Updated: Lakeridge, West Linn boys XC solid at Meriwether CC Classic

Pacers’ Luke Loomis 10th, LO’s Leo Cook 13th at Meriwether CC Classic

The boys cross country teams from Lakeridge, West Linn and Lake Oswego were in the mix.

Running in a field of almost 30 teams in the Meriwether CC Classic in Hillsboro on Friday, Sept. 16, the Pacers and Lions both placed among the day’s top six, while the Lakers also finished in the top half of the field.

Lakeridge took fourth overall with 209 points — Central Catholic was first at 71, followed by Sunset’s 95 and Newberg’s 165 — while West Linn placed sixth at 239 and Lake Oswego 16^th at 424.

The complete team scores included: Central Catholic 71, Sunset 95, Newberg 165, Lakeridge 209, Sherwood 221, West Linn 239, McMinnville 269, South Albany 296, Columbia River 333, Tualatin 349, Seton Catholic 364, Marist 370, Union 382, La Salle Prep 405, Knappa 418, Lake Oswego 424, Sprague 437, Roosevelt (OR) 451, Century 456, Oregon Episcopal 464, Ridgefield 499, Astoria 525, Aloha 530, South Salem 554, Skyview 568, Liberty 663, Milwaukie 668, Centennial 870, Westside Christian 911, Banks 923, Hockinson 966, Stayton 1,010, Mountain View, Washington, 1,050.

Senior Luke Loomis led the way for Lakeridge by placing 10th with a finishing time of 15 minutes, 44.0 seconds for the 5-kilometer race. The rest of the Pacers’ top-five finishers were: sophomore Curran Fogarty (23^rd at 16:28.9); senior Walker Godfrey (39^th at 16:55.4); senior Alex Torres (71^st at 17:25.4); and freshman Ta Ohr (74^th at 17:27.8).

“Luke Loomis ran an outstanding race, staying engaged the entire (race)and going under 16 minutes for the first time,” said Lakeridge coach Scott Spear. “Curran made another step as a racer, dipping under 16:30 for the first time (and our other) runners all made steps forward, finishing within 40 seconds of each other.”

For West Linn, senior Sam Sanford raced to 26^th in the field of 288 runners with a time of 16:33.5. The rest of the Lions’ top five included: senior Kogen Brown (30^th at 16:38.8); senior Liam Groah (57^th at 17:13.7); sophomore Russell Daniels (64^th at 17:19.9); and senior Tyler Coke (72^nd at 17:26.0).

“The varsity boys had … breakthrough performances, especially with senior Sam Sanford taking nearly a minute off of his previous PR to be our number one on the day,” said West Linn coach Jay Schrotzberger, adding that Brown set a new PR, while Groah also made a big step forward. “The boys took a huge amount of confidence away from their performance, and they have significantly closed the scoring gap to Lakeridge in a big way.”

Lake Oswego saw its efforts led by junior Leo Cook and his 13^th-place finish at 16:06.2. He was followed across the finish line by: senior Garret Anderson (73^rd at 17:26.8); senior Eli Fayloga (101^st at 17:48.2); sophomore Bryce Looney (124^th at 18:02.2); and senior Logan Carson (137^th at 18:10.7).

“Our boys team is … making big improvements,” said Lake Oswego coach Vince Kinney. “As a team, our boys are way ahead of where we were last year.”