By ANNIE FOWLER, The CUJ
HEPPNER – For the second year in a row, Heppner’s Lily Nichols won the Mustang Invite at Thompson Ranch.
Nichols turned in a time of 20 minutes, 52.6 seconds over the 5,000-meter course to help lead Heppner to the girl’s team title with 25 points.
The Dalles was second in the team scoring with 34 points, while Umatilla was third (81) and Riverside fourth (84).
Pilot Rock freshman Hailey Severe finished 11th overall with a personal best time of 25:21.40.
Nixyáawii had three runners on the course, led by Rosaella Salt (21st, 29:43.90). She was followed by Emma Star-Nez (24th, 32:35.70) and Ayanna Star (27th, 35:00.10).
In the boys’ race, Riverside took the top three spots and won the team title with 30 points.
Nixyáawii was a distant second with 81 points, with Umatilla fourth (110), and Pilot Rock seventh (132).
Nathen Hammond won the race with a time of 17:25.30, followed by teammates Ethan Beaty (2nd, 17:44.70) and Eric Pullen (3rd, 18:04.70).
The Golden Eagles were led by sophomore Sun Schimmel, who finished seventh with a season-best time of 18:49.80. Rounding out the scoring for Nixyáawii were Sacas Wildbill (13th, 19:36.60), Noah Piercen (19th, 20:43.20), Weptas Brockie (34th, 22:11.20) and Ellis Ashley (37th, 22:49). Pilot Rock was led by Carter Ford (11th, 19:15.50). He was joined by Lewis Hansen (32nd, 21:53.60), Ayden Hoeft (40th, 22:54.40), Landon Norton (43rd, 23:53.50) and Elisha Sanchez (48th, 25:20.70).
