Some of the top teams in the Northwest are set to compete in the Oxford Classic cross-country race at Drake Park in Bend on Friday.

Lisa Nye grew up running at Drake Park. The feeling of being in the middle of the city as she cut across the rolling green terrain or as she trod over the footbridge crossing the Deschutes River — what wasn’t to love?

She frequented the park in downtown Bend through her high school cross-country career at Mountain View in the mid-1980s and continues to do so today as the cross-country coach at Bend High.

There is something special and unique about Drake Park, Nye says, something that cannot be matched by other cross-country venues around the state. And that, among other things, makes Friday’s Oxford Classic one of the premier high school meets in Oregon.

Eight Central Oregon programs, as well as 25 other schools from around Oregon and from California and Idaho, will flock to Drake Park, where the annual Oxford Classic — formerly known over the years as the Puma Classic/Bend High Cross Country Classic/Lava Bear Classic — has been staged 23 times dating back to 1987. (In 2000 and 2001 the meet was held at Widgi Creek Golf Club, and the event did not take place in 2002.)

The Oxford Classic, hosted by Bend High, will boast some of the top cross-country programs in the state, such as Class 6A South Eugene, 4A Klamath Union of Klamath Falls, and 3A/2A/1A Valley Catholic of Beaverton. It welcomes four schools from Idaho, including Boise’s Bishop Kelly High, whose boys and girls teams finished third and sixth, respectively, in the Idaho 4A state championships last season.

It is a cross-country showcase, Summit coach Carol McClatchie says, as local runners compete against some of the Northwest’s best in their own backyard. It is also, as Nye points out, an event that helps teams gauge their development midway through the season.

“For our team, it’s huge,” Nye says. “The Oxford’s really our first opportunity to come out and see where we are and really fine-tune training and get a few things fixed. I think the timing’s perfect for all the teams.”

With 5A Special District 1 members Bend, Mountain View, Summit and Redmond High slated to compete on Friday — as well as Sisters and La Pine of the 4A Sky-Em League and Ridgeview and Crook County of the 4A Greater Oregon League — the Oxford Classic provides an opportunity for teams to measure themselves against one another. It allows runners to stack their times against others in preparation for the district meets coming at the end of October. Mountain View, for example, is looking to inch closer to crosstown rival Summit, whose boys and girls teams are multiyear reigning state champions.

“What we hope to do is cut the gap between us and Summit,” says Mountain View coach Don Stearns. “If we get close enough, come Nov. 2 (the state championships in Eugene), we hope to get a shot at it if we stay healthy.”

Perhaps more noteworthy about the Oxford Classic, however, is the meet’s location.

Five of the eight Central Oregon teams set to take on the 5,000-meter Drake Park course on Friday began the 2013 season at the Jere Breese Memorial Stampede in Prineville in early September. But truly, with teams now having several meets under their belts, the Oxford meet will be their first competitive event this close to home.

“It’s definitely an important meet, a special meet,” Stearns says. “For one thing, it’s a chance for our athletes to get to shine here locally — running in front of their parents and teachers and all their friends. That’s a pretty cool thing right there.”

The spectator-friendly course adds to the unique nature of the Classic, as the track winds through Drake Park and slices through onlooking crowds, rarely taking the runners far from the fans.

Friday will mark the 24th running of the Classic at Drake Park. And over the years, the competition level, the atmosphere and the significance of the meet have not dwindled.

“I think it’s really important for our kids, especially, and even for every kid in Bend,” Nye says of the Oxford Classic. “I grew up running on that course as a kid, and maybe some of the parents did and now their kids are. … I think our school and our families and our runners and our coaches take a lot of pride in getting a lot of people to come to our park. For our kids, it’s definitely close to the biggest meet of the year for them because it’s our meet. We want to go and run well and have a great day.”

Game of the week

An intense, back-and-forth Intermountain Conference match was pushed to the limits on Thursday, with Bend High edging visiting Summit in five sets for a 25-17, 20-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-10 volleyball victory. The Lava Bears finished with 87 digs and ran off seven straight points in the deciding set to claim the win.

Player of the week

With Summit still searching for an every-down quarterback after losing its starter in the season opener, Bransen Reynolds stepped up. On Friday, during a 48-20 Intermountain Conference football win against visiting Redmond High, the sophomore QB completed 13 of 14 passes for 215 yards and six touchdowns.

Stat of the week

It was a pretty consistent week for Sisters, as the Outlaws posted back-to-back 6-0 girls soccer wins against Sky-Em League foes Junction City and Cottage Grove to improve to 3-0 in league play and 6-0 overall. In each, five different players scored. In all, seven Outlaws finished with at least one goal, paced by Liz Stewart and Natalie Ambrose, each of whom logged three scores.