<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=23tVYK_0vjkVW3U00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23tVYK_0vjkVW3U00" width="1280" height="983" ><figcaption>Cassidy Smart and Jacoby Babcock had winning rides last weekend at the Cascade Challenge mountain bike event on Mount Bachelor. (Photo provided by Amber King)</figcaption></figure>Philomath High’s Jacoby Babcock and Cassidy Smart celebrated a victory last weekend as part of the Corvallis Composite Mountain Bike Team’s performance in a meet near Bend. Babcock and Smart, both freshmen, won their races to help the team win its division at the Cascade Challenge on Mount Bachelor. The Corvallis team, a member of the Oregon Interscholastic Cycling League, is made up of high school and middle school students that participate in competitive races around the state. The league is split up into north and south conferences — Corvallis competes in the south. The OICL was organized in 2017 with principles that revolve around fun, inclusivity, equity, respect and community. A series of multi-lap trail races take place during the fall. Points are awarded based on where riders finish in the race. Teams have been organized all over the state. In addition to the Corvallis team, in this general region there are also teams in Newport, Eugene and Salem. Two races remain in the season with the Corvallis Composite Mountain Bike Team competing at the Newport Gnarnia on Oct. 6 and at the Oregon League State Championships Oct. 20 at Prineville. <h2>PHS needs dance coach</h2>Philomath High School is advertising for a varsity dance head coach. Applications are being accepted through the end of this week. Stefanie Larson had been the head coach of the Shining Stars for the past two seasons. Lori Haslam was the coach for 17 years and left the position to serve as a coach with the Oregon State University dance team. Philomath’s dance and drill program has been among the better ones in Class 4A through the years. The best years for the Shining Stars from a state championships perspective occurred back in the 1990s. The team won state titles in 1995 and 1996 with Terry Garvin as the head coach. Earlier this year, Garvin was inducted into the PHS Hall of Fame. <h2>Elite meet coming up</h2>Philomath High School’s girls and boys varsity cross-country teams will be at Blue Lake State Park in Fairview Saturday morning to compete in the Nike Portland meet. The varsity girls will race right away at 8 a.m. with the varsity boys competing a little later at 9:10 a.m. Individually, senior Adele Beckstead will run in the Jim Danner Championship girls race at 9:30 a.m. This meet is a prestigious event with 138 schools from all around the Pacific Northwest competing. The day will include 19 races in several divisions at all levels. The event was founded by Danner, Aloha’s cross-country coach, in 1980. He lost a battle to cancer in 1989. Years later, another Aloha coach, Tim Tank, took the meet to the next level by securing Nike’s support. Tank died earlier this year. Organizers are dedicating this year’s event to both coaches. Plaques will be awarded to the top five teams in all varsity races and medals will go to the top 50 individuals in all varsity and JV races. (Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).</div></body>

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Warrior Watch: Mountain bike racing, dance coach and prestigious meet

Philomath High’s Jacoby Babcock and Cassidy Smart celebrated a victory last weekend as part of the Corvallis Composite Mountain Bike Team’s performance in a meet near Bend. Babcock and Smart, both freshmen, won their races to help the team win its division at the Cascade Challenge on Mount...