JOHN DAY — The Seventh Street Sports Complex became a cross country race course for the second week in a row on Friday, Oct. 29, as Grant Union’s cross country team hosted the 3A/2A/1A-Special District State Championship.

The boys’ team finished third overall with 101 points behind Heppner, which finished second with 55 points, and Union, which won the meet with 27.

Prospectors cross country coach Sonna Smith told the Eagle that the boys’ team did a great job closing the gap from a 100-point spread to 50 points between them and Heppner.

“That was a monumental feat in itself,” she said.

She said no Grant Union runners qualified for the state tourney this year. According to Smith, the Oregon School Activities Association changed its process from last season. This year, only the district’s first- and second-place 2A teams meet qualified for the state championships, with no wild cards.

Nonetheless, she said, five of the seven runners on the Grant Union boys squad set personal records in Friday’s race.

According to Smith, juniors Brady Dole and Quinn Larson cut 30 seconds off their times and sophomore Landon Boyd cut a minute off his previous best.

“Our top three runners set the pace for the entire team,” Smith said.

Leading the pack for the boys were Dole, who ran in 11th place in 17:35, and Larson, who finished 21st in 18:28.

Landon Boyd came in 31st with a time of 20:07, while junior Max Bailey took 40th in 20:48. Not far behind was sophomore Skylor Boyd, who finished 45th in 21:05, while freshman Logan Randleas followed to take 46th in 21:20 and freshman Reid Dole finished 50th, clocking a time of 22:09.

While the girls did not have enough runners to compete as a team, Smith noted that sophomore Aliciana Archibald ran her second-best time ever for the first time in her high school career. Meanwhile, freshman standout Maddie Bailey was close behind with another great time.

Archibald placed 29th out of 62 runners in 23:41, while Bailey finished 32nd in 24:05 and senior Katelyn Hughes, who set a season record, came in 34th in 24:20. Smith noted that Hughes shaved an entire minute off her time in last week’s race.

Smith said the Prospectors have the entire boys’ squad returning next season, while Bailey and Archibald would be heading up the girls’ team.

Smith thanked the John Day-Canyon City Parks and Recreation District and the volunteers who braved the rain to make the district meet a success.