Siuslaw senior Rylee Colton captured the individual title Thursday to lead the Lady Vikings charge back to the 4A state cross country championships.

Colton finished the 5,000-meter course at Lane Community College in Eugene in 19 minutes, 30.7 seconds. Marist senior Jennifer Tsai, racing side-by-side with Colton from start to finish, was less than a second back at 19:31.5.

Marist won the team title with 25 points, with Siuslaw second with 37. 

Cottage Grove scored 80 and Junction City 91. Elmira and Marshfield did not have enough runners to comprise a five-athlete team.

Thirty-one of 33 runners to start the race finished it.

Siuslaw and Marist will represent the Sky-Em League at the Oregon School Activities Association Class 4A championship Saturday, Nov. 6, on the same LCC course.

Elmira junior Emilie Nelson was third overall and goes to state as an individual qualifier.

Corduroy Holbrook was the second Siuslaw runner to finish, seventh in 21:19.4. Jane Lacouture was ninth in 22:18.4.

Siuslaw's three freshmen followed the two sophomores, Maya Wells 10th in 22:18.6, Macy McNeill 15th in 22:36.3 and Addison McNeill 16th in 22:54.9.

Colton, Holbrook and Lacouture were on last spring's five-athlete team that won the 2020 state championship.

MARIST, SIUSLAW 1-2 IN FINAL POLL

Marist was No. 1 and Siuslaw No. 2 in the final OSAAtoday coaches poll released Thursday.

No. 3 was Philomath, followed by Valley Catholic, Klamath Union, Phoenix, La Grande, Baker/Powder Valley, Tillamook and Stayton.