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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Man faces federal charges in fire caused by pot extract ... Century-old practice of writing graffiti in Mount Ashland lichen has to stop, forest officials warn ... Firefighters battle fire at Biomass One ... Man faces federal charges in fire caused by pot extract ... Century-old practice of writing graffiti in Mount Ashland lichen has to stop, forest officials warn ... Firefighters battle fire at Biomass One ... CROSS COUNTRY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS Crater's Vail secures state crown Senior leads boys team to second place in Class 5A meet Comment By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 31, 2015 at 7:47 PM Updated Oct 31, 2015 at 11:18 PM By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 31, 2015 at 7:47 PM Updated Oct 31, 2015 at 11:18 PM --> Boys Cross Country RECAP: Walter Vail, a senior, becomes Crater’s first state champion in six years and leads the Comets to second place in the Class 5A state meet. Phoen... » Read more X Boys Cross Country RECAP: Walter Vail, a senior, becomes Crater’s first state champion in six years and leads the Comets to second place in the Class 5A state meet. Phoenix’s boys also place second. » Social News EUGENE — If ever there was a time to be scared, it makes sense it was on Halloween. But Crater senior Walter Vail turned fright into might and cruised to the Class 5A boys cross country state championship Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene. Vail pulled away from a large pack that stayed together for a long while — "It was scary at times," he said — to win his second state title in seven months and lead the Comets to within sniffing distance of the team crown. Vail captured the 5,000-meter race on a course pelted occasionally by rain and against a wind that picked up steam as the day wore on with races in all classifications. His time was 15 minutes, 39 seconds, and it made him the first Comet champion since Josh Elliott claimed the second of back-to-back crowns in 2009. Only two seconds back was Summit's Alex Martin, who was followed one second later by Crater sophomore Andy Monroe, in 15:42. Vail and Monroe had the state's two best 5A times entering the meet. "I knew it was going to be a close race between probably the top five," said Vail, "so it was nice to be able to pull ahead. But it was scary at times." Vail, who began distance running only 1½ years ago, won the 3,000 state championship in track last spring. With him, Monroe and their teammates putting up a valiant effort, there was intrigue before the final team standings were announced. Rival Summit was gunning for its fifth straight title, which would match a feat by Crater from 2006-10. The Comets hoped to be the ones to end the streak. But enough jockeying occurred in the final 300 meters to enable Summit to prevail with 32 points to the Comets' 36. “The result wasn’t what we hoped for,” said Crater coach Justin Loftus, noting that the Comets were winning with 200 meters to go but were victimized by the late surges of others. “It was bittersweet, but it was more sweet than bitter with Walter winning. I think we did all we could. They (Storm) rocked a really good pace and their strategy worked.” The Phoenix boys had a similar result, placing second for the second consecutive year but scoring more points than any other Pirate squad had at state. Phoenix has a handful of runner-up trophies in its history but no titles. Seaside won with 49 points. Phoenix scored 65, eight better than the previous school record of 73, set in 2008. Skyline Conference champion Robbie Vos, a sophomore, led the way in seventh place. Crater gave the powerful Summit program a run, with Derek Tripp, another sophomore, placing fifth in 15:53, and sophomore Erik Olsen (16:32) and freshman Jantz Tostenson (16:33) placing 13th and 14th, respectively. The team's strategy was to stay together "and try to break up as many teams as possible" for a couple miles, said Vail. Then everyone was on their own. "We had really no idea how the race was going to be taken out," said Monroe, "so our main goal was to just stay in a pack, all seven of us at the mile, and adjust accordingly. If it got taken out fast, we'd go with them and grind it out." Instead, the pace was relatively slow, a 5:04 first mile. It resulted in the large group in front for longer than normal and put more people in contention, said Vail. "At that point," said Monroe, "I knew it was going to be a sit-and-kick kind of race." Vail, Martin and Monroe made the turn for the school track, representing the final 300 meters, in that order. At the track, Vail led Martin by 10 meters, and Martin led Monroe by a like distance. "I had a little bit of a lead coming around the corner," said Vail. "It's the same as if you're behind, you try as hard as you can." For him, it meant staying ahead of Martin. For Monroe, it meant trying to catch the Storm runner — especially knowing the team race could be close. "Oh man," said Monroe, "everything just kind of closed out and he's right there. ... With 200 to go it was, 'Let's see if we can get it going.' I gave it everything, but he's a great runner." Phoenix entered the 4A meet penciled in for third, said coach John Cornet. The Pirates had their sights set on Seaside and expected Tillamook, which was third with 78 points, to be right there, too. "We figured if we could reel in one, it would get us closer to the other," said Cornet. Vos ran a strong race and had a powerful finish, clocking 16:35. Seaside's Bradley Rzewnicki triumphed in 16:13. Behind Vos were teammates Jacob Bergren (14th), Leif Amundsen (15th), Nathan Watt (18th) and Parker Cook (20th). "I thought the guys ran really gutsy, ran with a lot of heart," said Cornet. "They all had a good race and ran very aggressively." Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479, or [email protected] By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 31, 2015 at 7:47 PM Updated Oct 31, 2015 at 11:18 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... 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