Sports Zone

Bengtson scary good: CG Lions’ top distance runner dominates Scramble

COTTAGE GROVE – Don’t get spooked if you’re a local 4A cross country runner, because the postseason begins on Oct. 31, and Cottage Grove senior Carter Bengtson is putting his game face on. 

Competing on his home course Saturday in the Lions’ annual Bramble Scramble, Bengtson – the defending Class 4A state champion – quickly pulled away from the 26-team field of runners and shaved 20 seconds off his 5K course-record time. He finished in 16:06.0, beating out runner-up Conor Thompson (16:34.4) of Marist by nearly 30 seconds. 

“Carter had been sick the week before and couldn’t run,” Cottage Grove coach Ricky Knutson said. “A lot of teams are not at full strength right now – our boys team had three of our top six guys out. We only ran three girls; only seven schools fielded a full team and ran five runners.

“We don’t normally have meets this late. The Bramble is a little later than usual this season, but it felt more like September. It was really warm, in the 70s.” 

From left to right, Easton Hutchins, Remington Sharkey, Jackson Gifford, Micah Hanke and Braeden Bomar.  CGHS YEARBOOK / PHOTO

Bengtson’s efforts – along with teammate Easton Hutchins’ 14th-place showing – helped Cottage Grove win the Bramble Scramble boys title with 75 points. North Eugene (87) was next, followed by Churchill (91) and Bend (97).

Springfield was competitive in both varsity races, with Adrian Estes (18:16.3) placing ninth, Jeyder Espino Sosa (18:22.8) coming in 11th, and Brylen Sanders (19:08.7) finishing 18th for the boys.

In the girls race, Philomath senior Adele Beckstead rambled to her fourth consecutive Bramble title … but it wasn’t easy. She outsprinted Sweet Home freshman Emma Whitton to the finish line by less than a second, 20:17.4 to 20:18.1. Defending state champion Philomath (33) easily won the team title over Bend (64). 

For the Cottage Grove girls, 15th-place finisher Hailey Fergason led the way, finishing 40 seconds faster than last year with a time of 22:31.6. 

With three top-20 finishers, Springfield (81) placed third in the girls race. Audrey Sommerville (22:31.0) led the Millers in 14th place, followed by Bella Wells (17th, 22:42.6) and Ellen Auxier (19th, 23:00.6).

“It’s nice to get through this meet,” Knutson said. “Our boys are two-time defending district champions. We’re ranked fifth, but a top-four finish at state is the goal ‘’

The Lions girls are ranked 10th.

“We’re just hoping to get healthy,” Knutson said. “We’re trending in the right direction, we hope to be where we want to be for the district meet at LCC on Oct. 31. 

“The three guys we kept out, we’re trying to keep their ‘owies’ from becoming injuries. But the girls are a different story – we don’t have the same kind of depth that we have with the guys. So we keep focusing on the things we can control.” 

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