South Eugene's Yosuke Shibata (283) won by 12 seconds at the Marist Invite on Saturday. (Photo by Katsuyuki Shibata)

One of the fast risers in boys cross country this season is South Eugene sophomore Yosuke Shibata.

Shibata, who took 43rd in the 6A championships as a freshman, has impressed early with wins the Wilsonville Night Meet on Aug. 30 and the Marist Invite on Sept. 7.

At the Night Meet, he clocked 9:06.46 to set the meet record for the sophomore boys race on the 3,000-meter course. At the Marist Invite, he ran the 5,000 in 15:26.3, a one-minute improvement from his performance at the meet last year, when he placed fifth. It's also the best time in the state this season.

“He's learning to be patient,” South Eugene coach Steve Richards said. “He still could learn a bit about sort of sitting on somebody and letting them do some work, but he ran really smart.”

Shibata did not qualify for the state track meet in the spring, finishing fourth in the 3,000 and fifth in the 1,500 at the Southwest Conference meet. But he generated some momentum for the summer when he won the freshman mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals on June. 12.

“People went out super hard and he kind of sat, played his cards right,” Richards said of Shibata, whose finished the mile in 4:20.04.

Richards said that Shibata is mentally and physically mature for a sophomore.

“He's so much fun to coach because he's excited about running,” Richards said. “He reads books and asks me all these coaching theory things and is a real student of it. He's a leader by position, and that sets the tone for everybody.”

Unlike many young runners, Shibata is “super strong,” according to Richards.

“He matured early,” Richards said. “He's sort of an adult. I think he's got a lot of head room. He trains really smart and listens to pacing advice. He's not too hot-headed in races.”

Richards is keeping expectations in check for Shibata, but believes he could crack the top 10 at state. The coach isn't as concerned about Shibata's times as he is about positioning for highly competitive races.

“He needs to be prepared for that kind of race,” Richards said. “I said, 'You're going to be one of those 10 guys, so we need to think about practicing that kind of close, because that's going to be something you need to call on.' It's just, who can jailbreak for the finish. We're working on that right now.”

Running in the state meet as a freshman should serve Shibata well.

“He's got the experience now, and he can start thinking about how to race it,” Richards said.

Shibata will get a better idea of how he stacks up this month in the Meriwether Classic (Sept. 13), Northwest Classic (Sept. 21) and Nike Portland XC (Sept. 28). The Rose City Championship on Oct. 11 also will have a strong field.

After the state meet Nov. 9, Shibata plans to race in the NXR Northwest Regional Championships on Nov. 16.

Richards said Shibata is doing steady mileage for now but will crank up his training as he approaches higher-stakes races.

“We've been trying not to get the fire too hot yet just because it seems like it's a long ways off,” Richards said.

Marist Invite

Shibata's time at the Marist Invite was good enough to win by 12 seconds over Siuslaw senior Clayton Wilson (15:38.32). North Eugene sophomore Ashenafi McKinnis placed a close third (15:40.89).

West Salem won the 15-team meet, scoring 61 points to beat South Eugene (65) and North Eugene (89).

West Salem edged South Eugene 37-38 to win the girls meet, led by the winner, junior Avery Meier (18:24.17), and junior Mia Rasca (19:00.51), who took third. South Eugene senior Elizabeth McCart (18:58.83) was third.

Ultimook Race

Crescent Valley senior Emily Wisniewski, the three-time reigning 5A champion, won the 6A/5A girls division of the Ultimook Race on Saturday at Hydrangea Ranch in Tillamook. Athletes from 125 schools competed.

It marks the third year in a row that Wisniewski has won at Ultimook. She finished in 17:38.59, dominating the runner-up, Daphne Evenson (19:10.63) from Skyview of Vancouver.

Crescent Valley scored 31 to take first place over Camas (Wash.) and Oregon Episcopal, who tied for second place at 91.

Philomath rolled to first place in the 4A/3A/2A/1A division, beating runner-up Cottage Grove 41-104. East Linn Christian senior Daisy Lalonde (19:31.74) and Philomath senior Adele Beckstead (19:55.58) were the top two individuals.

Camas junior Cohen Butler won the 6A/5A boys race, recording a time of 16:12.37 to beat Hood River Valley senior Kai Wagner (16:16.85) and Cleveland junior Kai Jensen (16:17.66). Corvallis (91) edged Cleveland (98) for first place.

In 4A/3A/2A/1A boys, Newport senior Connor Brown (16:28.64) held off Warrenton junior Jayden Warner (16:44.47) for the win. Philomath turned back Newport 110-116 for the team title.

Top time

Lakeridge senior Chloe Huyler recorded the best girls 5,000 time in the state this season Monday. She finished in 17:21.06 to win the Three Rivers League at Clackamas Community College.

Her twin sister, Hannah, was second in 18:13.50. She has the No. 3 time in the state behind her sister and Wisniewski.