La Grande's Brooke Perry runs the girls varsity 5,000 meter race at the Catherine Creek Scramble on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. Perry placed first in the race. 

WALLOWA STATE PARK – As the runners crossed the finish and the team points were tallied, it was the Union boys and the La Grande girls who showed they were the best of the county as teams gathered for the Wallowa County Invitation on Friday, Sept. 15 at the Wallowa State Park.

The Bobcat boys were more than 30 points better than the visitors from Baker as Union scored 44 points while second-place Baker ended the day with 75 points. Wallowa Valley, with 77 points, was third while Imbler and Vale rounded out the top five in the team scoring. The La Grande boys placed sixth with a point total of 145.

Union senior Eli Williams led the Bobcats and all runners, placing first in the race with a time of 16 minutes, 56.6 seconds. Placing seventh and claiming a top 10 finish was Union junior Nathanael O’Reilly and a time of 18:30.4.

La Grande saw one of the youngest runners lead the team with freshman Joseph Simonis taking eighth in the race with a time of 18:44.6. Imbler junior Adam Gordon squeezed in a top 10 finish, crossing the line in ninth with a time of 18:46.1.

Elgin junior Phoenix Taylor-Schultze had the top finish for the Huskies at 50th.

The La Grande girls outdueled the Bobcat girls for the team title, scoring 43 points compared to Union’s 59. The Elgin girls managed a team score of 162 points and finished sixth.

Individually, the Tigers girls claimed four of the top five runners led by sophomore Brooke Perry taking the individual title with a time of 19:53.5 Junior Cecilia Villagomez placed second with a time of 20:28.8 with senior Emily Tubbs in third and Kiah Carlson grabbing fifth.

Imbler saw junior Paiten Braseth in the top 10 with a seventh place showing and a time of 21:49.9 and Union’s top placement was junior Josie Patton in eighth with a time of 21:52.2. Elgin freshman Riley Morehead was top for the Huskies, placing 29th.