State titles this spring are not pie in the sky for the Siuslaw boys and girls cross country teams.

Nor is next week's Sky-Em League championships much more than a cake walk for the unbeaten Vikings.

But first, there is the Run for the Brownies, set for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at the Florence Golf Links.

"Cross country is all about off-season preparation, and we have certainly prepared," Siuslaw coach Chris Johnson said.

"The kids we have have been at it longer than I expect most programs have been."

Four teams will suit up for the 3,000-meter run for the brownies, which this year likely will be store bought.

Bandon, North Bend and Reedsport will join Siuslaw for the unusual run, which features a mixing of rosters, with an attempt to balance the competition.

Teams will be equally divided, and scoring will go as deep as possible. If each team has 10 runners, all 10 will score.

Teams will choose their own team name, and the winning team will share a plate of brownies.

Vikings sophomore Samuel Ulrich finished second as a freshman and is the top returning competitor. Siuslaw's Brendon Jensen won for the third year in a row as a senior in fall 2019.

Siuslaw senior Brea Blankenship is the top returning female runner. The Lady Vikings' Hannah Rannow, now a freshman on the Oregon State team, won for the third year in a row as a senior in fall 2019.

The run is a warmup for next week's Sky-Em League championships — 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Marist Catholic in Eugene.

The Vikings boys and girls easily won a league meet last Saturday on the same course, and are expected to qualify both teams for the 4A state championships April 10 in Tillamook.

The most-recent athletic.net hypothetical state meet has the Siuslaw boys winning with 66 points, followed by Hidden Valley with 77 and Philomath with 116.

The Siuslaw girls, who have only five runners, the minimum to score as a team, are big favorites, scoring a projected 90 points to 118 by Baker and 129 by Klamath Union.

"It's been a rough year for a lot of programs," Johnson cautioned. "There are some programs out there that will present a challenge by the time we get to the state meet, should we qualify."

But first things first. Before the cake and the pie, there be brownies.