Lear sets the pace for St. Paul runners

SPHS runner Broden Lear's goal for his junior season is to clip the 17-minute barrier, contend for a district championship and qualify for the state 3A/2A/1A championships.

 Woodburn Independent photo: Phil Hawkins

St. Paul's Broden Lear recalls the finish of his first trip to the 3A/2A/1A cross country state championship race in 2018. Heading into the final 300-meter stretch along the track at Lane Community College, Lear fell behind Harry Schaefer of Southwest Christian and Andrew Lackey of Union for 12th place with a time of 17:27.

At the time it was the second-best time of Lear's high school career, but being just three seconds shy of qualifying for a medalist place on the podium left Lear with plenty of motivation coming into his junior season.