Set in the scenic Pacific Northwest and benefiting from ideal climate and running conditions, the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) boys and girls state cross country championships rank among the nation’s very best.

Since 1949, the OSAA has crowned champions on the boys side, while the girls have competed for state titles since 1974.

The 2014 OSAA state championships for both genders will be held November 1 at Lane Community College in Eugene. Titles will be conferred in three enrollment classifications: Class 6A (largest class), Class 5A, Class 4A, and Classes 3A/2A/1A. Both genders will run the 5,000-meter course.

On the boys side, just one 2013 individual state champion will return this autumn to defend his title – senior Matthew Maton of Summit in Class 5A, who toured the course in 14:59 last year. Maton’s time was the fastest of the winning performances in all four enrollment classes.

On the girls side, two juniors will seek to defend their state titles. Ella Donaghu of Grant hopes to repeat in Class 6A, while Summit’s Hannah Gindlesperger aspires back-to-back titles in Class 5A. Gindlesperger turned in the fastest winning time in 2013, with a 17:53 performance.

In terms of boys team state champions, Summit will vie for its fourth consecutive title in Class 5A, while Central Catholic will vie for its third in a row in Class 6A. In Class 4A, La Salle Prep will seek the repeat, while Valley Catholic has similar aspirations in Classes 3A/2A/1A.

Among the girls squads, Summit will shoot for its seventh in a row in Class 5A, while Union/Cove seeks its third consecutive in Classes 3A/2A/1A. Sunset hopes to repeat in Class 6A, while Molalla desires the same outcome in Class 4A.

Since its inception, the boys state tournament has called four different courses home. From 1949 to 1957, the meet was held at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. It then moved for two years (1958 and 1959) to Wilson High School in Portland. For the next 10 years, Salem’s Willamette University hosted the meet. However, since 1970, Eugene’s Lane Community College has been the meet site.

In contrast to the well-traveled boys, the girls state meet has always been held at Lane Community College.

According to OSAA Assistant Executive Director Brad Garrett, who administers the sports of cross country and track, there are many aspects of the OSAA state cross country meet that make it such a special event for everyone involved.

“The cross country community in the state of Oregon - as well as our staff - annually look forward to that first Saturday in November when we conduct the state meet,” Garrett began. “It kicks off the OSAA fall sports championships season. What makes it special is the mixture of having nearly 200 schools represented, the fall colors in the air, and it’s held in Eugene, which is ‘Track Town USA.’ It has to be one of the top events in the country.

“It’s doubtful that many states in the nation have held their event in the same venue as long as ours. It started at Lane Community College in 1970, so it’s had 44 years continuous running at one venue. Certainly, our partnership with LCC and any number of people who have headed the LCC program over that time have made it a very special event for our kids.”

Over the years, many great runners have graced both the boys and girls state cross country meets – and many with multiple state titles to credit.

On the boys side, the name that perhaps most quickly jumps out is that of the legendary Steve Prefontaine of Marshfield High School in Coos Bay. Although he won “only” two state titles (Class A-1 in 1968 and 1969), Pre’s mark on distance running in Oregon and in the nation was both incomparable and indelible.

As a junior, Pre ran the 2.5-mile state cross country meet course in 12:13.8 to claim top honors, while the following year he shaved an impressive 43.8 seconds off his time to finish in 11:30. That time stands as the best winning time in the 11 years the OSAA used the 2.5-mile course in its state meet.

As a senior in 1969, Pre set the national boys track record of 8:41.50 in the two-mile run – a mark that stands today. He went on to become a star distance runner at the University of Oregon and was a member of the United States Olympic team that competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. However, in May 1975, a tragic fatal automobile accident in Eugene, Oregon prematurely ended Pre’s exemplary distance running career. In 2000, Pre was inducted into the NFHS’ National High School Hall of Fame.

Bill McChesney

The Oregon male runner who came closest to matching Pre’s 11:30 2.5-mile time in the state cross country meet was Billy McChesney of South Eugene. A three-time Class AAA state champion (1974, 1975 and 1976), McChesney ran an 11:38.0 as a sophomore in 1974. During his stellar distance-running career, McChesney helped lead South Eugene to eight consecutive team titles (four cross country and four track and field).

The state’s lone four-time boys cross country state champion is Billy Harper, who accomplished that amazing feat from 1992 to 1995 as a Class 3A runner for Junction City. According to Garrett, “Harper was ‘lightning’ and was also a great track athlete.” Harper was a three-time champion in the 1,500-meter run and a four-time champ in the 3,000-meter run.

In the New Millennium, nobody has been more dominant than Portland Central Catholic’s Galen Rupp, who won OSAA Class 4A state cross country titles in 2002 and 2003. Interestingly, his winning times on the 5,000-meter course were nearly identical (14:.56 in 2002 and 14:55 in 2003).

The crowd at the OSAA state meet, where Galen Rupp (right) excelled.

Rupp, who is now 28, is considered to be America’s premier distance runner. A standout distance runner at the University of Oregon, Rupp is the current American record-holder in the 10,000 meter run (26:44.36), and won the silver medal in the 10,000 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

On the girls side, two runners competing in different decades for Glendale High School both claimed three OSAA state titles.

From 1978 to 1980, Rosa Guiterrez won three consecutive Class A/B 3,000-meter course state titles, with her best time of 10:50.7.

Eleven years later, Iris Cripps won her first of three state titles for Glendale with a time of 11:14.1 on a 3,000-meter course. As a junior in 1992 she ran the same course in 11:26.7, and then ran a 19.17.7 as a senior in 1993 on a 5,000-meter course.

In more recent history, Annamarie Maag of Portland Jesuit won three consecutive OSAA Class 6A (largest enrollment classification) 5,000-meter course state titles from 2008 to 2010, with her best time of 18:11 occurring during her senior year.

This fall, Maag is a senior at Georgetown University, where she earned All-Big East Conference honors by placing 10^th at the 2012 Big East Cross Country Championships. As a freshman in 2011, she helped lead Georgetown to the NCAA Division I women’s cross country national championship. Maag has also been a standout runner on the Hoyas track team, with PRs of 16:36.16 in the 5,000-meter run and 35:38.01 in the 10,000-meter run.

Annamarie Maag

Among fervent Oregon high school cross country enthusiasts, the names of two coaches quickly come to mind when seeking to identify the best to have coached the sport.

That elite pair includes Bob Latham of Bend High School and Tom Rothenberger of Portland Jesuit.

The now-retired Latham led the Bend program to consistent success as he coached it to seven state championships (1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998 and 2001), and to runner-up finishes six times during that timeframe. After leading Palos Verdes (California) High School to great success from 1972 to 1979, including the 1978 California Interscholastic Federation state title, Latham moved north to Bend. He currently is a head USATF official for distance running.

Bob Latham

Rothenberger, who is in his 33rd season coaching the Crusaders cross country program, has led the Jesuit girls to 12 cross country state titles, including nine consecutive from 2002 to 2010. His boys teams have produced four first-place trophies, including three years (2002, 2004 and 2008) when the Crusaders swept the boys and girls titles. Rothernberger was chosen 2014 USA Track and Field Oregon Coach of the Year.