Joe Delgado of Ontario, who
won a Jr. Olympic national title in
the decathlon last summer, won the
Sweet Home Decathlon last weekend
– except it wasn’t really a decathlon
because it only included nine of the
10 events.
The unpredictable weather is often
a challenge during the decathlon
and heptathlon, with snow flurries,
rain and hail common. This year,
though, it was worse than normal,
as a heavy downpour most of Friday
dropped nearly 2 inches of rain on
Sweet Home, which, with accompanying
east winds, prompted meet
officials to cancel the pole vault,
scheduled for Saturday.
Sweet Home Coach Billy Snow,
who is the event host, said he couldn’t
remember having to ever actually
cancel an event, though he did recall
holding off on the high jump due to
lightning.
“In hindsight, we could have
gotten the pole vault in, but they
weren’t off on their predictions,” he
said. “A few of the kids were unhappy
but I think most understood.
“Those kids who were out there
for both days, especially the first day,
they were to be congratulated. They
didn’t have to be out there and they
were working hard. The kids just had
a blast, out there cheering each other
on. During the high jump, it was
pouring rain and dumping buckets
of water. They were cheering each
other. It was just fun.
“I was impressed.”
So was Sweet Home assistant
coach Jim Kistner, a veteran track
coach.
“These are the true athletes,”
he said as he watched the heptathlon
competitors high jump in a downpour
Friday, while the decathletes
competed in the long jump and the
shot put. “They’re not complaining.
They’re just doing it.”
Delgado, a junior, scored 5364
points for the nine events, with Royal
Black of Southridge, also a junior,
second with 4557. Senior Zach Trask
of Philomath was a close third, finishing
with 4475.
Also competing were Sweet
Home alumni Jake Comstock and
Alex Santana, who finished fifth
(4184) and sixth (3511). Comstock,
a 2010 grad, and Santana, who finished
his high school career last
year.
Santana scratched on all three of
his long jump attempts, winding up
with zero points in that event, which
should have been one of his strongest,
after placing fifth in the 100.
The only current Huskies who
finished were seniors Jake Johnson
and Dakota Snow, who ended up far
down in the pack. Freshman Anthony
Vincent completed most of the
first day’s events,
Jake Johnson won the discus
on his third try, after scratching his
first two throws, to edge Crow’s Tanner
Eastlick by seven inches with a
throw of 126-3.
No Sweet Home girls competed
in this year’s heptathlon, which was
won by Claire Thomas of Molalla,
who is familiar to Sweet Home track
fans as the girl who nearly caught
Maria Kropf last year in the state 4A
100 hurdles final, Thomas falling to
the track as she tripped over the last
hurdle and tumbling across the finish
line. Thomas, a junior, won the hurdles
(16.23), the long jump (16-6),
the 800 (2:32.42) and the 200 (25.85)
en route to scoring 3728 points.
Lebanon senior Kara Hallock
won the high jump (4-11) and placed
second behind Thomas in the 200
(28.10), the 100 hurdles (16.73). the
long jump (16-1 3/4) and also placed
second in the shot put (27-1) to finish
with 3661 points.
Snow said he thought the conditions
may have affected some times
and marks, but his own son Dakota
got a couple of personal bests in
events.
“There were some pretty impressive
times and marks,” he said.
“We got to see some pretty impressive
athletes. That girl from Molalla
nd Kara Hallock of Lebanon are two
of the toughest girls in the state and
Joe Delgado and Royal Black had
some great performances.
“I was expecting, on Day 2, half
those kids not to show up. They all
did. I don’t think we were missing
more than four or five guys and one
girl on Saturday.”
The Huskies’ regular track season
resumes Wednesday, April 4, at
Philomath in a three-way meet with
Cottage Grove at 4 p.m., followed by
the Junction City Invitational Saturday,
which includes most of the midvalley
4A teams, along with Crook
County, South Umpqua and Siuslaw,
and Toledo and Alsea from the lower
divisions. Field events start at 10
a.m. with track action beginning at
noon.
Sweet Home Decathlon
Top 3 and Sweet Home finishers
100 – Zach Trask (Philomath) 11.74; (2)
Joe Delgado (Ontario) 11.87; (3) Dillon
Hoecker (Barlow) 1.98; (5) Alex Santana
(Unattached/SH) 12.04; (9) Jake Comstock
(Unattached/SH) 12.34; Dakota
Snow (SH) 13.45; Jake Johnson (SH)
13.75; Anthony Vincent (SH) 13.67.
Long Jump – (1) Joe Delgado (Ontario)
20-7; (2) Royal Black (Southridge) 20-4;
(3) Dillon Hoecker (Barlow) 19-1; (5-tie)
Jake Comstock (Unattached/SH) 18-4
1/2; Dakota Snow (SH) 15-4 1/2; Anthony
Vincent (SH) 15-2; Jake Johnson
(SH) 12-10; Alex Santana (Unattached/
SH) ND.
Shot Put – (1) Joe Delgado (Ontario)
37-0 3/4; (2) Tanner Eastlick (Crow) 35-
5; (3) Timothy Johnson (Canby) 33-9 1/4;
Alex Santana (Unattached/SH) 33-0; Jake Johnson
(SH) 28-7; Jake Comstock (Unattached/SH) 28-6 1/2;
Anthony Vincent (SH) 26-8 1/2; Dakota Snow (SH)
25-4.
High Jump – (1) Royal Black (Southridge) 5-11; (2-
tie) Nick Shaffer (Condon/Wheeler), Joe Delgado
(Ontario), Jake Comstock Jake Comstock (Unattached/
SH) 5-9; (3) Kelln Pippert (North Marion)
5-7; Anthony Vincent (SH) 4-11; Alex Santana (Unattached/
SH) 4-9; Dakota Snow (SH) 4-5; Jake Johnson
(SH) NH.
400 – (1) Zach Trask (Philomath) 54.66; (2) Jackson
Haselnus (Barlow) 56.36; (3) Joe Delgado (Ontario)
57.83; Alex Santana (Unattached/SH) 57.99; Jake
Comstock (Unattached/SH) 60.58; Dakota Snow
(SH) 63.30; Jake Johnson (SH) 73.82.
110 HH – (1) Joe Delgado (Ontario) 15.71; (2) Jake
Comstock (Unattached/SH) 15.83; (3) Royal Black
(Southridge) 17.08; Alex Santana (Unattached/SH)
18.30; Dakota Snow (SH) 20.76; Jake Johnson (SH)
24.24.
Discus – (1) Jake Johnson (SH) 126-3; (2) Tanner
Eastlick (Crow) 125-8; (3) Joe Delgado (Ontario)
114-7; Alex Santana (Unattached/SH) 80-1; Jake
Comstock (Unattached/SH) 56-6; Dakota Snow (SH)
56-2.
Javelin – (1) Joe Delgado (Ontario) 155-9; (2) Timothy
Johnson (Canby) 144-8; (3) Alex Santana (Unattached/
SH) 131-11; Jake Comstock (Unattached/
SH) 113-11; Jake Johnson (SH) 97-9; Dakota Snow
(SH) 93-8.
1500 – (1) Jackson Haselnus (Barlow) 4:22.73; (2)
Zach Trask (Philomath) 4:39.48; (3) Shane Whitehead
(North Marion) 4:56.72; Jake Comstock (Unattached/
SH) 5:35.81; Dakota Snow (SH) 5:51.49; Alex
Santana (Unattached/SH) 6:04.45; Jake Johnson
(SH) 6:07.81.
Lebanon’s Kara Hallock high jumps during the heptathlon Friday.