Oregon Female XC Athletes of the Decade

Oregon Cross Country Female Athletes of the Decade

There were some very fine female athletes to grace Oregon this past decade, although they are a little bit harder to quantify, as fewer of them challenged the nation’s best with the regularity of the guys. The standards remain the same as with the guys with consideration for national competition, duration of career & placement in division with some comparison of times, when relevant. Again Foot Locker ranks well higher than Nike given the level of competition. One only has to look at Texas’ Chelsey Sveinsson, who won in Portland in 2008, & did not bother to go back to defend her victory last fall. She was not injured as the Nike announcer stated: incidentally, she just wanted to concentrate on a national championship.

PHOTO BY: Steve Klotz

Taylor Wallace of Henley stands squarely at the top of the list for she is a two-time state champion as well as a two-time Foot Locker qualifier. In state history only Marie Davis had qualified for Foot Locker three times & Marnie Mason twice prior to Taylor. At the West Regional she placed 7th in 2007 & 9th in 2008. Her record in 2008 is particularly impressive, because she lost a good part of the summer & most of the season due to an Achilles injury, yet by season’s end she placed 20th in the nation. Her time at state her first year was the best in all divisions & she was 2nd overall her senior year as far as time. Her record at Border Clash was stellar as well with placing 2nd in 2007 & winning the race in 2008. Although she has only those two years, they were very special.

PHOTO BY: Leo Collins

Annamarie Maag of Jesuit, like Wallace, has two years of XC experience and in both years she has won the 6A title. Her time in 2008 was second overall behind Wallace but was the best this year. She has led her Jesuit team mates in qualifying for the team championships placing 2nd both years in the regional meet in Boise. In Portland she placed 34th in 2008 & then finished 19th last fall. At Border Clash she has scored as the silver medalist. Sadly with the team situation we’ll never know how’d she fare against the best in the nation.

Meghan Armstrong would seem to get the edge for third best in the decade with a strong four year record. The only knock is that she never claimed a state title. That is due in part to a certain degree because of luck. Although she placed 5th as a freshman, the Tualatin star garnered 2nd three straight years. She just ran into the meteoric one year brilliance of Christy Paul, Erin Gray & Katie Leary in successive years. Meghan improved her time each season going from 19:21 to 18:48 to 18:29 & then finished with an excellent 18:10. Meghan challenged the West’s best at Foot Locker in 2002 & ’03 coming in 24th & 31st. She represented Oregon four times improving each time: 15 - 8 - 5 -3. She also zipped an impressive 18:02 at New Balance, where she defeated Kimber Mattox.

Claire Michel is another, who qualified for state each year. Running for Clackamas from 2003-6 she placed 6th, 2nd & 1st in the old 4A before taking 2nd in 6A as a senior. She was a marvel of consistency running 18:44, 18:42, 18:32 & 18:45. At Border Clash she finished 19th, 39th 3rd & 11th for Oregon. Claire made four attempts at Foot Locker and narrowly missed her junior year, when she placed 11th. Her time of 18:39 was impressive for the Mt. SAC course.

PHOTO BY: Leo Collins

Casey Masterson of Sheldon is listed here yet there is very little separating her from Claire. She too made it to state four times placing 11th, 4th & 5th before winning the 6A championship in 2006 with 18:25. At Border Clash she placed 26th, 12th 18th and then 4th. Casey made only one attempt at Foot Locker but it was a solid effort as she finished 12th with a fine 18:49. That made her the second alternate for the West.

Ilsa Paulson of Sherwood has an excellent three-year record at State. She placed 2nd in 3A in 2004 with the third best time overall at 18:39. Her victorious 3A time of 18:31 was the best of the day & she moved to 5A in 2006 winning that division with 18:54, which was the 5th best time overall. At Border Clash she placed 4th, 23rd & then 6th. At Foot Locker she made two attempts to make nationals placing 31st in 2005 & then was 13th - her 18:50 just two seconds behind Casey Masterson.

Katie Leary made the trip to Eugene three times to represent Klamath Union at the 4A level. She placed 24th (20:01), 14th (19:22) and then as a senior ran 18:03 to win the state title. Although only 20th at Border Clash in 2002 she overwhelmed the competition in 2003. She raced an 18:10 at the Stanford Invitational giving some clue to her overall ability but sadly did not attempt Foot Locker.

Holli Dieu of Coquille had a brilliant four-year career as well competing on the 3A level. Her time of 18:56 was good for 2nd in 2002 & she followed with an 18:55 to take 3rd the next year. Her junior year she won the state title with an 18:18, which was the fastest time of the day. In 2005 she placed 2nd in 18:37, which was the 3rd best time overall. She passed on Border Clash as a senior but placed 12th, 7th & 2nd respectively her first three years.

Christy Paul of Hood River Valley ran three times in the decade from 2000 to 2002. She placed 3rd in 4A in 2000 (19:06) and then zipped the course in 2001 (18:27) to claim the state title. Her 18:44 in 2002 was good for 5th place. At Border Clash she was dependable for Oregon placing 7th all three years.

Erin Gray is on my list in 10th place & was a four-time state qualifier In 2001 she ran 18:51 to earn 4th & then followed with her best year claiming the 4A title with a time of 18:14. Erin placed 7th and then 27th her last two years. She ran Border Clash in 2001-2 taking 3rd & 6th for Oregon. In 2001 she challenged the best in the West at Foot Locker placing 13th overall in a time of 18:51 on the Mt. SAC course. She & Sarah Pearson led South Eugene to the team title in 2001.

Liz Lindgren had the misfortune of racing most of her career in the previous decade but she won the 4A championship in 2000 (she was 2nd incidentally in 1999). The Klamath Union runner had an 18:47, which was the best time of the day. She represented Oregon at the Border Clash placing 4th, which was the same as she had finished the previous year. She challenged at Foot Locker West taking 23rd overall.

Honorable Mention

Alyssa O’ Connor has had as star-crossed a career as any runner and one can only wonder what if? She came on the scene as a freshman running 18:45 to earn 3rd place in 4A. That year she placed 53rd at Foot Locker West. Her sophomore year she seemed poised for a big year & at Adidas it appeared as if she’d break the 18:00 barrier until injury struck her down in one of the worst cross country experiences that anyone has witnessed. She came back as a junior yet was struck down once again. In spite of everything she went through the painful rehabilitation once again to place 3rd at the 5A level in 18:58. Even that final season saw her unable to compete at Border Clash due to a broken foot. Her one time at Border Clash Alyssa placed 5th for the state. Although this is a XC list it should be noted that her track career was excellent.

Kellie Foley is another, who may have well have been near the very top but injury again was a factor. She ran 18:32 to win state at the 5A in 2008. Her time was the third best overall & she added a third place finish in the Border Clash. Injury essentially cost year the 2009 season & we can only hope she is healthy again next year.

Kimber Mattox came on to the scene in 2003 & challenged Meghan Armstrong at New Balance, where she ran 18:10. There was little else to her season for various reasons but in the following year she was a real force & she claimed the 4A title for Bend with a time of 18:19. She took third at Border Clash. One can only wonder what she could have accomplished with four full years of running.

Brianna Anderson-Gregg of Philomath is a runner who was strongly considered for this list. The Philomath runner ran 18:54 to win the 3A title in 2000 but dropped off a bit to 20:14 to place 7th in 2001. Her last two years saw her claim two more state titles with times of 18:49 & 18:33 - the last time was the 4th best at state overall. At Border Clash she placed 22nd & 35th before taking 8th as a senior. She did not compete at Foot Locker.

Danielle Jordan competed at the 3A level for Baker in 2000 & 2001 placing 3rd (19:25) & 2nd (19:05). She competed for North Medford the last two years earning 9th & then 3rd. Her 18:44 her last year was her best time. At Border Clash she placed 26th, 21st, 4th & 5th. She ran 18:51 at Foot Locker in 2003 placing 18th on the challenging Mt. SAC course.

PHOTO BY: Leo Collins

Jennifer Macias of Hermiston is another, who never won a state title but had a very solid four-year career. Competing at the 4A level her first three years she placed 9th (18:53), 3rd (18:55) and 2nd (18:43). She placed 2nd in 2006 at the 5A level with a time of 19:19. Jen was a four time runner at Border Clash placing 51 - 56 - 6 - 38. She also competed at Foot Locker West taking 64th & 53rd.

Ashley Baldovino of Lakeview ran four years at the 3A winning the title in 2006, 2007 & 2009. She placed 2nd in 2008 with a time of 19:23. Her time of 18:51 in 2007 placed her 7th overall. At Border Clash she placed 65th, 44th, 52nd & 76th. She took 49th in 2006, when she won at the Foot Locker West Regional.

Michelle Dettmann of Centennial is another runner, who was strongly considered. She won the state 6A title in 2007, as a senior, with a time of 18:15. In 2004 she placed 13th & in 2005 she was 7th. She failed to make it as a junior. In her three years at Border Clash she finished 23rd, 32nd & 29th.

There are numerous other runners, who were also considered including Kayleigh Tyerman, Hayley Belli, Khalia Tidwell, Alexandra Jones, Michelly Foley, Adrienne McGuirk, Megan Fristoe, Bailey Schutte, Sarah Pearson, Emily McMahon, Annaliese Chapa, Dawn Morgan, Mandi Fitz-Gustafson, Zoe Roy, Natalie Todd-Zebell, Noelle VanRysselberghe, Hayley Oveson, Patricia Loughlin, Megan Hibner & Paris Edwards to name just a few. Special mention should go to Olivia Bender, who not only performed well as a runner (18:32 in 2002 at 4A for 3rd place at State) but then worked as a coach to rebuild the Cleveland program and now competes for Oregon State