Union's Eli Williams runs in the Special District 3 cross-country championships on Friday, Oct 27, 2023, at Community Park in Pendleton. Williams placed second and earned a trip to state.

PENDLETON — The first step in avenging last season’s loss in the state’s cross-country state meet to Knapp was to qualify for this year’s state meet. The Union/Cove boys cross-country team did just that, winning the 2A/1A District 3 race on Friday, Oct. 27, at Pendleton Community Park.

A score of 27 points for the Bobcats resulted in an easy team district victory for Union/Cove, outdistancing second-place Heppner’s score of 68 points. Stanfield/Echo placed third and Imbler finished the day in fourth.

Union/Cove will compete in the state meet led by senior Eli Williams and his second-place showing at the district meet, falling to only Heppner’s Grady Greenwood and placing second with a time of 15 minutes, 58.3 seconds, Williams’ first time under 16 minutes for a race. Just less than one minute back, Union/Cove junior Nathanael O’Reilly finished third at districts with a time of 16:42.

Posting top-10 finishes, Bobcat junior Mason Ritter finished ninth for the day, followed by junior David McDonald in 10th. Ritter finished with a personal best time of 17:52.6 for the day, while McDonald also ran his best personal time of his career, finishing in 17:55.2.

Union/Cove freshman Gavin Pedro will be at Lane Community College for his first time after placing 15th in the district race with a time of 18:07.2, while senior Evan Garlitz will be making his final appearance at state after his 18:14.7 was good enough for 17th in Pendleton.

Imbler junior Adam Gordan will represent the Panthers as an individual. Gordan’s seventh-place showing at the district meet qualifies him as an individual. Gordon, like many at the district competition, ran a personal best time of 17:10.2.

Gordon and the Bobcat team will take on the rest of the state on Nov. 4 with the 2A/1A boys taking the course early at 10 a.m. on the campus of Lane Community College.

Union/Cove girls again run to district title

PENDLETON — The Union/Cove girls cross-country team will have the opportunity to bring home a state championship after winning the 3A/2A/1A District 3 title on Friday, Oct. 27, on the course at Pendleton Community Park.

The Bobcats finished the day 11 points better than Sisters to take the championship, with Union/Cove compiling 56 points compared to the Sisters’ point total of 67. Elgin placed eighth in the competition after scoring 226 points.

Union/Cove was led on the day by sophomore Taylor Weishar and junior Josie Patton. Weishar placed third in the race with a time of 19 minutes, 45.0 seconds, the first time the Bobcat sophomore has run under 20 minutes. Patton placed fourth, also running under 20 minutes for the initial time in her career with a time of 19:47.4.

Joining her Union/Cove teammates on the bus to the state meet for her first time will be freshman Millie Miller after placing 13^th at the district meet with a time of 20:18.6, her first time running under 21 minutes. Fellow freshman Gia Savage will also run in the state meet for the first time after her 20:50.2 finish was good enough for 18^th in the district race and also a personal best time.

Senior Jayda Blackburn will be the elder on the bus to Lane Community College as her time of 21:01.6 at the district meet placed her 21^st in the standings. 

The final two state bound Bobcats are sophomore Angel Shields-Marrs after placing 33^rd and junior Kaci Baxter after a 34^th showing.

The top showing for Elgin was 39^th as Husky senior Charlee Morehead ran for her final high school race.

The Union/Cove girls will race for a state title on Nov. 4 on the campus of Lane Community College with the 3A/2A/1A girls scheduled for 10:35 a.m. start.