I.V. runners hope for district wins
From our weekly issue dated October 28, 2009
This year’s Lady Cougar cross-country team has a good mix of experience and youth with 1st team All-Skyline and Skyline Conference “Runner of the Year” Casey Robertson leading the way.
And the 2009-10 coaching staffers and their team have a good chance to repeat last year’s performance by taking the whole team to state. Sixth-year head coach Bill Yeoman started coaching when his daughters began running and then represented the Cougars at Illinois Valley High School.
“As a team, our goals are to be Skyline and District champs,” said Yeoman.
“Our goals as coaches are to try and help our girls to continually break their personal bests and place in state as high as possible,” proclaimed the Cougar coaching staff. Assistant coach Janie Pope has been around running for more than 30 years, coaching the Cougars from 1988 to 1990; returning when her boy started running.
Pope and Yeoman stated, “We have some first-year runners that lack experience, and this is a very tough conference, one of the toughest in the state 4-A class. But our girls are ready for the challenges that lay ahead.”
Talking to the new runners I saw their determination and commitment level. So I think these Cougars are up to the task, especially if they follow Robertson as leader.
Last year, besides her Skyline honors, Robertson was 9th at state. She was one place out at state to qualify for the “Border Clash,” a prestigious meet for the best runners from Oregon and Washington. Robertson also sets a precedent for her teammates in the classroom with a 3.8 GPA and could increase it by her taking college placement courses.
She plans on attending either Oregon State University or the University of Oregon.
“Running was my hobby, but I soon learned running competitively with a team was where it’s at, so I signed up and have been running since,” said Robertson.
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A team is exactly what they are. They train extremely hard and sometimes run the impossible test to the Lime Stone Caves out Kerby Mainline. They push each other as a team in practice, and since last year, Robertson frequently runs with Erin Byrne to push her over the top to continually break her personal bests.
And last year at District it worked. Byrne dug deep and showed Cougar pride because she had to pass several Phoenix runners to score enough points to secure the team presence at State. End result: the whole team went.
“My fondest memory was my freshman year,” said Robertson, and the bonds I made. We were a bigger team and there was more camaraderie.”
She plans to bring that aspect to this year’s team.
“My goals this year are to go to state as a team again, place 1st at District and hope to have my personal best at State to better my last year’s 9th-place finish so I could be in the top eight and qualify for the Border Clash,” finished Robertson.
Her personal best in the 3.2-mile event is 20:01.
Team members are Robertson, a junior and three-year runner; Erin Byrne, a sophomore in her second year on the team; Hallee Parker and Malerie Whicheloe, juniors in their first years; Heidi Unger, a senior in her first year; and Jasmine Prickett, a senior in her fourth year.
This year’s boys team is lone Cougar Tyler Delaney who is in his first year and decided to take up x-country to stay in shape for wrestling.
When asked jokingly, who is the team to beat, Delaney, who was on top of his game, replied, “Every runner on every team. You see, I have my personal best every meet and eventually have my final PB to place in the top seven at districts in order for me to qualify to go to state.”
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