Sweet Home swept nearly all the events on both the boys and girls sides in the Huskies’ dual meet with Stayton Tuesday, April 30, but it turned out that the Eagles didn’t really show up – at least not with anywhere near a full team.
Head Coach Nathan Whitfield said he learned that just as the visitors arrived.
“They’d only brought part of their team – mostly just JV kids,” he said, explaining that Stayton had just finished hosting its own invitational on Saturday and had another meet planned for Friday, May 3, at Regis, just over the fence from the Eagles’ campus.
“They had three meets in a week, essentially,” Whitfield said.
The Sweet Home boys won 110-18 and the girls 115-12, but the Huskies had a couple of head-turning performances and a slew of personal bests, so they took advantage of what was essentially an intersquad meet in some events.
With the Oregon West Conference district competition coming up this Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, at Newport, those improvements were well-timed.
One of the biggest surprises of the day came from senior Colin Nicholson, who has blossomed in his first full season of high school track, despite battling some injuries. Nicholson won the boys Javelin with a throw of 144-7 in his first high school competition in that event after Whitfield let seniors choose a “fun” event to try during the Stayton competition. That distance puts Nicholson third in the Oregon West Conference going into this weekend’s district meet at Newport.
Another was Kyle Sieminski, who won the 300 Hurdles in 44.71, the second-fastest time in that event in the OWC.
“That was pretty impressive,” Whitfield said of the two. “They got to pick a fun event to do on Senior Night and now they’re both doing them at districts.”
The Husky girls’ delivered a slew of PR’s – 26 in 14 individual events. The boys had 21, the biggest batch coming in the middle distances, the 400 and the 800, where nearly every Husky had a personal best. The same was true on the girls’ side.
Other winners for the Husky boys against Stayton were Chase Cameron in the 100 (12.19) and the 200 (24.79), Sieminski in the 400 in a PR of 52.80; freshman Hunter Clark won his first high school race at the 800 distance in 2:15.52; freshman Nick Larson in the 110 Hurdles (18.10); Dylan Sharp in the Shot (44-4½); Conner Pace in the Discus (119-9); Elisha Scofield in the Pole Vault (8-0); Deacon Bachand in the Long Jump (18-1¾); and Kaeson Walker in the Triple Jump (31-9).
For the girls, Stephanie Saultz posted a pair of personal bests to win the 100 (14.08) and 200 (30.06); Natiyah Koenig-Walters won the 400 in a personal-best 1:07.58 and the Pole Vault with a leap of 6-6; Mckenzie Miller won the 800 with a nearly 3-second personal-best of 2:35.57; Rylee Markell was first in the 1500 in 5:52.44; Delanie Pratt won the 100 Hurdles in 19.38; Selah Wright won the Shot (29-10½) and the Discus (88-11); Peyton Markell was tops in the Javelin (94-8); Amara Gonzales was first in the Long Jump (13-10¾); and Miu Simmons won the Triple Jump with a personal-best 25-11.
Both the boys and girls teams swept the relays.
That was the final contest for the varsity-level competitors as the Huskies taper for this weekend’s district meet. Junior varsity athletes competed Monday at the league JV championships, held at Philomath. Results were not available before The New Era went to press.
Last year the boys finished fourth in districts as a team, while the girls were sixth as Philomath swept both the boys and girls titles. The Warriors are back with more experience than ever, and Cascade also looks strong, Whitifield said.
“Both Philomath and Cascade have improved, so it will be interesting to see what they have,” he said. “At districts, everything could go our way or not go our way. It will be interesting to see what happens.”
Sweet Home will need some significant PR’s from the boys in the short sprints to qualify anyone for state, but Sieminski is seeded second in the 400. Kast, who made state last year in the 800, is seeded second at that distance.
In the relays, the Husky boys are seeded second in both the 4×100 and the 4×400.
Sweet Home’s top distance runners are all underclassmen on the boys side, but freshman Kason Koenig-Walters is seeded seventh in the 3000 and the 1500, while Clark is seeded sixth in the 1500, giving both an opportunity to score points for the boys.
In the hurdles, freshman Nick Larson is seeded fourth in the 110’s, while Sieminski is second seeded in the 300 Hurdles.
In the throws, juniors Dylan Sharp, Conner Pace, Jon Hart and freshman Gavin Tyler are all threats to score or qualify, with Sharp seeded second and Tyler third in the Shot and Pace third in the Discus, putting them in contention for a state berth. Nicholson’s rookie effort in the Javelin last week puts him in fourth seed.
Nicholson is seeded second in the High Jump and the Triple Jump. Bachand, Scofield, Walker and Roman Shreves all could provide points in the jumps as well.
The girls have no runners seeded high in the sprints, but Lydia Wright is seeded fifth in the 400. Miller is seeded fifth in the 1500 and 3000, so she is a threat to score in those events, and a big performance from Rylee Markell could get her on the podium in the 3000. In the hurdles, Pratt has been the most consistent performer for the Huskies thus far, and is seeded fifth in the 100, and a big PR could move her up in a tight field.
In the throws, Selah Wright is seeded fourth in the Discus and fifth in the Shot, but the second- through fifth-place performers in the latter are separated by a foot and a half, which means a big throw from Wright could give her a good chance at state. In the Discus, Wright is less than seven feet behind second-seeded Madison Juhl of Philomath, so the same holds true in that event.
Similarly, in the Javelin, Peyton Markell is seeded fourth, four feet behind second-ranked Olivia Frizelle of Cascade.
In the Pole Vault, Pratt and Koenig-Walters are guaranteed points for the girls, as there were only seven competitors registered going into this week. Koenig-Walters’ best so far is 7-0, behind second-ranked Hanna McDaniel, who has jumped 8-6. If Newport is windy, as is often the case, the top finishers may be the ones who best handle the conditions.
Whitfield said the biggest question is, with so many athletes on the cusp of finishing in the top two – which is the guaranteed way to qualify for state without meeting automatic qualifying standard times or marks, how well the Huskies will compete in Newport.
In particular, he said, “our guys’ side is looking pretty competitive. We have a lot of opportunities for kids to go to state. It will be interesting to see if they compete, whether they can do that or not.”
“We have a bunch of kids right there,” Whitfield said. “We have seven events in which I think we should have people to state, and another eight where we could or should.”
Friday’s district competition starts at 3 p.m., with preliminaries in all track events except the relays, the 1500 and the 3000. The final for the latter will be run on Friday, with the 1500 on Saturday. Field event finals are divided between the two days. Saturday’s competition begins at noon.
Stayton at Sweet Home (April 30)
Boys Results
Team Scores – Sweet Home 110, Stayton 18.
Top Three and Sweet Home Results
* Personal Best Time/Mark
100 – (1) Chase Cameron (SH) 12.19; (2) Hunter Mollerstrom (S); (3) Deacon Bachand (SH) 12.77; (4) Landon Murry (SH) 12.92; (8) Noah Valdez (SH) 13.15; (12) Logan Estep (SH) 13.53; (15) Roman Shreves (SH) 14.14 (17) Kyle Porter (SH) 14.74.
200 – (1) Chase Cameron (SH) 24.79; (2) Dillan Davis (SH) 24.85; (3) Deacon Bachand (SH) 26.11; (7) Noah Valdez (SH) 26.87; (12) Logan Estep (SH) 28.30.
400 – (1) Kyle Sieminski (SH) 52.80*; (2) Dillan Davis (SH) 53.10*; (3) Kasey Kast (SH) 53.80*; (6) Thomas Culbertson (SH) 1:07.70*.
800 – (1) Hunter Clark (SH) 2:15.52; (2) Kason Koenig-Walters (SH) 2:23.55*; (3) Miguel Ceballos (S) 2:25.26; (6) Kyle Porter (SH) 2:38.65.
1500 – (1) Miguel Ceballos (S) 4:46.76; (2) Keegan Vogel (SH) 4:50.96*; (3) Trenton Cannoy (S) 5:19.64; (4) Izack Slayter (SH) 5:21.12*.
110 Hurdles – (1) Nick Larson (SH) 18.10.
300 Hurdles – (1) Kyle Sieminski (SH) 44.71*; (2) Nick Larson (SH) 46.85*; (3) Jonathan Davis (S) 49.15; (4) Thomas Culbertson (SH) 86.71.
4×100 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Deacon Bachand, Kyle Sieminski, Dillan Davis, Kyle Sieminski) 46.14.
4×400 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Chase Cameron, Kasey Kast, Dillan Davis, Kyle Sieminski) 3:43.93; (2) Stayton “B” 4:10.70; (3) Sweet Home (Names not available) 4:11.24; (4) Stayton “A” 4:12.80; (5) Stayton “C” 4:!5.74.
Shot Put – (1) Dylan Sharp (SH) 44-4½; (2) Gavin Tyler (SH) 41-7¼; (3) Colton Bennett (SH) 38-4½* (5) Conner Pace (SH) 33-6; (7) Caden Foley (SH) 31-10*; (8) Jon Hart (SH) 31-8¼; (9) Jackson Barringer (SH) 30-11½; (10) Jayden Mancilla (SH) 30-6¾; (13) Liam Martin (SH) 28-11½*; (15) Payton Messmer (SH) 24-3; (16) Taren Greunke (SH) 23-11½; (17) Henry Jones (SH) 19-1.
Discus – (1) Conner Pace (SH) 119-9; (2) Jon Hart (SH) 107-5; (3) Colton Bennett (SH) 106-0p (4) Dylan Sharp (SH) 97-9; (5) Gavin Tyler (SH) 94-11; (6) Jackson Barringer (SH) 80-9; (7) Gunnar Summers (SH) 77-6; (8) Liam Martin 74-3*; (9) Jayden Mancilla (SH) 71-5; (10) Memphis Gay (SH) 69=8*; (11) Peyton Messmer (SH) 69-5; (13) Caden Foley (SH) 67-2*; (14) Taren Greunke (SH) 62-3; (15) Blake Arthur (SH) 59-2.
Javelin – (1) Colin Nicholson (SH) 144-7*; (2) Rickey Erickson (SH) 129-9; (3) Skyler Mccalmant (S) 122-2; (4) Jack Simmons (SH) 120-0*; (5) Gavin Tyler (SH) 114-6; (8) Blake Arthur (SH) 91-7; (9) Joab Zeek (SH) 89-2; (10) Boden Sayer (SH) 89-1; (11) Memphis Gay (SH) 87-2; (12) Gunnar Summers (SH) 81-11; (13) Kaeson Walker (SH) 78-11; (14) Payton Messmer (SH) 78-8.
High Jump – (1) Jonathan Davis (S) 4-10; (2) Elisha Scofield (SH) 4-10; (3) Kaeson Walker (SH) 4-8.
Pole Vault – (1) Elisha Scofield (SH) 8-0; (2) Roman Shreves (SH) 7-6; (3) Thomas Culbertson (SH) 7-0; (4) Blake Arthur (SH) 5-6.
Long Jump – (1) Deacon Bachand (SH) 18-1¾; (2) Landon Murry (SH) 17-10*; (3) Jaden Givens (S) 17-9¼; (5) Noah Valdez (SH) 16-9¾; (6) Logan Estep (SH) 15-8.
Triple Jump – (1) Kaeson Walker (SH) 31-9.
Girls Results
Team Scores – Sweet Home 115, Stayton 12.
Top Three and Sweet Home Results
100 – (1) Stephanie Saultz (SH) 14.8*; (2) Hannah Nicholson (SH) 14.46*; (3) Zipporah Davis (S) 14.49; (4) Khloe Wood (SH) 15.18*; (6) Aivaih Duran (SH) 16.09; (7) Madison Olheiser (SH) 16.97*; (8) Ally Downs (SH) 17.43; (9) Koharu Yasuda (SH) 17.65.
200 – (1) Stephanie Saultz (SH) 30.06*; (2) Hannah Nicholson (SH) 30.15*; (3) Zipporah Davis (S) 30.54; (4) Amara Gonzales (SH) 30.78; (5) Lydia Wright (SH) 30.88; (6) Khloe Wood (SHJ) 32.66; (7) Sophia Stock (SH) 33.65; (8) Mckenzie Olheiser (SH) 35.20*; (9) Madison Olheiser (SH) 36.06*; (10) Amelia Berg (SH) 36.14.
400 – (1) Natiyah Koenig-Walters (SH) 1:07.58*; (2) Lydia Wright (SH) 1:08.18; (3) Amara Gonzales (SHO 1:11.48*; (4) Sophia Stock (SH) 1:17.23*; (5) Mckenzie Olheiser (SH) 1:19.98*.
800 – (1) Mckenzie Miller (SH) 2:35.57*; (2) Amelia Sullens (SH) 2:42.17*; (3) Michelle Slayton (SH) 3:21.22*.
1500 – (1) Rylee Markell (SH) 5:52.44; (2) Miu Simmons (SH) 5:55.00*.
100 Hurdles – (1) Delainie Pratt (SH) 19.38; (2) Zaria Danford (S) 21.34.
300 Hurdles – (1) Zaria Danford (S) 1:02.39; (2) Beatrice Reeve (SH) 1:05.85; (3) Miu Simmons (SH) 1:05.34; (4) Koharu Yasuda (SH) 1:13.86*; (6) Ally Downs (SH) 1:16.46.
4×100 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Delainie Pratt, Amara Gonzales, Hannah Nicholson, Stephanie Saultz) 55.11.
Shot Put – (1) Selah Wright (SH) 29-10½; (2) Jess Martineau (SH) 28-3½; (3) Melissa Hettwer (S) 28-3½; (4) Mailey Brewer (SH) 22-5; (5) Stephanie Saultz (SH) 21-5; (6) Madison Looney (SH) 21-4; (8) Mahala Gourley-Webster (SH) 17-3; (9) Kaylee Looney (SH) 16-10; (10) Timber Nobles (SH) 16-7¾.
Discus – (1) Selah Wright (SH) 88-11; (2) Jess Martineau (SH) 80-9*; (3) Melissa Hettwer (S) 75-11; (4) Mailey Brewer (SH) 66-5; (6) Emmersin Coelho (SH) 54-9; (7) Madison Looney (SH) 52-1; (8) Haylee Fortune (SH) 47-4½; (9) Kaylee Looney (SH) 39-6; (10) Mahala Gourley-Webster (SH) 34-4; (11) Timber Nobles (SH) 34-0.
Javelin – (1) Peyton Markell (SH) 94-8; (2) Abygail Foss (SH) 92-7; (3) Selah Wright (SH) 92-5; (4) Rylee Markell (SH) 82-0; (5) Emmersin Coelho (SH) 57-10.
High Jump – (1) Sophia Stock (SH) 4-0; (2) Khloe Wood (SH) 3-10*.
Pole Vault – (1) Natiyah Koenig-Walters (SH) 6-6; (2) Delainie Pratt (SH) 6-6; (3) Lydia Wright (SH) 6-0*; (4) Haylee Fortune (SH) 5-6 .
Long Jump – (1) Amara Gonzales (SH) 13-10¾; (2) Beatrice Reeve (SH) 13-7; (3) Sophia Stock (SH) 13-0½; (4) Khloe Wood (SH) 12-5.
Triple Jump – (1) Miu Simmons (SH) 25-11*; (2) Mckenzie Olheiser (SH) 24-8½*.