High school top-5: Key soccer showdowns, and a pair of elite runners

The OSAA state playoffs are just a couple weeks away for the fall sports season, and Mid-Valley teams and athletes are entering crunch time.

The volleyball state playoffs begin Oct. 30, with the girls soccer and boys soccer state playoffs beginning Nov. 2, and the state cross country championships set for Nov. 9.

Here is a look at this week’s top-five non-football storylines to follow.

Ben Kirby’s strong season

Stayton senior cross country runner Ben Kirby ranks second right now in Class 4A with a season-best time of 16:10.5, behind only Marist’s Evan Villano at 16:10.0.

“Ben has had a great offseason of training and has definitely put in the time,” Stayton coach Erin Holm said. “Some of his early races have been a little slower than he wanted, but with the bump in mileage this season, it was expected. As we start to back off, his times have continued to drop.”

His best time of the season came Oct. 9 in the Estacada Invite.

Previous:Corban Volleyball wins, Wolves are 2-0, Willamette scores two shutouts

His personal record came at the Oregon West Conference championships last season, where he placed second with a time of 15:56.5.

At last season’s OSAA Class 4A state championships, Kirby finished 11th at 16:52.0.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he will do next weekend on a fast course and great competition at the Warner Pacific Invite,” Holm said.

This season’s conference championships are set for Nov. 2 at Stayton Middle School Nature Trails.

West Salem volleyball improving

West Salem’s volleyball team is 3-0 in its past three Mountain Valley Conference matches and sits in fourth place in the conference, as the Titans are battling for a state playoff spot.

“The win streak (in the conference) is a culmination of a lot of things we have been working on in practice all coming together,” said West Salem coach Peter Piexoto, whose team is 6-5 in the MVC and 9-10 overall. “Also, we have been in a lot of games this year, but just haven’t been able to pull them out.”

Updated through Oct. 13:Salem-area high school standings

Sprague and Bend share the lead in the MVC with 9-2 conference records. Summit is third at 8-2, followed by West Salem.

At the Class 6A level, the top three teams in each of the seven conferences automatically make it into the state playoffs.

After that, the next 11 highest rated teams in the OSAA rankings will make it to complete the 32-team state playoff bracket.

The Titans currently are No. 25 in the OSAA rankings.

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“We are also getting good leadership from our setter, Emily Cheavtharn,” Piexoto said. “She has worked hard all season at finding what type of set works best for each of her hitters. This has led to our hitters getting better quality swings, which then has helped us play at a higher level.”

Big showdowns in boys soccer

There are a couple of big boys soccer showdowns this week in the Mid-Valley.

At the Class 6A level, West Salem leads the Mountain Valley Conference with a 4-0 conference record, and McKay is second with a 3-0-1 record.

McKay will host West Salem at 7 p.m. Thursday in a match that could determine the conference championship.

At the Class 4A level, Stayton leads the Oregon West Conference with a 7-1 conference record, and Woodburn is second at 6-1.

Earlier this season in a home match, Stayton beat Woodburn 2-0. The two teams will compete again at 6 p.m. Thursday, this time at Woodburn. The outcome could determine the conference championship.  

Previous Salem-area high school standings:Football, volleyball, soccer

Abi Swain sets personal record

North Salem senior cross country runner Abi Swain set a personal record on Friday by finishing the Champoeg Invitational in 18:21.0.

That time has her ranked third in the state among Class 5A runners.

Swain placed third last season in the Mid-Willamette Conference championships, and seventh at the OSAA Class 5A state championships.

This season’s conference championships are set for Nov. 2 at Crystal Lake Sports Park in Corvallis.

Kennedy volleyball rolling

The Kennedy volleyball team continues to roll this season as it leads the Tri-River Conference and is No. 1 in the OSAA rankings for the Class 2A level.

The Trojans are 23-1 overall and 12-0 in the Tri-River.

Kennedy has five matches left in the regular season. The 2A state playoffs begin Nov. 2. The state tournament begins Nov. 8 at Ridgeview High School in Redmond.

Previous high school top-5::West Salem runner shines and a few soccer upsets

Pete Martini covers high school and college sports for the Statesman Journal. You can contact Pete at pmartini@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6730 and follow @PeteMartiniSJ