Depth and a savvy race from Jana Sadler paid off for Marshfield’s girls cross country team on Wednesday as the Pirates claimed the Midwestern League title at Lane Community College in Eugene.

Sadler passed Churchill’s Sydnie Johnson less than a quarter-mile from the finish in the 5,000-meter race and went on to win in 20 minutes, 10 seconds — six seconds faster than Johnson.

In a tight team race, Sadler’s late pass made the difference between first and second for the Pirates.

Marshfield and Thurston ended up tied for first with 51 points, while Churchill had 53. Springfield was fourth with 68.

In the case of a tie, the winner is determined by each team’s sixth runner.

Marshfield’s sixth finisher, Shelby Paulson, finished 20th, three spots (eight seconds) in front of Thurston’s sixth.

In each district meet, the top two teams and top four finishers not on those teams qualify for the state meet, which will be held Nov. 1 at Lane Community College.

If Sadler hadn’t beaten Johnson, Marshfield and Churchill would have tied for second, one point behind Thurston. The Pirates still would have taken the league’s second berth for the state meet because Paulson also was ahead of Churchill’s sixth runner, but the team title was a sweet alternative.

“It was unbelievable ... amazing ... a great day for Marshfield,” said Doug Landrum, who coaches the Pirates.

Marshfield’s Moriah Roberge finished seventh, with MaKenzie Scott 12th, Rise Campbell 15th and Tori Scott 16th.

Landrum said every runner contributed by finishing strong. MaKenzie Scott passed a Churchill runner right before the finish chute. Roberge finished right in front of a girl from Springfield.

“They all stepped up and absolutely exceeded expectations,” Landrum said. “This was a best-case scenario for me. You rarely walk away from something like this with things happening as well as they can.”

Marshfield’s boys finished fourth behind Thurston, Springfield and Churchill, but did qualify two runners for state with at-large berths — Dustin Reis and Andrew Davidson.

Springfield’s Tim Costin won the race in 16:00. Reis was ninth in 17:39 and Davidson was 11th in 17:45. They were the third and fourth individuals to qualify, behind Churchill’s Mark Sheridan and Travis Broich, who were fourth and eighth.

Thurston won the team race with 39 points, while Springfield had 47, Churchill 69 and Marshfield 72.

Marshfield also had a strong showing in the junior varsity meet. Freshmen Natasha Hill and Kortney Dixson finished first and second in the girls race, while freshmen Eddie Rodriguez and Max Stuntzner-Gibson were third and fourth in the boys race.

“It was great all the way around,” he said.

The team stopped at Pass Creek Park on the way to the meet and several of the runners gave motivational talks, Landrum said. The last to speak was Paulson, who reminded the teammates of how much they have worked together and how important every runner is and how the group is a family. She proved her words true in the race.

“She struggled this season, but she was the ultimate tiebreaker today,” Landrum said.

While he was thrilled for his own team, Landrum also was impressed with the other squads.

“My hat’s off to the other teams in the league,” he said. “They just keep getting better every year.”

The other district meets involving South Coast squads include the Far West League meet today at Tugman State Park and the Class 3A-2A-1A District 4 meet on Saturday at Bullards Beach State Park.

BOYS SOCCER

Bruins win

Brookings-Harbor beat host South Umpqua 4-2 to clinch at least a share of the Far West League title and put Coquille in the playoffs for the first time.

The Bruins got goals by Alan Freeman, Linden Loren, Anthony Babb and Jordan Weigers in the win, which came just a day after Brookings-Harbor moved into sole possession of first place by beating North Bend.

“Everyone was excited about the North Bend game,” said Brookings-Harbor coach Gabriel Anaya. “We were very tired, but we were able to get the win.”

The win also meant that South Umpqua can’t possibly catch Coquille for third place and the Red Devils will be in the playoffs for the first time in program history.

Coquille could conceivably move up to second place, but would need to beat North Bend today and Brookings-Harbor next Tuesday and have North Bend lose its finale to Sutherlin.

GIRLS SOCCER

Bruins clinch title

Brookings-Harbor beat visiting South Umpqua 2-1 to clinch the Far West League title.

The Bruins improved to 11-0-2 with one match remaining. South Umpqua fell to 9-2-2, but still sits in second place.

VOLLEYBALL

Panthers forfeit matches

Gold Beach has dropped to third place in the Sunset Conference volleyball standings after being forced to forfeit two matches for using a player in too many games.

The Panthers forfeited a win over Glide and loss to Myrtle Point.

Under Oregon School Activities Association rules, a player can play in one match and one additional game a day during league play, meaning a player who is in the junior varsity match can only play one game of the varsity match.

Because of the forfeit, the Panthers now are third behind Coquille heading into the league finales tonight. If Gold Beach beats Bandon and Coquille loses at home to Glide, they will be tied for second, with Gold Beach holding the tiebreaker because of a season sweep over the Red Devils. In any other combination of results, Coquille is second and Gold Beach will host fourth-place Myrtle Point in the league playoffs next Tuesday for a spot in the state playoffs.