The Summit girls cross country team won the 5A state championship Saturday, Nov. 8, at Lane Community College in Eugene, earning the program’s 16th title in 17 years.
The girls placed five runners in the top 15 and finished with 51 points. The boys team placed second overall with 48 points, one of their strongest results in recent years.
Summit senior Sophie Capozzi led the team with a third-place finish, followed by Eva Dicharry in seventh, Skye Knox in 13th, freshman Kloey Drewsen in 15th and sophomore Abigail Carpenter in 16th.
“I could not be more proud of the athletes at every level. They bought in early, committed to consistent training and have worked extremely hard,” head coach Kari Strang said. “The collective lift of the program as a whole has been outstanding.”
Summit entered this season looking to rebound from last year’s state championship loss, which ended the program’s 15-year streak. The Storm finished second behind Crater at the 2024 OSAA 5A meet.
“While last year’s loss took a large emotional toll on me, it always inspired me to come back stronger and help the girls team prove how dominant we truly are in the state of Oregon, ” said Capozzi. This year, the team leaned on long-standing traditions, such as writing letters to one another and exchanging gifts.
On the boys side, junior Bjorn Blankenship described how the team approached the state meet with confidence, leading to their second place finish.
“We came to state with the absolute intention to win, but cross country is a sport where anything can happen on any given day,” said Blankenship. He also emphasized that the team was “by no means disappointed with a second-place finish… We were a mere nine points off Crater, the winning team.”
Blankenship added that depth of the team played a major role in the boys’ success this fall.
“It was not just the top runners that led to our team success this year, but the fifth through 10th runners pushing each other and contending for varsity positions, filling in when needed.”
As the season progressed, Strang said the boys team has shown significant growth. She noted that several athletes committed early to training and helped set a higher standard for the rest of the group, creating a competitive environment that lifted the entire group. Their progress this year, she explained, reflects not only improved fitness and experience, but also a cultural shift toward focus and consistency.
With many strong underclassmen on both sides, Summit enters next season with strong momentum and the goal of continuing its dominance in the 5A classification.
