Opponents of Redmond High’s girls cross country team are in double jeopardy this year.

That’s because the Panthers feature two sets of twin sisters.

Juniors Whitney and Hailey Gieschen transferred from Ridgeview for this season, joining seniors Anna and Rosalee Land. They are part of an improved team that has three second-place finishes at meets so far in 2016.

Whitney Gieschen has been the top performer of the group, finishing third overall in the Sept. 24 Madras Invite with a time of 21 minutes 13 seconds in the 5,000-meter race. She has a personal best of 20:35 and hopes to get under 20 minutes sometime this season.

But she isn’t just thinking about individual accomplishments.

“I want to go to state as a team,” Whitney said.

“That would be awesome,” Hailey added.

That will be a challenge, since only two teams qualify for state from the Oct. 28 Intermountain Conference meet. And the league features defending state champion Summit and runner-up Mountain View.

The Redmond girls finished 11th of 15 teams Sept. 30 in the prestigious Oxford Classic in Bend, including fourth out of the five IMC teams.

Head coach Melissa Conley is excited about the way the season has gone so far for Redmond, which last qualified for state in cross country in 2011, the year before Ridgeview opened. She is pleased that a core group of 25 runners, boys and girls, ran together during the summer.

“If you ask any kid what the three keys to a successful cross-country season are, they’ll tell you ‘June, July and August,’” Conley said.

The twins have been positive for the team, Conley said.

“All four of them work tremendously hard and are super positive and happy for each other,” she said. “They are great teammates and are always encouraging each other.”

The Gieschen sisters looked forward to their first meeting of the season against their former Ridgeview teammates at the Oxford Classic. They hope to continue to perform well against them, particularly at the Oct. 28 IMC meet at Juniper Golf Course.

“I like it here better,” Whitney said of Redmond High.

“The team is definitely more friendly than Ridgeview,” Hailey added.

The Gieschens and Lands both run track, where Melissa Conley’s husband and assistant coach, Tim Conley, is the head coach.

Whitney and Hailey both compete in javelin and the 3,000-meter run. Hailey also does discus, while Whitney competes in the 300-meter hurdles and 400-meter dash.

Anna and Rose Land both compete in the 800 meters and the 4×400 relay. Rose runs the 400, while Anna does the longer 1,500-meter run.

The Lands played soccer growing up, but decided to try a new sport after Anna tore both her right and left anterior cruciate ligaments over a two-year span.

“Our doctor said that our knees are similar, so I didn’t want to risk it, too,” Rose said.

So far they have both been doing well in cross- country. Anna has a personal best of 21:43, while Rose achieved 21:29 in the 5,000.

The Lands prefer track though, because they aren’t always competing at the same time.

“It’s really exciting to watch her run,” Rose said of Anna. “She’s gone through so much, so watching her excel is really exciting.”

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmondspokesman.com