By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SILVER FALLS, Ore.– There was a sense of redemption for Woodburn’s David Villanueva Cortes as he crossed the finish line at the 23rd annual Silver Falls Oktoberfest Invitational on Wednesday afternoon.
Two years ago, as a sophomore, he finished 20th in the race and was driven to do better as a senior in the event.
Coming off of breaking the school record at the Marist Invite a few days ago, Villanueva Cortes paced himself before slowly pulling ahead. His lead coming down the stretch, was sizable, and it didn’t diminish as he would win the race with a time of 16:08.2, 19 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher in Crook County’s Kannon Whitling.
Even the hill, known as the ‘Monster Hill’, didn’t slow down the senior Bulldog runner.
“Today, I had to follow someone from the pack and beat them because that hill is the hardest part mentally, ” said Villanueva Cortes. “I had to keep the noise down, I had to push mentally. I was tired, and I had to push more.
“(Winning) is a blessing. Two years ago, I got 20th-place here, and I wanted to win it for my follow friends, and I did it.”
Molalla won the team award with 65 team points with Crook County second. Locally, Delphian’s Boston Brown finished tenth, Silverton’s Carter Bielemeier finished 14th, and Kennedy’s Bohden Sowa finished 17th.
Girls Race
In the Girls Race at the Silver Falls Oktoberfest Invitational on Wednesday, the Dallas duo of Kelsey Rodli and Amber Green went one-two in the race.
The senior-junior duo built their lead starting from the mile-and-a-half marker with the two side-by-side coming down to the final half-mile or so before Rodii pulled away for the victory with a time of 19:05.2. The duo, even in a race, kept pushing themselves as they do during practice.
“Mile 1, I was telling Amber to get up and pushing the girl that was with us and I think we passed them at a mile-and-a-half and then it wad just us and we kept pushing each other,” said Rodii. “I’m used to it in practice, so it was like another day in practice. “
“It’s huge, I think she did amazing,” adds Green. “(The race) was hard , we just had to stay mentally strong and push through it.”
The Dragons won the event with 41 team points, a full 31 points of second-place Molalla with three Dallas runners finishing in the Top 10 with Avery Hoffman finishing seventh. Jozie Pierce finished 11th for the Dragons.
Locally, Silverton’s Katelyn Buchnoff finished with a PR time of 20:21.6. Scio’s Aniyah Klindtworth finished 21st, and Santiam’s Absyde Bilyeu finished 23rd. Blanchet’s Gabby VaVerka finished 29th.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
