The Meet of Champions was indeed that this year.
The invitational event, for which athletes must qualify, is intended to bring together some of the better small-school track and field athletes and give them some quality competition in Willamette University’s stadium in Salem.
It worked this year. On the boys side, seven athletes posted marks or times that ranked in the top 10 throughout Oregon, at all levels. Six girls ranked in the top 10 statewide.
“There was some stiff competition,” said Coach Billy Snow, one of the meet co-directors along with Dan Peterson of Cascade.
The young Huskies were in their fourth meet in eight days and they showed it – or rather that fatigue wasn’t going to stop them.
The Sweet Home boys posted 11 season-bests, six of them all-time PR’s, and the girls posted four.
“They did all that when they were tired,” Snow said.
Even the ones who didn’t get personal or season bests came close, or had a good excuse for not being able to, he said.
One example was senior Nicole Rasmussen who had had surgery five days before the meet and had visible stitches in her throat. She placed eighth in the girls 3000, well below her normal time, but Rasmussen was clearly just running to finish two-thirds of the way through the race.
“Nicole had every reason in the world not to run,” Snow said. “She was a couple of days from having a tooth taken out and five days from surgery. She hadn’t run in a week. She was still good enough to place eighth in the Meet of Champions.”
In the javelin, in which teammate Kyle Rose posted a 5-foot PR (155-3) to place third, junior Brycen Mitten wasn’t far behind.
“Four or five feet more and Brycen would have been right in the thick of it, just like Kyle,” Snow said.
“We had a great meet.”
The only winner on the day for the Sweet Home girls was senior Courtney Kent in the 300 hurdles, in which she ran a PR of 47.76 to post the fastest time in the 4A division this season.
“Her first few hurdles wer enot good, but when she hit the corner she was so quick between hurdles down the home stretch that she just got her foot down coming off those hurdles and just flew,” Snow said. “It was fun to watch.”
On the boys side, junior Jakob Hiett was the lone champion, holding off determined senior Zach Bellew of Creswell for a win in 8:49.74, the second-fastest 4A time in the state behind Siuslaw’s Mitchell Butler, who’s run 8:37.39.
“Neither of them wanted to lose,” Snow said of the battle down the home stretch between Hiett and Bellew. “That was the time Jakob ran at the peak of last season. You take a second per lap off and he’s right there with Butler.”
Spencer Knight finished the 100 in 11.36, just a few hundredths off his all-time best to fnish third and Ben Terry threw a 2-foot PR of 48-1½ in the shot to finish second.
Sophomore Kayleen Keeney, a late addition to the Meet of Champions 1500 field, held her own with more experienced runners. East Linn Christian Academy freshman Sydney Nichol, from Sweet Home, was fourth in that race, in 5:06.19. She also finished fourth in the 800 after leading early, in 2:29.88.
Sierra Swanson, also a sophomore, clocked a 30-second PR in the 3000, finishing 11th in 12:05.22.
Sophomore Egan Shamek, a rookie to high school jumping, didn’t let a more experienced field faze him as he finished eighth in both the long and triple jumps.
Freshman Trey Reed was seventh in the 400, in a PR of 53:21, with all seniors ahead of him.
“Everybody who beat him was an upperclassman,” Snow said. “He’s learning to run that four, running it a lot smoother.
“The atmosphere at the Meet of Champions almost sets you up, where you have to go out and force yourself to compete. It’s a big meet and a great time for kids to step up.”
Sweet Home will had a meet a week for the rest of the season until districts, with a trip to La Pine next.
“What I like about having one meet a week is that we can get back to training and rest kids who need it, and take care of owies, and hopefully peak at the right time,” Snow said.
Meet of Champions
Top Three and Sweet Home Finishers
Boys Results
100 – (1) Zach Gescher (Regis) 11.31; (2) Trevor Sartnurak (Philomath) 11.33; (3) Spencer Knight (SH) 11.36.
200 – (1) Harley Gilpin (Elmira) 22.78; (2) Jacob Sturtevant (Westside Christian) 22.78; (3) Trevor Sartnurak (Philomath) 22.96; (13) Trey Reed (SH) 24.23.
400 – (1) Devin King (Banks) 50.27; (2) Michael Capri (Newport) 50.64; (3) Jacob Sturtevant (Westside Christian) 51.26; ()7) Trey Reed (SH) 53.21.
800 – (1) Michael Capri (Newort) 2:00.67; (2) Jefferson Farmer (Seaside) 2:00.87; (3) Carlos Camacho (Newport) 2:02.81; No Sweet Home entrants.
1500 – (1) Cooper Roach (Valley Catholic) 4:06.79; (2) Jakob Hiett (SH) 4:07.38; (3) Zach Bellew (Creswell) 4:12.08.
3000 – (1) Jakob Hiett (SH) 8:49.74; (2) Zach Bellew (Creswell) 8:50.35; (3) Wilder Boyden (Valley Catholic) 9:18.33; (22) Ian Wingo (SH) 10:07.81.
110 Hurdles – (1) Austin McNichols (Lowell) 15.31; (2) Chris Houck (Philomath) 15.83; (3) Nicholas Boykin (Elmira) 16.20; (14) Eric Flierl (SH) 17.00; (15) Matt Davis (SH) 17.11.
300 Hurdles – (1) Sean Kounovsky (Creswell) 40.65; (2) Michael Capri (Newport) 40.73; (3) Jake McAllister (Sisters) 41.85; (10) Eric Flierl (SH) 43.96; (14) Matt Davis (SH) 45.25; (22) TJ Baham (SH) 47.19.
4×100 Relay – (1) Elmira 44.76; (2) Westside Christian 45.30; (3) Seaside 45.49; (4) Regis 45.64; (5) Banks 45.84; (6) Scio 46.23; (7) Tillamook 46.28; (8) Sweet Home (Eric Flierl, Spencer Knight, Matt Davis, Trey Reed) 46.29.
4×400 Relay – (1) Westside Christian 3:31.69; (2) Newport 3:32.48; (3) Seaside 3:35.08; No Sweet Home Entrants.
Shot Put – (1) Drace Moeller (Nestucca) 52-2; (2) Ben Terry (SH) 48-1½; (3) Trevor Duffy (South Umpqua) 47-6.
Discus – (1) Dallin Shurts (Banks) 160-1; (2) Brett Elder (Nestucca) 145-4; (3) Blake Warren (East Linn Christian) 141-1; No Sweet Home Entrants.
Javelin – (1) Austin McKillip (Nestucca) 163-9; (2) Caleb Wood (Douglas) 158-2; (3) Kyle Rose (SH) 155-3; (11) Brycen Mitten (SH) 146-6.
High Jump – (1) Patrick Bladorn (Cascade) 6-4; (2) Jake McAllister (Sisters) 6-3; (3) Bishop Mitchell (Kennedy ) 6-0; (5) Ashton Stutzman (SH) 5-10.
Pole Vault – (1) Lucas Hidalgo (Banks) 13-6; (2) Corey Sledge (Culver) 13-6; (3) Asutin McNichols (Lowell) 13-6; No Sweet Home Entrants.
Long Jump – (1) Josh Chesnut (Seaside) 20-5; (2) Chris Houck (Philomath) 20-3¼; (3) Jake McAllister (Sisters) 20-1¾; (8) Egan Shamek (SH) 19-7¾.
Triple Jump – (1) Lucas Stiff Arm (Catlin Gabel) 40-8¼; (2) Ben Goumy (Gervais) 40-7¾; (3) Stephan Huang (Banks) 39-10; (8) Egan Shamek (SH) 30-8½.
Girls Results
100 – (1) Rachel Vinjamuri (Newport) 12.40; (2) Justyce Smith (Riverside) 12.72; (3) Maddison King (Banks) 12.82; (14) Josie Knight (SH) 13.56.
200 – (1) Rachel Vinjamuri (Newport) 25.77; (2) Justyce Smith (Riverside) 26.42; (3) Ryan Conlin (Westside Christian) 26.90; (7) Haley Kent (SH) 27.18.
400 – (1) Rachel Vinjamuri (Newport) 58.73; (2) Loghan Sprauer (Kennedy) 59.75; (3) Tierra Stephenson (Philomath) 1:00.40; No Sweet Home Entrants.
800 – (1) Jenna Grunwald (Philomath) 2:21.46; (2) Zoe Falk (Sisters) 2:21.85; (3) Olivia Powell (Creswell) 2:28.05; No Sweet Home Entrants.
1500 – (1-tie) Josie Smith (Seaside), Charlotte Blakesley (Seaside) 4:53.66; (3) Olivia Powell (Creswell) 4:54.46; (18) Kayleen Keeney (SH) 5:35.35.
3000 – (1) Aria Blumm (Sisters) 10:52.22; (2) Sam Slusher (Catlin Gabel) 10:55.90; (3) Hope Powell (Creswell) 11:09.79; (8) Nicole Rasmussen (SH) 11:59.79; (11) Sierra Swanson (SH) 12:05.22.
100 Hurdles – (1) Kirstyn Groshong (Elmira) 16.83; (2) Mikaela Bernards (Valley Catholic) 16.86; (3) Allison Kilday (Seaside) 16.92; No Sweet Home Entrants.
300 Hurdles – (1) Courtney Kent (SH) 47.76; (2) Jamilla Gambee (JC) 47.85; (3) Allison Kilday (Seaside) 49.30.
4×100 Relay – (1) Westside Christian 51.57; (2) Philomath 52.28; (3) Seaside 52.63; Sweet Home DQ.
4×400 Relay – (1) Westside Christian 4:11.04; (2) Philomath 4:11.07; (3) Newport 4:21.08.
Shot Put – (1) Lindsay McShane (Amity) 37-2; (2) Katrina Linenko (Newport) 35-0½; (3) Allison Smith (Pleasant Hills) 34-6; (20) Josie Knight (SH) 27-10.
Discus – (1) Annie Victor (Banks) 119-1; (2) Kimberly Webb (Regis) 115-3; (3) Taylor Darden (Dufur) 108-10; (12) Sadie Gordon (SH) 89-1; (15) Kaitlyn Watts (SH) 86-2.
Javelin – (1) Kelsey Shaw (Elmira) 140-3; (2) Sheila Limas (Blanchet Catholic) 125-11; (3) Dana Brooks (Pleasant Hill) 122-11; No Sweet Home Entrants.
High Jump – (1) Loghan Sprauer (Kennedy) 5-3; (2) Amy Hilger (Banks) 5-2; (3) Monica Webb (Regis) 5-1; No Sweet Home Entrants.
Long Jump – (1) Sydney Mohler (Dayton) 17-1½; (2) Justyce Smith (Riverside) 16-10¾; (3) Kelsey Shaw (Elmira) 16-7½; No Sweet Home Entrants.
Triple Jump – (1) Kayla Brase (Westside Christian) 37-4; (2) Shelby Jenkins (Salem Academy) 33-9¾; (3) Isabel Solano (Newport) 32-11½; (12) Haley Kent (SH) 29-11½.
Sweet Home Track vs. Elmira, Junction City
Top Three and Sweet Home Finishers
Boys Results
Team Scores – (1) Elmira 82; (2) Sweet Home 59; (3) Junction City 40.
100 – (1) Bo Highburger (E) 11.72; (2) Jordan Stoppel (E) 11.83; (3) Zach Rogers (JC) 12.04; (5) Chace Hutchins (SH) 12.59; (7) Justin Carpenter (SH) 12.86; (13) Dillon Stutzman (SH) 13.23; (14) Jacob Erickson (SH) 13.30; (16) Tucker Porter (SH) 13.46; (19) Wes Parker (SH) 13.97; (20) Oscar Hernandez (SH) 14.15; (23) Brenton Clark (SH) 14.15.
200 – (1) Harley Gilpin (E) 24.57; (2) Jakob Hiett (SH) 26.02; (3) Jefte Reyes-Salinas (JC) 26.59; (7) Wes Parker (SH) 28.41; (9) Oscar Hernandez (SH) 30.07.
400 – (1) Jakob Hiett (SH) 53.52; (2) Nick Gibson (JC) 54.01; (3) Devin Curtis (E) 55.29; (6) Nick Rietz (SH) 59.08.
800 – (1) Chace Hutchins (SH) 2:13.59; (2) Bezi Lizzi (JC) 2:15.12; (3) Gannon Jones (E) 2:17.36; (4) Ian Wingo (SH) 2:18.00; (7) Julian Hesberg (SH) 2:21.42; (12) Spenser Spencer (SH) 2:33.24.
1500 – (1) Bezi Lizzi (JC) 4:35.63; (2) Morgan McAdams (JC) 4:38.56; (3) Ian Wingo (SH) 4:43.07; (6) Issac Justham (SH) 4:59.16; (7) Julian Hseberg (SH) 5:00.33; (9) Joseph Rasmussen (SH) 5:03.65; (11) Robert Gourley (SH) 5:04.09; (16) Spenser Spencer (SH) 5:20.92.
3000 – (1) Ben Douthit (E) 10:21.33; (2) Shane Orme (E) 10:43.55; (3) Riley Craig (E) 10:47.59; (5) Issac Justham (SH) 10:59.09.
110 Hurdles – (1) Nicolas Boykin (E) 16.59; (2) Matt Davis (SH) 17.10; (3) Alex Crisp (E) 17.15.
300 Hurdles – (1) Nicholas Boykin (E) 43.36; (2) Aidan Leever (JC) 51.73; (3) Ryan Meighan (JC) 51.79.
4×100 Relay – (1) Elmira 45.31; (2) Sweet Home (Matt Daivs, Eric Flierl, Spencer Knight, Trey Reed) 46.24; (3) Junction City 46.68.
4×400 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Jakob Hiett, Chace Hutchins, Nick Rietz, Trey Reed) 3:40.27; (2) Elmira 3:41.70; (3) Junction City 3:47.02; (4) Junction City “B” 3:57.50; (5) Junction City “C” 3:59.64; (6) Elmira “B” 4:18.65; (7) Junction City “C” 4:34.61.
Shot Put – (1) Ben Terry (SH) 45-2; (2) Zane Wardwell (E) 44-7; (3) Brycen Mitten (SH) 37-3; (11) Patrick Bell (SH) 29-3; (17) Eric Whitlow (SH) 25-3; (18) Kyle Laster (SH) 23-10; (19) Raymond Moore (SH) 18-5.
Discus – (1) Zane Wardwell (E) 137-2; (2) Ben Terry 108-7; (3) Eric Uphold (E) 100-1; (9) Gavin Baskin (SH) 74-5; (11) Eric Whitlow (SH) 71-9; (17) Hunter Olsen (SH) 59-00; (20) Raymond Moore (SH) 37-10; (21) Kyle Laster (SH) 36-6.
Javelin – (1-tie) Brycen Mitten (SH), Kyle Rose (SH) 144-6; (3) Mason Beebe (E) 143-10; (4) Garrison Whitfield (SH) 132-10; (7) Dillon Stutzman (SH) 111-6; (11) Charlie Guerrero (SH) 106-2; (12) Egan Shamek (SH) 99-8; (13) Gavin Baskin (SH) 95-6; (23) Daniel Sappington (SH) 69-7.
High Jump – (1) Garrett Nepper (JC) 5-6; (2) Jordan Macklin (E) 5-4; (3) Nicholas Boykin (E) 5-2; (5-tie) Jacob Erickson (SH), Chace Hutchins (SH) 5-0.
Pole Vault – (1) Dillon Stutzman (SH) 10-6; (2) Russell Grzeczkowski (E) 9-0; (3) Noah McFadden (JC).
Long Jump – (1) Zach Beltz (E) 19-9½; (2) Egan Shamek (SH) 19-6½; (3) Harley Gilpin (E) 19-3½; (9) Matt Davis (SH) 17-10; (10) Tucker Porter (SH) 17-0½; (11) Justin Carpenter (SH) 16-6¼; (13) Eric Flierl (SH) 15-11; (21) Brenton Clark (SH) 13-6¼.
Triple Jump – (1) Egan Shamek (SH) 38-10½; (2) Desmond Walker (JC) 38-4½; (3) Russell Grzeczkowski (E) 37-1½; (5) Tucker Porter (SH) 34-11½; (10) Charlie Guerrero (SH) 29-5¼; (12) Brenton Clark (SH) 28-4.
Girls Results
Team Scores – (1) Elmira 73; (2) Sweet Home 57; (3) Junction City 50.
100 – (1) Haley Kent (SH) 13.64; (2) Brennan Leatherwood (JC) 14.10; (3) Jana Hutchinson (JC) 14.17; (7) Sarah Dunkley (SH) 15.04; (9) Lilly Parker (SH) 15.55; (10) Allison Wickline (SH) 15.59; (17) Mikaela Batchelor (SH) 16.96; (18) Megan Oberg (SH) 16.99; (19) McKenna Ashton (SH) 17.12; (20) Ilima Kaauwai-Walker (SH) 17.13; (21) Mami Sakamoto (SH) 17.20; (23) Ivy Weidner (SH) 17.64; (25) Natasha Benson (SH) 18.05; (26) Linh Vu (SH) 18.35; (27) Wanrada Puangmalai (SH) 18.93.
200 – (1) Josie Knight (SH) 29.86; (2) India Porter (SH) 30.17; (3) Brennan Leatherwood (JC) 30.91; (4) Natasha Rasmussen (SH) 30.99; (5) Sarah Dunkley (SH) 31.53; (6) Lilly Parker (SH) 31.77; (7) Mikaela Batchelor (SH) 35.60; (8) Mami Sakamoto (SH) 36.23.
400 – (1) Jamilla Gambee (JC) 1:03.20; (2) Laura Hayes (E) 1:06.86; (3) Natasha Rasmussen (SH) 1:06.87; (6) Sierra Swanson (SH) 1:10.58; (7) Alex Olin (SH) 1:13.32.
800 – (1) Jessica Sand (E) 2:41.16; (2) McKenna Straube (JC) 2:41.85; (3) Shayla Solomon (JC) 2:44.70; (4) Sierra Swanson (SH) 2:46.39; (6) Maria Daniels (SH) 3:21.59.
1500 – (1) Kayleen Keeney (SH) 5:40.89; (2) Danielle Jones (E) 6:04.96; (3) Madison Loveland (E) 6:08.00; (7) Maria Daniels (SH) 6:58.17.
3000 – No Sweet Home competitors.
100 Hurdles – (1) Kristyn Groshong (E) 17.33; (2) Bailey Mills (E) 18.18; (3) Courtney Kent (SH) 18.57.
300 Hurdles – (1) Kirstyn Groshong (E) 52.31; (2) Bailey Mills (E) 54.58; (3) Dana Hiett (SH) 56.08.
4×100 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Courtney Kent, India Porter, Haley Kent, Josie Knight) 52.63; (2) Junction City 54.77.
4×400 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Jordan Miller, India Porter, Haley Kent, Courtney Kent) 4:29.44; (2) Junction City 4:38.18; (3) Elmira 4:46.89; (4) Junction City “B” 4:50.02; (5) Sweet Home “B” (Maria Daniels, Kayleen Keeney, Sierra Swanson, Natasha Rasmussen) 4:54.54; (6) Junction City “C” 4:58.91.
Shot Put – (1) Josie Knight (SH) 31-0; (2) Taylee Pratt (JC) 30-0; (3) Noemi Gomez (JC) 28-9; (8) Kaitlyn Watts (SH) 24-9; (10) Sadie Gordon (SH) 24-0; (16) Emily Ramsey (SH) 22-0; (20) Shelby Dinsfriend (SH) 19-1; (22) Hailey Dellinger (SH) 18-3; (24) Alexi Chase (SH) 9-5.
Discus – (1) Taylee Pratt (JC) 105-2; (2) Ericka Ansell (JC) 96-1; (3) Sadie Gordon (SH) 95-7; (4) Kaitlyn Watts (SH) 87-10; (10) Adriana Perez (SH) 59-10; (12) Emily Ramsay (SH) 58-6; (14) Shania Baxter (SH) 55-1; (15) Shelby Dinsfriend (SH) 54-3; (18) Natasha Benson (SH) 53-0; (22) Hailey Dellinger (SH) 38-8; (24) Alexi Chase (SH) 24-2.
Javelin – (1) Kelsey Shaw (E) 133-6; (2) Amanda Hubbard (SH) 93-4; (3) Jordan Miller (SH) 91-11; (4) Shania Baxter (SH) 88-9; (12) Ivy Weidner (SH) 43-10; (15) Ilima Kaauwai-Walker (SH) 39-8.
High Jump – (1) Kelsey Shaw (E) 4-8; (2) Michaela Barton (E) 4-6; (3) Dana Hiett (SH) 4-4; (5) Sierra Swanson (SH) 4-2.
Pole Vault – No Sweet Home finishers.
Long Jump – (1) Kelsey Shaw (E) 15-4; (2) Michaela Barton (E) 14-0¼; (3) Amanda Darcy (JC) 13-10¾; (10) Alex Olin (SH) 12-5; (12) Kiesha Goble (SH) 12-4; (19-tie) Megan Oberg (SH), Mami Sakamoto (SH) 10-2; (22-tie) Linh Vu (SH), Wanrada Puangmalai (SH) 9-0½.
Triple Jump – (1) Haley Kent (SH) 31-10; (2) Grieta King (E) 30-3¼; (3) Haley Forte (JC) 30-2½; (6) Alex Olin (SH) 27-6½.