Posted: Tuesday, December 16, 2008 4:00 pm
Makayla Waller of Lebanon earned second-team All-American honors at the USATF National Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships held Dec. 13 in Virginia.
Makayla was 46th out of 221 girls in the Bantam (10 and under) division, covering the 3,000-meter course in 12 minutes, 54 seconds.
Her mother, Michelle Waller, said the course was flat but cold.
Makayla was one of just two Oregon girls who competed in the race. Hana Resch from the Emerald Valley Track Club in Eugene was 37th in 12:47.
Another Oregon athlete, Paige Rice, won her third championship. Rice, who competes on the Oregon Cross Country team with Makayla, was first in the 11- and 12-year-old division with a time of 10:46.
The Wallers did some site-seeing on their trip, including Monticello, James Monroe's home in Charlottesville and the famous Pole Green church where Patrick Henry went to church as a child.
Michelle Waller thanked the Lebanon Community Hospital, American Legion 40-8, Lebanon Martial arts, Quiznos, KFC employees, The Fire Pit, New Creations Barber and Beauty, Canaga Tires, Crown Chaser Fire Suppression and friends and family for making it possible for Makayla to attend the meet.