulling off the event.  If you are able to help at the meet in any capacity please click this link and leave your name. Volunteers should meet in the north endzone near the finish line at 11am for instructions.  THANK YOU!

• Post meet potluck.  A huge thanks to Dustin Bengtson who has helped to organize this event over the last few years!  The Cottage Grove athletes and families will gather in the courtyard behind the school for a potluck after the meet.  We have a backup location at the school if weather becomes an issue.  Thank you to everyone that is able to contribute for this event.  If you are able to help out by bringing a potluck item please contact Dustin at 541-729-2155.  

Upcoming Dates:

November 15 - 17th:  We will be attending the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Thank you to the Bengtson's for helping get a place to stay all booked.  Last year we took the top six boys and top six girls on the trip, but the number of varsity athletes we take will depend on whether we have enough transportation for two full teams. This message is a heads up that the trip will be happening in some way.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  There are spots still up for grabs on each team, so the last spot on each team may not be in place until after the district meet happens.  Again, the number of athletes we take per team will depend on the amount of transportation/drivers we have.  Last year we had an opportunity to sell 50/50 tickets to raise some money, but we can't promise that this will happen this year.   We just want to make sure families have the chance to plan ahead.   More info to come as we get closer. 

The boys team captured second place by edging a Philomath team that is ranked third in the state! Carter ran away from one of the top 3A runners in the state to win by 57 seconds and he recorded the fastest time on the Woahink course in 13 years.  David posted a top 10 finish for the boys with Frank, Easton and Jennings close behind to round out the scoring five.  The girls team was missing four of the top seven runners this week due to illness and injuries, but Ella once again battled in the front of the pack for a second place finish.  Hailey placed 11th by running 29 seconds faster than she did on the same course last year.  The JV boys dominated the field and placed five runners in the top seven spots to beat second place Philomath by 52 points.  It would have been a CG sweep if two smaller schools had not entered a couple of their top kids in the JV race.  Remington ran a brilliant race for the JV boys and moved up several places in the last mile to take the win.  While Woahink isn't a course designed for personal bests, 13 of the 15 Cottage Grove runners that raced the Woahink course last season ran even faster this year!  Check out the improvement from our runners compared to last year!

Carter: 27 sec.

Easton: 2 min. 29 sec.

David: 9 sec.

Frank: 48 sec.

Jackson: 1 min. 45 sec.

Micah: 2 min. 4 sec.

Braxton: 2 min. 6 sec.

Luke: 53 sec.

Ben: 32 sec.

Dakota: 17 sec.

Ronin: 14 sec.

Ella: 27 sec.

Hailey: 29 sec.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to our informal potluck last week, these activities are awesome for developing a positive team culture.  Dustin Bengtson has generously offered to organize our team potluck for after our home meet on October 19th.  CGHS athletes and families traditionally meet in the courtyard behind the high school for food after the races conclude.  If you are able to contribute to the meal please contact Dustin at 541-729-2155.  We will have more details next week.  

This week will be huge for the boys team as they will face the top three 4A teams (Newport, The Dalles, Philomath) in the state and the top ranked 3A team (Siuslaw) in the state at the Paul Mariman Invitational in Philomath.  With 24 teams in the race it will be much  like the state championship.  We hope to have the girls closer to full strength by Saturday as well.  Once the 6th ranked girls are all healthy they will be a formidable force. 

Important info for the week:

Monday (10/7): Athletes should be prepared for a challenging workout.

Friday (10/11):  NO SCHOOL.  UPDATE:  Athletes decided that they would like to practice at 9am and then we will do a pancake breakfast after the run.

Saturday (10/12):  Paul Mariman Invitational.  Bus will depart at 10:30am.  Race times are all posted at athletic.net.  We will stop on the way home to get food.  

Upcoming Dates:

November 15 - 17th:  We would like to attend the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Last year we took the top six boys and top six girls on the trip, but the number of varsity athletes we take will depend on whether we have enough transportation for two full teams. This message is a heads up that the trip will be happening in some way.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  There are spots still up for grabs on each team, so the last spot on each team may not be in place until after the district meet happens.  Again, the number of athletes we take per team will depend on the amount of transportation/drivers we have.  Last year we had an opportunity to sell 50/50 tickets to raise some money, but we can't promise that this will happen this year.   We just want to make sure families have the chance to plan ahead.   More info to come as we get closer. 

The cross country team isn't interested in easy wins against smaller schools, so they traveled to Portland on Saturday to find the toughest competition.  Carter raced in the Danner Championship section improving his personal best by 16 seconds and placing 12th against some of the best runners in the west.  Don't blink or you may miss watching Carter have the best season in CGHS history.   The defending 4A State Champion's time of 15:09 ranks him 11th overall in Oregon (1A - 6A schools) and he defeated two runners ranked ahead of him on Saturday.  He is ranked #1 in 4A (ahead of 2nd by 34 seconds) and would be ranked 5th in 5A and 7th in 6A.  Without Carter in the lineup Easton and David led the rest of the boys to a 4th place finish in the D3 race against 22 other teams.  The Cottage Grove boys are ranked 4th in the state and are one of only two 4A teams in Oregon with seven athletes running under 18 minutes.

Ella once again paced the short handed girls to a 4th place finish against 17 other teams in the D3 race which included several 5A/6A teams.  Ella battled two other runners in the lead and took second with a time of 19:26 (a PR by 12 seconds).  Carly ran a lifetime best by 38 seconds and Allison had one of her strongest races in two years.  Despite not having everyone healthy for a few weeks the girls are still ranked 6th in the state and have a lot of room to improve over the next month.  They are looking forward to having everyone healthy!

The short handed JV boys squad fought their way to a third place finish against 19 teams in the D3/D4 JV race.  Braeden ran a 35 second lifetime best and broke 18 minutes for the first time while taking second place overall.  Remington ran a 24 second personal best and finished 11th.  Lilly was the top finisher for the JV girls.

The freshmen boys continue to impress with Jennings and Braeden leading the way and running under 18 minutes.  They are currently ranked 4th and 6th in the state among other 4A freshmen.  Remington (13th), Desmond (21st), and Tyler (23rd) are also all ranked in the top 25. 

We are currently heading into a four week training block that includes race courses not designed for fast times.  Our emphasis is going to be on getting stronger and focusing on learning how to race in the week to week matchups.  This week at the Woahink Lake invite the girls will face off against the two top ranked 4A teams (Philomath and Klamath Union) and one of the of the top ranked 3A teams (Siuslaw).   The boys will be contending against 3rd ranked Philomath (4A) and 2nd ranked Siuslaw (3A).    

Monday (9/30):  Long steady run

Wednesday (10/2): Medium/Hard workout

Thursday (10/3):  We are planning an informal tailgater for the cross country athletes after practice (5ish).  We are going to provide burgers and dogs for kids in the courtyard behind the school.  If anyone would like to contribute any other food items that would be great.  No need to communicate, we're just going informal potluck style.

Saturday (10/5):  Woahink Lake XC Invite.  Bus will leave at 8:15am.  Race times have been updated as of 10/3.  The girls will be a combined race at 12:30. This means that the awards will also be moved earlier (after the varsity boys).  The schedule will be:

JV Boys: 11:45am

JV AND Varsity Girls: 12:30pm

Varsity Boys: 1:15pm

Awards

The course is NOT spike friendly.  Please do not wait until Saturday to try and take spikes out.

Carter Bengtson rode a strong final mile to a 7 second PR and the win on Saturday.  His time of 15:25 is the new fastest ever time by a CGHS cross country runner.   The state meet will be held at the same location with a slightly different course (and most likely different conditions), but it is noteworthy that the all-time 4A record for the state meet course is 15:22.  Ella Cardwell fought for a strong position early and held on for a 17 second PR and an 8th place podium finish.  Easton Hutchins' 30 second improvement helped propel the boys team to a 3rd place finish out of 28 teams, and the CG boys are now the 3rd ranked 4A team in the state.  Illness hit the girls team pretty hard last week, but they still battled.  Despite being short handed the girls finished 10th out of 20 teams.  With a lot of potential for improvement the girls team still holds the 6th place ranking for 4A teams in the state.  The team also saw some massive improvements from some of our new 9th grade runners.  Tyler Smith (35 seconds), Desmond Corley (46 seconds), and Lilly Dubbs (44 seconds) dropped significant amounts of time as they continue to adjust to the 5k race distance.  Aiden Walker also had a huge day with a 57 second personal best!  Athletes are looking forward to getting healthy this week and bouncing back as a team in Portland this weekend!

Reminders:

• Use the 2024 XC Picture link above to view pictures from the meet.  The password is GoLions24.  Pictures from the NW Classic will not be available until at least Monday.

• Parents that were at the parent meeting will remember that we talked about progress not being linear.  Just a reminder that there are going to be some rough days, tough races, and challenging moments.  Multiple athletes really struggled on Saturday and while we'd love for every race to be a PR, it's all part of growing.  Many runners are experiencing a lot of change (school, socially and running) right now and adaptation can take time, patience, and a LOT of work.  Our primary training focus is being our best at the end of the season.  Last year 23 of our 27 athletes ran season bests at the district championship and we are working to have similar results again this year.  Thank you for the continued support and encouragement as we help these athletes grow.

• We have had a lot of sick athletes recently and we are far from being in the clear.  Please do your best to make choices that will help us all stay healthy (wash hands, don't share drinks, rest...).

• Please be sure to communicate with your athletes about practice end times.  We have been letting them know when we may end earlier and they are responsible for getting this information home.  Workouts and post workout ancillary decisions are adjusted based on how athletes are handling training as the week progresses which is why we aren't able to predict finish times for the entire week on Sundays.   The day before a meet will often be shorter unless we decide to add a classroom session.  This will always be communicated with athletes ahead of time.

Tuesday (9/24): This will be the big workout of the week with some harder running and shorter recovery.  Athletes should know what to do to be ready for this.

Saturday (9/28):  The Nike Portland XC meet will be a bit different than other meets.  We make an effort to build our schedule with meets that are closer, but the opportunity for great competition brings us up to Portland for this meet.  Carter will be competing in the Danner Championships section and the rest of the team has been registered in the Division 3 (JV and Varsity) sections.  Our race divisions have been confirmed for Saturday.  We will have athletes in the following events at the following times. We discussed entries at practice, but athletes may check with coaches at practice if they still have questions.  Please read the meet details below with spectator information:

The bus will depart from CGHS at 8:15am.

9:55am - Danner Championship (Carter Only - not riding bus)

12:30am - Girls 3,000m JV Novice (1 athlete)

1:10pm - Division 3 Varsity Girls

1:35pm - Division 3 Varsity Boys

2:50pm - JV Girls (D3/D4)

3:20pm - JV Boys (D3/D4)

We will stop for food somewhere along the way home.

INFO FROM MEET DIRECTOR:

FAQ’s:

*Blue Lake is part of the government agency called Metro and they will charge each vehicle $5 to enter off Blue Lake Road.  Please pass this information on to your families.  It will be faster to enter the park if they have $5 in cash, but Blue Lake does take credit cards.   

*Buses will also be entering on the spectator entrance.  Please be aware that there will be spectator traffic entering at the same spot so make plenty of time to get to your race.  The buses will only drop off at the park, exit the park and then the buses can park for free at Chinook Landing parking area.  Our volunteers will help direct the bus drivers.

*The course will be ready for preview on Friday and be aware that the park will charge $5 for cars and $7 for buses.  Race packets can be picked up as well. We will have our t-shirt for sale from 12-4 on Friday afternoon. Remember it is cash or check for t-shirts. The park closes at 6PM.  We will be selling shirts and hats on Saturday as well at the Shahala Picnic Shelter.  Cash only for t-shirts ($30 short sleeve, $40 long sleeve, $20 for hats, $10 for patches - BRING CASH) 

 *Blue Lake does not allow dogs in the park.

*When exiting the park, please make a right turn at Blue Lake Road.  This will make for a faster exit from the park for spectators and buses.  Please inform your families and bus driver to only make a right turn at Blue Lake Road when exiting.  Blue Lake Road will take vehicles to I-84. Buses and cars that make a left turn will slow down the exit.

Reminders:

• We will distribute apparel once the order is completed and delivered.

• Please make sure to be taking care of business in the classroom.  

• The little things this time of year can make a big difference with performance and health.  Please be sure to manage sleep, recovery and nutrition.

• Just a reminder that our attitudes are contagious, so please be sure yours is the type that we want to have spread.  How do you talk around teammates when things get challenging?  Are you saying and doing things to bring others up?  Great things are ahead for us if we keep supporting one another!

Monday (9/16): This will be our most challenging workout of the week.  Athletes, please make sure you are prepared for the workout by eating well, staying hydrated, and being mentally prepared.

Saturday (9/21): Northwest Classic.  The bus will depart at 9:25am.  This is an important meet as both the boys and girls teams will be facing some top competition that they don't normally get to see during the regular season such as The Dalles, Crook County , and Klamath Union.  More meet information such as the meet schedule can be found at athletic.net.  Our athletes will be running in the varsity 1A-4A and in the JV open races.

Some notes for the week:

• The apparel order was submitted last week and we will distribute items when they arrive.  We are hoping for about a two week turn around.

• Just a reminder that practices the day before meets will wrap up a little earlier. Two meets in five days is not ideal, so we will be adjusting to give athletes the best opportunity to be successful this week.  We will have 10 days after our Wednesday meet to prepare for the Northwest Classic on September 21st.  

• There continues to be a lot of shifting with the lineup for the varsity boys and there are still a lot of meets left.  One meet does not determine the final lineup.  We are watching to see who can consistently make good choices, follow directions, compete hard no matter how "fast" the course is, and ultimately help to put the team in the best position to be successful at the state championship.  Of the 54 boys from the Sky-Em league that have raced a 5k so far this season Cottage Grove holds 10 of the 19 top spots in the rankings.  The boys are doing a great job at all levels!

• If Coach Tucker is able to take pictures at our meets they will usually be uploaded within a day or two and can be accessed using the 2024 XC pictures link in the quick links section above.  The access code is GoLions24  Thank you for understanding that Coach Tucker is a coach first and he takes pictures as he is able to.  This means that there won't always be pictures of every race or every athlete.  We are fortunate to have him on staff!

Monday (9/9):  This is a quick turnaround for a Wednesday meet, so the workout on Monday will be moderate.  

Tuesday (9/10):  Practice will be shorter today and we will wrap up around 5pm.

Wednesday (9/11):  Country Fair Classic.  The bus will depart at 1:30pm, so athletes will not miss any class time.  It looks like it could be wet, so athletes and spectators should prepare adequately for the conditions.  Race details may be found at athlteic.net (linked above) in the Country Fair Classic meet info section.  We will not be stopping to eat on the way home, so athletes should plan to pack food.

Thursday/Friday (9/12-13):  Normal practices

Saturday (9/14):  No meet or practice, but athletes will be encouraged to meet up in groups and get in a long run.  The seven day training cycle doesn't always cater to a hard workout, long run, and a race.  Having 10 days between races allows us to get in a valuable long run on this day.  We will talk with athletes about what this should look like for them.

The Opener Recap:  It was a fantastic first meet for the team on Friday!  While our training isn't specific for the 3k, there were still 14 of our athletes that set personal bests at the distance.    Here are a few highlights from the meet:

PHOTOS ARE POSTED FROM THE MEET! Use the 2024 XC Pictures link above and use GoLions24 to access the albums.

• Carter placed third behind two of the top 5A runners in the state with a blistering time of 8:43, and Ella ran a personal best of 11:35 to finish 11th for the girls.

• The girls varsity team finished 5th and the boys took 6th. 

• For the first time in six years Cottage Grove fielded a JV girls team and the group placed 2nd.  The JV boys squad was 5th place, but they were the top 4A team in the meet.

Here is what we have coming up this week:

Due to the office being closed last Friday, the due date for apparel orders has been extended to Tuesday(9/3).  If you wish to order please make sure to have forms and money turned in by practice time.  You may access and print a copy HERE.  The completed form with payment should be returned to Mrs. Twyman in the main office by the order deadline.

Practice time is 3:45 to 5:30 unless otherwise specified.  

Monday (9/2): No practice, but athletes should get in a steady run on their own.

Tuesday (9/3): This will be our most challenging workout of the week, so athletes should be prepared.

Wednesday (9/4):  Pictures at 2pm (packets will be handed out on Tuesday).  We will practice immediately following pictures and will be finished by 4pm.  This is also the first day of school for 9th grade students.

Thursday (9/5):  First day of school for the entire student body.  This week is one of the "danger zone" weeks for student athletes as there is a lot of adjustment taking place.  Please be mindful of taking care of sleep, nutrition, and recovery as we all make this transition.  Workouts will be adjusted this week to help keep athletes safe and healthy.

Friday (9/6):  Just a reminder that this is the deadline to pay any unresolved sport fees.  There is a $25 late fee after this date.  Please contact Mrs. Twyman in the main office if you have questions about this.

Saturday (9/7):  The Ultimook Race  This is our longest trip and one of the favorites for the athletes.  The bus will depart at 5:15AM.  This is a unique event and logistics can be tricky, so some of the information from the meet info section on athletic.net has been pasted below.  

Parking:  Here is a parking  map.  Parking this year will be offsite, located about a ½ mile before The Hydrangea Ranch.  Please be aware of the signs indicating “Ultimook Parking.”  All spectators will need to park in the parking area.   Buses, though, can proceed past the parking area, drop off their athletes at The Hydrangea Ranch in the “drop off zone,” turn around, and then go back to the parking area.  Continual shuttle buses will be in motion shuttling people back and forth.  You will not be able to miss this parking area as there will be plenty of signs and the pink Volkswagen bug and yellow school bus in the middle of the cow pasture will give it away.  Please notify parents to look for parking signs.  Only handicapped marked vehicles will be able to part on The Hydrangea Ranch, all others will be turned back to the parking area.  The drop off zone is a short walk from the pavilion.  

Farm Admission:  It will cost $8.00 per adult to enter the farm and $4.00 for students.  Please inform your parents so they are not surprised when they try entering the farm.

Directions to The Hydrangea Ranch:  The Hydrangea Ranch is located at Oregon Coastal Flowers, 9455 Kilchis River Rd., Tillamook, OR 97141.  Take Alderbrook Road off of Hwy 101, ¾ of mile North of the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Go one mile and you will come to a “T”.  Take a right onto Kilchis River Rd.  Go 2 miles and stop at “drop off zone.”   Follow signs for parking area and then take the shuttle or walk 650 meters to The Hydrangea Ranch.  Click Here to get directions online.

Important note when leaving The Hydrangea Ranch:  When heading home, the vast majority of busses will be heading South on Hwy 101.  With heavy weekend tourist traffic, it can be very difficult to pull out onto Hwy 101 from Alderbrook Rd using the same exit that you came in on.  In order to avoid traffic backup problems, we encourage some of you to consider staying straight at the “T” at the intersection of Alderbrook Rd. which would provide you with an easier access to Hwy 101, just about ½ North of the other entrance/exit.  Click here for Exit Map.

Race times for CG athletes:

10:45 AM JV Boys 5k, 1A – 4A

11:30 AM Varsity Girls, 1A – 4A

12:15 PM Varsity Boys 5k, 1A – 4A

1:00 PM Novice Race 3k (Boys & Girls), all divisions (1A-6A), 3k (Our JV girls will be running in this race).

UPDATE:  RACE TIMES FOR FRIDAY HAVE BEEN UPDATED AS OF 8/28 DUE TO CONERNS ABOUT HEAT.  PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ATHLETIC.NET DID NOT MATCH THE UPDATED RACE TIMES AT THE TIME THIS WAS POSTED, BUT BELOW IS THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WILL PUSH OUR DEPARTURE TIME TO 3PM:

3PM - DEPART FROM SCHOOL

6:30PM - JV GIRLS

6:50PM - JV BOYS

7:10PM - VARSITY GIRLS

7:30PM - VARSITY BOYS

Thanks to everyone that attended Meet the Lions last Friday.  Our team battled to come from behind and tie the football team for the win.  The football team may have taken this win with the tiebreaker, but we have more important trophies in our future this season.  Some of you were trying to be in several places at once during the evening, so I've linked the presentations slides HERE in case you missed the parent meeting portion.  We're excited for our first meet of the season.  Here are the important details for the week:

Monday (8/26) - Thursday (8/29):  Practice times switch to "normal" time this week (3:45pm - 5:30pm).  Monday will be our most challenging practice this week as we prepare for our first meet.  Athletes, please prepare accordingly.

Friday (8/30): The Opener at Western Oregon University.  The bus will depart at 3PM (UPDATED) from the front of the school.  Just a reminder that we always depart from the school ON TIME and will leave whether we have everyone or not.  Race times have been updated due to heat concerns as of 8/28, so times may not match on athletic.net.  Please see schedule above. and we will inform kids early this week which race they will be running in.  Our 9th graders will pick up where they left off as we race on the same WOU course that hosts the middle school championship.  This race distance will only be a 3k as opposed to the 5k distance that we will race most of the season.  The meet will feature both 4A defending state championship teams (Philomath girls and Newport boys) as well as top 4A and 5A individual talent (Ty Cirino of Central - 5th place in the 5A state championship race last year).  It will be an exciting way to kick off the season!

Also Friday (8/30): APPAREL FORMS DUE if you wish to order.  Printed copies are available at practice or you may access and print a copy HERE.  The completed form with payment should be returned to Mrs. Twyman in the main office by the order deadline.

Upcoming Dates:

(9/4): Team pictures at 2pm and we will practice immediately after with practice ending at 4pm.  This is also the first day of school for 9th graders.

(9/5): First full day of school for all students.

(9/7): Ultimook Race