Cross country runners around Oregon have their calendars marked for November 5 because that is the day they hope to be at Lane Community College in Eugene for the OSAA State Cross Country Championships.

The Sisters Outlaws got an early season look at the running landscape at Lane Community College at last Thursday’s Thurston Invitational.

Coach Charlie Kanzig scheduled the meet simply to give all of his runners a chance to experience the course and become more familiar with the terrain in the hope that they will be running there again in the future.

“A lot of kids come to the state meet and have no idea what the course is like, which only adds to their level of anxiety,” he said. “I want the kids to be able to check that worry off their list.”

The meet included a total of 16 teams, mostly 4A teams from around the Eugene-Springfield area and up the Willamette Valley, which provided the Outlaws a chance to get into race mode without the pressure of comparing themselves to other league schools.

“Nearly half of our team was in its first high school race, so it was good to be outside the league and just be able to get through the day and learn what race days are like,” said Kanzig.

The Outlaws girls varsity team, lead by Jena Rickards’ 16th-place finish, placed fifth in the team race with 151 points. Sunset High School won the meet with 45 points. Other varsity finishers included Kaitlin McAlister (30th), Ryanne Conrads (52nd), Chelseas Addison (56th), and Erin Kanzig (58th).

The remainder of the girls enjoyed a 3,000-meter junior varsity race in which the team finished a solid fourth with 115 points. Freshmen Courtney Johnson (12th ) and Deirdre Kelleher (15th ) were the top two finishers for the Outlaws.

The boys suffered a setback in the varsity race as senior Jeff O’Brien went down at the mid-way point with a leg injury. The team, finishing with only four runners, was incomplete.

Lucas Glick and Cory Bigelow cruised through the course in 53rd and 59th places respectively among the 91 finishers. Justin Lefor and Kyle Rickards finished 70th and 72nd for the Outlaws.

Benton Urquhart and Daniel Purvis paved the way for a strong finish by the junior varsity boys finishing 6th and 10th respectively. The team finished sixth among 11 complete teams with 141 points.

“The kids all learned something from the meet,” said Kanzig.