Our Granddaughter Talli Is Already Number One on Her High School Varsity Cross-Country Team

Our 14-year-old granddaughter Talli, just a Freshman at Newberg High School in Oregon, yesterday completed the girls’ varsity 5,000 meter cross-country run in 20 minutes and 45 seconds at the New Balance Festival of Champions Invitational Meet at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. She’s number 912 in the photo above, taken early in the race, as she jockeyed for position.

Competing against other freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors from over 35 Oregon high schools, she was the first from her school to cross the finish line, making her the number one ranked runner on the Newberg girls VARSITY cross-country team. WOW.

CONGRATULATIONS, Talli. And did I mention that Newberg High is a 6A school (the highest of six State high school athletic categories)? And, in case you’re wondering, 5,000 meters is 3.1 miles. In the pic below, Talli (center) tries to look relaxed just before the race, along with her teammates Emily and Maddie.

She came in 16th in her race. There were far too many runners for a single race, and so there were several heats, all against the clock. Overall, out of 219 varsity runners in the 5,000 meters from all schools, only 41 had a better time than Talli’s. And this was her first high school race.

Needless to say, we’re extremely proud grandparents, and we can’t wait to see her run in person – hopefully in the not too distant future. It’s looking very much like Talli has a fantastic future in high school track and cross-country competition. You go, girl!