Ethan Hosang showed no signs of rust in his first cross country race in months, as he pulled away from Summit High School’s Mason Kissell over the final mile to win the five-team meet hosted by the Storm at Pine Nursery Park on Friday, March 12.

Hosang, a senior, toured the 5,000-meter course in 16:26.28 and looked comfortable and in control, according to Head Coach Josh Nordell.

“Ethan’s training over the winter and his experience really showed today,” said Nordell.

After running side-by-side with Kissell through most of the first two miles, Hosang made a bit of a push and slowly pulled away from Kissell, ultimately winning by over 16 seconds.

Sam May (18:26), Max Palanuk (19:36), Hayden Roth (19:43), Vicente Rebolledo (20:26), Cole Jarvis (20:44), Kaleb Briggs (20:45) finished as the top seven for the Outlaws.

Summit won the meet with 23 points, followed by Mountain View (57), Sisters (67), La?Pine (94), and Madras (inc).

Fellow seniors John Peckham and Will Thorsett, who, with Hosang, normally fill the top varsity spots, are injured. They hope to return to action soon, according to Nordell.

Ella Thorsett placed fifth for the girls’ team in 19:20, amid a flock of Summit runners who took nine of the top 10 places in the race. Teaghan Knox ran away with the individual title in a time of 18:41.

“Ella had a solid run,” said Nordell. “I am pleased with her effort.”

Senior Pearl Gregg ran a personal best, as she clocked 21:39 on the fairly slow grass and dirt course that featured a multitude of turns.

“Pearl’s effort was particularly impressive, considering she just started running again this week after dealing with an injury,” said Nordell. “Hard work pays off.”

Two juniors gave Nordell further reason to smile. Junior Brooklyn Liddell completed her first cross-country race as the team’s third finisher in 22:49 and Sasha Stoltasz finished seconds later in 23:04, which was nearly two minutes faster than her previous best.

Dulce Dunham, Josie Berg, and Raven Miller also competed for the Outlaws.

“These girls are becoming a team all of a sudden,” Nordell said.

Summit won the team title with a near-perfect 16 points, followed by Sisters (61) and Mountain View (63). La Pine and Madras did not have complete teams.

The Outlaws host a meet at Black Butte Ranch on Thursday, March 18 featuring teams from Bend High, La Pine, Trinity Lutheran, Mountain View, and Summit.