The race for the league crown came down to the wire as Philomath made a late run, but Sweet Home’s boys track and field squad hung on Saturday afternoon to win its first district title since 2003.
The Huskies’ 4×400 relay team finished things off with a victory over the host Warriors, who finished second, to ice the win on the second of two unseasonably hot days that took their toll on athletes.
Sweet Home qualified eight boys in seven individual events and its two relay teams, and four girls in seven individual events for the state 4A championships, which run Thursday through Saturday, May 22-24. The competition will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, which has been newly refurbished for the Olympic Trials in a little over a month.
The heat was particularly difficult for the distance runners, as the 3000-meter races were held after 5 p.m. on Friday, when the temperature was 95 degrees. It was only a few degrees cooler Saturday afternoon, and race officials were busy handing out ice and water at the finish lines.
“Our top kids did what they were supposed to do,” Coach Billy Snow said. “The rest of them filled in. When you say ‘team championship,’ that’s what it is.
“I was very proud of the guys. The first day we had a few things not go our way. We kind of battled through heat, lousy conditions. Those were not good conditions.”
The Huskies also had to overcome Philomath’s home field advantage, including, Snow said, time at home for some Warriors.
“I knew some of their kids were going home between events to take showers and rest,” he said. “The rest of us couldn’t do that.”
Sweet Home finished with 182 1/2 points, with Philomath second (169), followed by Central (127 1/2), Newport (113) and Taft (59).
The girls finished fourth, simply because they didn’t have the depth that Philomath and Newport brought to the Philomath stadium, with teams more than twice the size of Sweet Home’s.
“On the girls side, we just didn’t have the firepower,” Snow said. “Our girls did everything they could. We just didn’t have the bodies.”
Philomath took the girls title with 240 points, followed by Newport (169), Central (127 1/2), the Huskies (114) and a severely undermanned Taft (1).
Snow said that although there were some cases where athletes did not perform as expected, things came out about as he and his assistant coaches, Ramiro Santana Sr., Jim Kistner, Randy Whitfield, Mike Severns, Krystle Streight and Tony Ward figured.
“We had our guys winning by 17 points; they won by 16 1/2,” he said. “We went down a couple of points, but then Philomath went down a couple of points. It’s odd. It never comes out exactly like you figure it.”
The only real disappointment for the boys was Land Florek’s third-place finish in the 200 meters, in which he would have been one of the top favorites in the state meet had he qualified. The top two finishers from the Val-Co meet qualify for state.
Florek did not run badly – in fact, he clocked a personal-best 22.87 – but Eric Phillips of Central and Preston Dye of Newport got an edge on Florek on the curve that he could not make up, both running personal-best times as well.
“I knew Phillips was the wild card,” Snow said. “He has the best pure speed.”
However, Florek won the 400 to qualify in that event and also ran legs on the 4×100 and the 4×400 relays to victory and state berths.
Sophomore Dakotah Keys qualified in four events, winning the javelin, the 110 high hurdles in a new school record – 14.95, and the 300 intermediate hurdles (39.71) and placing second in the long jump (22-9 1/2), all personal bests. Keys, who has already set the school record mark in the javelin this year, finished ahead of Randy Lamb’s high hurdles record of 15.04, set in 1976. He is also closing in on Lamb’s 300 hurdles mark, 39.04, set the same year.
Junior Sam Macklin took second in the 100 (11.61, a personal best); freshman Alex Santana was second, behind Florek, in the 400 (52.07) and anchored the short relay team with Brandon Elliott, Florek and Macklin to victory and a season’s best (44.17) and the winning 4×400 team (with Rob Callagan, Ramiro Santana and Florek); Callagan, also a junior, won the 800 (2:00.27); his twin brother Marc Callagan was second in the shot (46-3 3/4); senior Kelsey Fisher was second in the javelin (148-7); and freshman Tim McDowell was second in the high jump (5-10).
“The guys just had a good meet,” Snow said. “We fell down in some areas but in some areas we were stacked. In the 200, the 400, the discus, the javelin, we were stacked.”
Ethan Rowe placed “fairly high” in both the shot (fourth) and the discus (fifth), with “good PRs” in both, Snow said. Other clutch performers were Nikki Smith in the pole vault, Macklin in the 100, Ramiro Santana in the 800, and Alex Santana, who went from barely making the finals in the long jump to getting a good jump and fifth place for the Huskies.
“Nikki scored four or five points we weren’t supposed to get,” Snow said, “And Sam Macklin, coming through like that and finishing second – that was a big boost. We just had kids stepping up. Those kids in fourth through eighth places really made the difference.”
Freshman Maria Kropf and senior Amanda Basham were the big scorers for the girls. Kropf qualified for state in three events, winning the 100 (12.97) and the long jump (15-7) and taking second in the 200 (27.64). Basham, who only started running distance events this year, left the field behind in the 3000 (11:26.69) and the 1500 (5:09.65).
Senior Tee Whaley produced some surprises for Sweet Home in the throws, earning a trip to state in the shot with a second-place finish (28-3 1/4) and third in the discus.
Ashley Danielson, also a senior, earned a trip in the javelin, taking second with a throw of 104-7.
The 1500 produced some epic races for the second qualifying spot in both the boys and the girls events.
In the boys, with Taft’s Kian Flynn a few steps ahead at the finish line, Philomath freshman Jeff Schreiner-McGraw and Central’s Javier Orozco battled side-by-side over the final 300 meters before Orozco lunged for the finish line. Both he and Schreiner-McGraw, who was awarded second by two-hundredths of a second, took spills as they went over the line.
In the girls race, freshmen Carissa Swanson of Sweet Home and Philomath’s Sierra Grunwald stayed within 10 feet of each other from the gun to the tape, with Grunwald taking the state berth by four-tenths of a second. Both got PRs in the race, Swanson by seven seconds (5:15.99) and Grunwald by a half a second (5:15.60).
Swanson had to go to the medical tent with heat exhaustion Friday after the 3000, as she slipped from second to fifth due to the conditions. Teammate Olivia Johnson stepped up to take third for the Huskies as Grunwald also qualified for state in that event.
“That was the gutsiest performance of the whole meet,” Snow said. “(Swanson) was crying with two laps to go (in the 3000) and wanted to quit. The biggest thing was to come back the next day and race again in the same conditions. (Philomath Coach) Joe Fulton, the most successful cross-country and track coach in the state, said he couldn’t believe it.”
The Husky boys could be a factor at state if everyone performs as they are able, Snow said.
“We’re not going to battle for a trophy down there on the girls side, by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. “Hopefully, the distance runners will have better conditions. On the guys side, it’s a little harder to predict what’s going to happen at state. There are more variables, more unknowns.”
North Bend is the boys favorite in Snow’s mind, he said.
“They’ve got kids in more events than we do, most of them at or near the top in their events. They are pretty solid. I think it’s theirs to win or lose. They’re going to be hard to catch if they’re on.”
But if they’re not, Sweet Home, Marist, LaSalle and Henley could take control.
“All four of us are kind of right there, lurking in the shadows,” Snow said. “If North Bend stumbles and we’re on, who knows. We can’t control what they do. We can just control what we do. It will be big wherever we match up. If we can outpoint them, that would be nice.”
Field events at the state meet begin each day at 10 a.m., with running events at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday and Saturday, 1 p.m. on Friday. Gates open at 9 a.m.
Boys Results
State Qualifiers plus Sweet Home results and assorted other finishers of interest. *Preliminary rounds finish.
100 – (1) Preston Dye (N) 11.42; (2) Sam Macklin (SH) 11.61; (3) Seth Faust (P) 11.81; (9) Tim McDowell (SH) 12.26*.
200 – (1) Eric Phillips 22.48; (2) Peston Dye (N) 22.59; (3) Land Florek (SH) 22.87; (4) Sam Macklin (SH) 23.80; (7) Tim McDowell (SH) 24.30.
400 – (1) Land Florek (SH) 51.87; (2) Alex Santana (SH) 52.07; (5) David Walters (SH) 55.00.
800 – (1) Rob Callagan (SH) 2:00.27; (2) Tyler Thomas (P) 2:02.65; (3) Ramiro Santana (SH) 2:05.92.
1500 – (1) Kian Flynn (T) 4:22.96; (2) Jeff Schreiner-McGraw (P) 4:23.91; (3) Javier Orozco (C) 4:23.93; (10) Byron Sanders (SH) 4:43.45; (14) John Trahan (SH) 4:50.74.
3000 – (1) Kian Flynn (T) 9:47.68; (2) Adam Schreiner-McGraw (P) 9:52.35; (5) Brinden Sanders (SH) 10:16.16; (7) Byron Sanders (SH) 10:44.74.
110 HH – (1) Dakotah Keys (SH) 15.35; (2) Austin Ouderkirk (N) 16.29; (6) Jake Comstock (SH) 17.15.
300 Hurdles – (1) Dakotah Keys (SH) 39.71; (2) Levi Bellanger (N) 42.50.
4×100 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Brandon Elliott, Land Florek, Sam Macklin, Alex Santana) 44.17; (2) Central 44.19; (3) Philomath 45.56; (4) Newport 45.64; (5) Taft 46.41.
4×400 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Rob Callagan, Ramiro Santana, Land Florek, Alex Santana) 3:32.39; (2) Philomath 3:36.61; (3) Central 3:39.63; (4) Newport 3:41.35; (5) Taft 4:14.40.
Shot Put – (1) Marcus Cuellar (C) 51-03; (2) Marc Callagan 46-03 3/4; (4) Ethan Rowe (SH) 42-4 1/2; (10) Kelsey Fisher (SH) 35-9 3/4*.
Discus – (1) Brian Schaudt (P) 127-10; (2) Phillip Morton (C) 126-11; (3) Marc Callagan 126-11; (5) Ethan Rowe (SH) 118-6; (6) Amos Parmenter (SH) 118-2.
Javelin – (1) Dakotah Keys (SH 172-2; (2) Kelsey Fisher (SH) 148-7; (6) Bud Daniels (SH) 139-8.
High Jump – (1) Brian Schaudt (P) 5-10; (2) Tim McDowell (SH) 5-10.
Pole Vault – (1) Austin Ouderkirk (N) 15-6; (2) Nick Schatz (P) 13-0; (6) Nikki Smith (SH) 11-0; (10) James Myers (SH) 10-6.
Long Jump – (1) Dakotah Keys (SH) 22-9 1/2; (2) Brian Schaudt (P) 21-11 1/4; (5) Alex Santana (SH) 19-5 1/2; (8) Sam Macklin (SH) 18-10 1/2.
Triple Jump – (1) Brian Schaudt (P) 25-9; (2) Steven Pond (C) 42-2 1/2; (8) Tim McDowell (SH) 37-6 1/2; (14) Amos Parmenter (SH) 33-10 1/2*.
Girls Results
State Qualifiers plus Sweet Home results and assorted other finishers of interest. *Preliminary rounds finish.
100 – (1) Maria Kropf (SH) 12.97; (2) Joy DeVos (P) 31.52; (9-tie) Natasha Perry (SH) 14.75*; (11) Tanesia McDowell (SH) 14.85*.
200 – (1) Barry McLaren (P) 27.48; (2) Maria Kropf (SH) 27.64; (9) Tanesia McDowell (SH) 30.72*; (10) Natasha Perry (SH) 31.02*.
400 – (1) Barry McLaren (P) 1:01.28; (2) Amy Udell (C) 1:03.68; (7) Leah Dauley (SH) 1:07.28; (8) Jessica Snow (SH) 1:08.32.
800 – (1) Rylee Marshall (P) 2:35.15; (2) Ericka Hicks (N) 2:36.44; (4) Jill Mahler (SH) 2:41.01; (5) Sami Webb (SH) 2:44.23; (8) Justine Calhoon (SH) 3:01.65.
1500 – (1) Amanda Basham (SH) 5:09.65; (2) Sierra Grunwald (P) 5:15.60; (3) Carissa Swanson (SH 5:15.99; (7) Olivia Johnson (SH) 5:43.63.
3000 – (1) Amanda Basham (SH) 11.26.69; (2) Sierra Grunwald (P) 12.04.06; (3) Olivia Johnson (SH) 12.27.27; (5) Carissa Swanson (SH) 12.37.58.
100 HH – (1) Taylor Patterson (P) 16.70; (2) Renay Norman (P) 17.79; (9) Kelika Kaniaupio (SH) 20.91*.
300 Hurdles – (1) Samantha Moore (N) 48.53; (2) Taylor Patterson (P) 49.20; No Sweet Home entrants.
4×100 Relay – (1) Central 52.07; (2) Philomath 52.17; (3) Newport 55.79; (4) Sweet Home DQ.
4×400 Relay – (1) Philomath 4:15.34; (2) Newport 4:16.21; (3) Central 4:16.94; Sweet Home 4:36.71.
Shot Put – (1) Jessie Gerdes (C) 32-5 1/2; (2) Tee Whaley (SH) 28-3 1/4; (9) Josie David (SH) 24-1; (10) Katelyn Anderson (SH) 22-10 1/2*.
Discus – (1) Jessie Gerdes (C) 101-4; (2) Emiko Koike (N) 88-6; (3) Tee Whaley (SH) 81-11; (11) Katelyn Anderson (SH) 65-8*; (13) Rebeka Branson (SH) 64-3*.
Javelin – (1) Emiko Koike (N) 111-5; (2) Ashley Danielson (SH) 104-7; (5) Josie David (SH) 95-4; (6) Whitney Stoner (SH) 94-1.
High Jump – (1) Reanna Meier (N) 5-0; (2) Laura Schaudt (P) 4-10; No Sweet Home entrants.
Pole Vault – (1) Hollie Doyle (N) 10-2; (2) Chelsea Boone (C) 10-2; No Sweet Home entrants.
Long Jump – (1) Maria Kropf (SH) 15-7 1/2; (2) Jenna Delos Reyes (P) 15-2 1/2; (9) Kelika Kaniaupio (SH) 13-4; (10) Leah Dauley (SH) 12-11 1/2*.
Triple Jump – (1) Brittany Chestnut (N) 32-3 1/2; (2) Micaela Danko (N) 31-1 1/2; (8) Jessica Snow (SH) 22-0.