Scott Swanson
Nathan Hager and Bethany Gingerich were named MVPs for Sweet Home track at the team’s awards potluck Thursday, June 1.
Hager, a senior who first tried high school track as a junior, after success as a high school and club swimmer, anchored this year’s boys 4×400 team to state for the first time since 2012.
“I love his attitude,” Head Coach Dakotah Keys said of Hager, noting that “it’s only echoed by the other athletes who voted for what we’re seeing.”
“This kid is super motivated and he knows what he wants and he’s going to work hard to get it. He tries to bring everybody up around here. That’s a hard thing to do when it’s individual sport. You care so much about your team that you give away some of what you could be working on to help work with other kids, that’s a great thing.
“That’s what you other guys who are staying here can shoot for: ‘How can I be like that? How do I help others out? How to I self-sacrifice a little bit?”
“This kid is an amazing athlete, but he humbles himself down to the level that he’s not putting other kids off. Other kids want to come talk to him.
“He’s had a lot of success in swimming, and to come out in a sport he might not be the best at and to still try his hardest for success, that speaks highly of his attitude, his humbleness. I wish I’d had him longer.”
Coach Jim Kistner said Gingerich, a junior, for whom the honor was the second in a row, won by a “runaway” vote, with full concurrence from coaches.
Gingerich qualified for state in three events as a sophomore, but injured a hamstring two weeks before the district meet this year and was unable to compete.
“It was tough – very, very difficult on her,” Kistner said. “But injuries is part of the business in athletics. And she showed a tremendous amount of grace and also a lot of integrity. She didn’t miss a practice. She was there for the team for the whole rest of the season.”
Keys told parents and team members at the event that he plans to return next year, “if they’ll have me,” and that the program will grow.
The Huskies were particularly short of athletes on the girls side, sending 12 girls to the district championships – half the numbers of some other teams.
“Success will come, on a group as well as on an individual level, because a lot of individuals had success this year,” Keys said. “We’re just going to continue to grow this program.”
He said nearly all team members improved significantly in results as well as work ethic. Also, he said, he expects most of the team to return. The Huskies had five seniors on the boys side and five on the girls, including two exchange students who had no track experience prior to this year.
The boys had 98 personal bests, he said, and the girls had 34.
“That’s awesome. Pretty much every single person out here PR’d.” One PR’d in seven separate events. Two did in five each, he said.
“That just means that success happened. A lot of it is on an individual basis because we’re small. But that doesn’t mean we’re not proud as if it was the whole team doing well, winning a district or state title.
“Next year, honestly, we’re going to have most of you guys coming back,” he said. “We’re going to have a good group of eighth-graders coming up. What I expect of you guys is to be leaders, to work hard, to study hard. Go out for fall and winter sports. Work out.
“I want to have you guys set the expectations higher than they were at the beginning of this year. Because, honestly, a lot of you guys came in out of shape, not ready for what we were going to do. Be ready for next year. Because we expect a lot and you guys should expect a lot of yourselves as well.”
Jumper of the Year went to Eric Blanchard for the boys and Dana Hiett for the girls. Blanchard, a junior transfer from Central Linn, finished fourth in the pole vault with a PR of 13-6¼ at state. Jumps Coach Billy Snow noted that Hiett, a senior, scored at the district meet in three jumps and is the only Sweet Home girl to qualify for state twice in the triple jump.
Distance Runners of the Year were both boys, since Sweet Home had no girls in a running event beyond 400 meters, Distances Coach Dan Bixler noted.
Freshman Casey Tow, who actually had done “zero” distance workouts before placing a close third at district in the 800 (2:05.85), and sophomore Tanner Sayers, whom Bixler described as “an extremely hard worker,” who “worked really hard over the winter and it showed” in big PR’s in the distance events, posted a “pretty impressive” PR of 9:47.46 in the 3000. “That’s basically running two 5:10 miles back to back,” Bixler said. “Most people can’t run one 5:10 mile.”
Throwers of the Year were junior Austin Griffin, who delivered a fourth-place finish at the district meet with a PR of a foot and a half in the shot, and freshman Megan Hager, who accomplished a similar feat at both the district and state meets, winning a trip to state with a clutch PR of 98-6 in the district discus competition, then posting a 10-foot PR of 108-3 in her first throw at state to place seventh.
Sprinter of the Year for the boys went to the 4×400 relay team of Wes Parker, Noah Taraski, Lance Hansen and Nathan Hager, who went to state with teammate Austin Stevens unable to compete.
“Somebody not being in the relay can, obviously, make a big, big difference, so it makes people step up to the plate,” Keys said, noting that team members vote on most of the awards, including this one.
“I’m super proud of this group of individuals. Every single person in this group PR’d by at least two seconds, some by three in the 400. It just goes without saying that we’re super proud of them.”
On the girls side, the award went to freshman Zoe James, who qualified for state in the 400.
Coach Ramiro Santana said James is one of the “hardest workers” he’s coached, noting that she was hurt for three weeks up to the district meet. He predicted “better” things for her in the future.
The Will to Win award for the boys went to sophomore Hayden Nichol, who “was a leader, who worked hard for us,” Coach Jim Kistner said. James was the girls winner.
Newcomer of the Year went to junior Austin Stevens, whom Keys described as “very hardworking, very mentally tough, who takes criticism very well.”
Stevens, a rookie in high school track, competed in seven events in his first season, and showed that he can be a leader, Keys said.
“I couldn’t be more proud.”
Megan Hager was named the girls Newcomer of the Year.
Coach Jake Johnson said she was always willing to help out fellow athletes, including junior high throwers who also used the high school facilities.
“To me, that shows the leadership right there,” Johnson said.
The Hustle Award wen to sophomore Noah Dinsfriend, who competed in five different events during the season and qualified for state in the 300 hurdles.
Keys said Dinsfriend “came out in the winter time and put in a lot of work in the offseason.
“He has a lot of goals that he want to accomplish by the time he graduates here. I’m a huge fan of goals. We had a lot of talks about what it would take to win at district and possibly win a state title and possibly go to college.”
He said Dinsfriend “constantly put in hard work. Obviously, training all the time, running all the time, is hard on the body. Some days things aren’t going to go good, especially when you’re doing technical work. It’s not always going to be there. You have to stay mentally tough. You have hustle through every practice and when things aren’t working, you have to gut it out.”
The girls award went to Olson, who has been called on twice in her high school career to serve as an alternate for the girls short relay teams at state, and “when we were looking to fill some legs that graduated last year, that name popped up right away. She did a great job for us.
“If you give up, if you sell yourself short, you know it’s not going to come. She has hustled for three years.”
Also, he said, Olson “stuck with the pole vault” for three years and set the school record twice.
Kistner introduced Coaches Award winner Justin Carpenter, noting that the award is “for that all-around kid who put in the time, put in the effort, shows good leadership, and just really is a huge, huge plus to the team, somebody who is tremendously valuable and recognized by the students and team coaches alike.”
Carpenter, he said, emerged as a real leader this season, Kistner said.
“I saw him help students every single day in leading by example, but also getting out there as a leader in so many different ways.”
Keys said the second Coaches Award honoree, senior Nick Rietz, showed his leadership in an early hill workout, in which, despite the fact that he is a short sprinter, “was more than willing to do it and more than willing to challenge the kids who are 400 runners or should be 800 runners.”
The third honoree was Olson, who, Snow said, “will be sorely missed – a leader on the track.”
Hiett, Rietz, Parker and Dylan Stutzman were four-year letter recipients.
Third-year letters went to Justin Carpenter, Nathan Hager Kendyl Stutzman, Gracie Olson, Chase Blanco, Noah Taraski and Bethany Gingerich.
Second-year letter winners were Ricky Yunke, Cameron Taber, Hailey Nicholson, Lance Hanson, Austin Sills, Madelyn Neuschwander, McKenzie Yoder, Noah Moore, Hayden Nichol, Tanner Sayer and Noah Dinsfriend.
First-year varsity letters went to Brad Wolthuis, Casey Tow, Austin Stevens, Sarah Hewitt, Alice Ramsey, Jessi Thomas, Jake Swanson, transfer Eric Blanchard, Connor Russell, Jinny Chawengchote, Ria Chiba, Megan Hager, Zoe James, Caden Knight and Austin Griffin.
JV certificate recipients were Andrew Baham, Christian Baham, Sevin Carson, Shelby Goodwin, McKayla Griffin, Mason Hook, Parker Justham, Marc Kanngvesser, Parker Lemmer, Tristan Saultz, Ryan Schrick, Lauren Taber, Noah Webb and Robbie Yunke.
Keys, who led Sweet Home’s boys to three state track and field team titles in __________ before going on to compete in the decathlon for the University of Oregon and place third twice in the national championships, urged team members to “take pride in where you come from.”
“I take a lot of pride in coming from Sweet Home,” he said.
“Let’s create a legend here. Track and field at Sweet Home High School. That’s what we should be about.