Lexy Halladay Wins Again In Oregon; Isaiah Galindo Outlasts Challengers

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

FAIRVIEW, Ore. -- As they rolled over Blue Lake Park on Saturday, they could hear the chorus of encouragement ring out for more than 17 minutes. 

"Go Fiona!" 

"Let's Go Lexy!"

Two of the most popular teen runners in the Northwest – Idaho champion Lexy Halladay and Summit OR standout Fiona Max – put on a show in the Jim Danner Girls Championship race as bright late-summer sun shot through gaps in billowing, rain-laden clouds. 

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Halladay, who won by a wide margin at the Bob Firman Invitational last weekend, got the better of the Oregon 6A champion by four-tenths of a second at Nike Portland XC, 17:30.7 to 17:31.1.

It was the ninth time since the eighth grade that Halladay has won a race in the state of Oregon, including a couple relay wins on the track. Halladay has won at the Portland Track Festival, the Oregon Relays, the Jesuit Twilight Relays and at Nike Portland XC – three times. (She won the middle school race in 2015 and then won her first Jim Danner title in 2017 at Portland Meadows). 

"Fiona's a great racer," Halladay said. "I knew the whole time that she would be right there and I had to mentally prepare for that."

Max, who ran a sensational opener at the Northwest Classic two weeks ago, is also riding a wave of popularity as the No. 1 runner on the national championship Summit squad. The Storm won the team title with 67 points, fending off a strong effort from Boise (81). 

"She's such an elegant racer," Max said of Halladay. "She does everything with such sportsmanship and grace and it's always an honor to race next to her. I love that girl."

Nathan Green of Borah ID, who was part of Nike Elite Camp this year with Max but sat out of Saturday's competition with a medical issue, apologized to his camp-mate for cheering so loud for Halladay at various spots on the course. 

"I'm sorry I was cheering so much for Lexy and not you. That's my home-girl," Green told Max. 

"Totally understand!" Max cheerfully replied. 

The girls race got out a bit slow, and Summit's pack got buried early, but the Storm came on late to put five scorers into the top 34. Sophomore Teaghan Knox came up big for the team, following Max across the line in third place, about 20 seconds behind the lead duo. 

Additional good news for US#1 Summit came with Fiona's twin sister, Isabel, making her season debut after coming back from an injury. She ran in the JV race and clocked 18:45.9, a time that would have been fourth-fastest for Summit in the championship race. 

In the Jim Danner boys championship race, Clovis North CA's Isaiah Galindo had the strength to pull away from Forest Grove OR's Quincy Norman and Parkrose OR's Ibrahim Ahmed to win the race in 15:19.5. He was five seconds clear at the finish line. 

Galindo, seventh in the CIF Division 1 state final last year, said he will take momentum out of the win as he prepares for the next big challenge Oct. 12, the ASICS Clovis Invitational at Woodward Park in Fresno. 

"It's a pretty valuable experience as I get ready for these larger races like state, and hopefully NXN," Galindo said. 

He had confidence that he would prevail.

"Subconsciously I went into the race thinking, 'You know what, I've got to be patient the whole time, see what pace these guys are going and just match it.'"

Ibrahim did some of the early pace work and felt in the end he paid a price for leading as he got outkicked by Galindo and Norman. 

Tahoma of Washington bounced back from a 14th-place finish at Bob Firman a week earlier to claim the boys team title with 116 points – 10 points better than Franklin of Portland, which had two runners in the top seven (Aidan Palmer and Charlie Robertson).