Scott Swanson
Sweet Home wound up its first Oregon West Conference district track last week with a third-place finish by the boys and state qualifiers in 10 events – six for the boys and four for the girls.
The girls placed fifth with 76 points, behind Philomath, with 189 points, Newport (112), Cascade (91), and Sisters (90).
The boys scored 96 points, behind Newport (163) and Sisters (142), and ahead of Stayton (90) and Philomath (83).
Head Coach Dakotah Keys said he was proud of his athletes, particularly for the maturity they showed.
“It was a very, very rewarding meet as a coach,” he said.
The Huskies showed their youth here and there, but they came through against teams with more depth and experience.
In addition to all four relay teams qualifying, individual qualifiers for state for the boys were senior Noah Dinsfriend in both the 110 high hurdles and the 300 hurdles, junior Casey Tow in the 400, and sophomore Tristan Calkins in the long jump.
“Noah in the hurdles had a lifetime best by almost half a second in the 110s,” Keys noted. “He takes second, but that doesn’t deter him. He wins the 300 hurdles. Again, we’re not tapered yet. He saw a second-and-a-half PR at state last year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him again under 40 seconds. He knows he can do it. I know he can do it. We’re just scratching the surface for his talent.”
Katen Edwards qualified in the javelin for the girls and Jessy Hart ran fast enough in the 400 to qualify for a wildcard berth in that event.
“I actually dropped the 300 hurdles to try to make it in the 400, so I’m really happy I made it in that,” Hart said.
Keys noted that his team came through in all of the events the coaches had penciled in state qualifiers, but they were hoping for a couple more.
“The cool part is our guys are still tapering, but everybody who we thought would make it, there were a couple events like Jessy in the 400, where we were hoping for the best. She runs a lifetime best and is fifth best in the state. She makes it as the wild card. That was big of her.”
Calkins, who decided not to play basketball during the winter in order to concentrate on track, said it paid off.
Calkins won the long jump with a leap of 21-1, with teammate Austin Sills fourth in 19-11.
He was second to Hayden Sharp of Sisters in the long jump going into the finals and then was passed by Ben Johnson before unloading a 21-1 to win.
“I was in third,” he said. “On the final jump, coaches got the clapping going and I got my 21. It was a big relief. Hayden, the last guy who was ranked first, had everybody on their toes.”
Edwards threw 115 on her first throw “and I knew it was going to be a good day.” But when Philomath’s Sara Bradley unleashed a throw of 111-10, Edwards said she was feeling some pressure.
“I knew this was my last throw, so I just threw my hardest,” she said. Her 115-9 was a PR by over 14 feet.
Making state was a big goal for her, Edwards said.
“It felt just great to get it off my back. I worked really hard for it.”
The boys 4×400 relay was their big moment of the day, as they started with a little tense nervousness.
Calkins had just finished the 200 final in seventh, two seconds off the second-fastest qualifying time he ran on Thursday, after experiencing a problem with his hip and backing off in the race. Junior Tristan Saultz, fresh off a sixth-place finish in a bruising 800 final, was tabbed to run Calkins’ leg in the long relay.
In the third leg, he actually extended the lead slightly for teammates Tow, Dinsfriend and Lance Hanson, who held on for first place, in 3:31.35, their fastest time of the year.
Hanson said Saultz delivered a “clutch” performance.
“He got us a good lead in the third leg and I was able to pull it through because of his lead,” Hanson said.
Saultz said he learned he was running the 4×400 after he talked to Keys about his finish in the 800.
“Tristan Caulkins was hurting, so I got put in the 4×400. I didn’t feel the greatest. I felt pretty sluggish, but I’m glad I was able to run a good leg. It feels pretty good to get to state. I was pretty disappointed after the 800.”
Tow said Hanson originally was supposed to lead off and Tow was slotted to run the anchor leg, “but I asked if we could switch because I really just wanted to give us that lead. Tristan Saultz did a heck of a job. He had just run an 800. Noah had just run the 300 hurdles. I had run the 400. They did a heck of a job.”
Keys agreed.
“We had Tristan Saultz walk in there, and to PR a little bit with him on the team, everybody just stepped up to the challenge. That speaks to the confidence within that group of guys, confidence they have in each other.
“That’s an event that if you don’t think you have a chance or if one person’s not going to be there to put out at the same level, it’s hard to run 100 percent. They all did really good. They all stepped up.”
Despite some bugs in the short relay for both the boys and girls, both teams qualified, both finishing second.
“I felt like we had a lot of doubts and questions going out there, but we really pulled it together and were able to hold strong and relax in the end and get that second and make it to state and that was sweet,” said Kate Hawken, who ran the anchor leg for teammates Torree Hawken, Hart and Zoe James in the 4×100, to finish in a season-best 51.49. “It was really good teamwork.”
Hart said she thought she ran her fastest 100-meter leg ever.
“We had pretty good handoffs and I definitely feel like I ran my hardest. If it was an actual 100, I probably would have PR’d.”
The girls came up short to Cascade in the long relay, by 1.65 seconds, to finish third in 4:13.65 behind Philomath, which set a meet record of 4:04.42.
But they ended up getting into on a wildcard.
“The girls 4×400 relay team PR’d by five seconds,” Keys said. “They were the first team out, so they got in as well.”
Kate Hawken, who was honored as the Huskies’ top female athlete by the conference – Noah Moore was the boys’ honoree – said that her teammates had faith in themselves.
“In the long relay, after a long day in the heat, it was pretty tiring,” Hawken said. “It really helped believing in each other.”
“She’s a great leader for the women’s program,” Keys said of Hawken. “She stepped in after Bethany (Gingerich) left, took that spot and she’s done such a good job. She leads a lot of kids quietly.”
The boys finished second to Sisters in the short relay, running a season-best 44.66.
“I messed up a little bit, but we still ended up second, so we’re going to state,” Hanson said. We’ll fix it by then. I’m glad both (relay) teams are going to state again and hopefully we do a lot better at state this year.”
“It was a little bumpy, but we’ll smooth it out,” Dinsfriend said.
In the 800, Sills was fourth in 2:03.83, three-quarters of a second ahead of Saultz (2:04.52), as both got trapped in a tight pack for much of the race.
Most of the veterans performed as expected, but it was the rookies who left some tantalizing indications of good things to come.
Senior Kennedi Waldrop, who tried high school track for the first time this season, placed third in the discus with a throw of 104-1, an 8-foot PR.
“It was so cool to finish third,” Waldrop said. “I thought maybe I could just get up on the podium this year.”
She said she had a “great” experience in her one year of track, in which she PR’d nearly every time she threw the discus.
“I didn’t realize how cool of a family that is with the Sweet Home track team. It’s huge. It’s awesome.”
Other beginners who got into the finals were freshman Tanner Waldrop, eighth in the boys discus with a PR of 105-6; freshman Paul Amrein, ninth in the boys high jump (5-4); sophomore Kailey James, sixth in the girls high jump with a PR of 4-8 in only her third attempt at the event; sophomore Crystal Wolf, sixth in the pole vault in a PR of 7-0, and ninth in the long jump with a PR of 14-7¾ to finish off her first year of high school track; and a score of other PRs from the Huskies.
Keys noted that Brad Wolthuis’ sixth-place finish in the pole vault, along with others that didn’t make state, added up for the Huskies. And, he said, the team is fun to coach.
“It’s just cool to see those kids step up to the challenge, and I think having the people who’d been there before and just keeping the meet calm, that helped. The kids went out, they knew when to warm up, they knew when to cool down, they went out there and executed their races. That’s just what we want as a program, for these kids to be self-sufficient.
“All these freshmen can take criticism and critique. I’m glad to be coach of that kind of program. It’s fun. I’m just glad to be part of the program.”
Oregon West Conference
District Championships
Boys Results
Team Scores – (1) Newport 163; (2) Sisters 142; (3) Sweet Home 96; (4) Stayton 90; (5) Philomath 83; (6) Cascade 43; (7) Woodburn 39.
State Qualifiers (top two) and Sweet Home Finishers (finishers below eighth place are prelims results)
*Personal Best
100 – (1) Joshua Belliard (Stayton) 11.16; (2) Tanner Stottlemyre (Newport) 11.25; (7) Brad Wolthuis (SH) 11.92; (12) Noah Moore (SH) 12.13.
200 – (1) Tanner Stottlemyre (Newport) 23.49; (2) Ashton Williams (Cascade) 23.66; (7) Tristan Calkins (SH) 24.75; (8) Parker Lemmer (SH) 24.81.
400 – (1) Brody Anderson (Sisters) 50.43; (2) Casey Tow (SH) 50.58*; Lance Hanson (SH) 52.22*.
800 – (1) Grant Hellesto (Philomath) 2:05.44; (2) Ben Kirby (Stayton) 2:03.08; (4) Austin Sills (SH) 2:03.83*; (6) 2:04.52*.
1500 – (1) Leo Johns (Newport) 4:13.51; (2) Ben Kirby (Stayton) 4:17.71; (11) Eddy Martinez-Maya (SH) 44:43.53; (16) Eric Roddy (SH) 5:26.24.
3000 – (1) Leo Johns (Newport) 9:04.31; (2) John Peckham (Sisters) 9:08.15; (7) Eddy Martinez-Maya (SH) 10:17.23; (12) Gavin Walberg (SH) 10:47.14; (14) Eric Roddy (SH) 11.56.62.
110 Hurdles – (1) Trevin Del Nero (Philomath) 15.49; (2) Noah Dinsfriend (SH) 15.54*.
300 Hurdles – (1) Noah Dinsfriend (SH) 40.89; (2) Kai Daniels (Newport) 41.41; (12) Robby Yunke (SH) 47.54*.
4×100 Relay – (1) Sisters 43.68; (2) Sweet Home (Noah Dinsfriend, Casey Tow, Lance Hanson, Tristan Calkins) 44.66; (3) Stayton 45.25; (4) Cascade 45.86; (5) Philomath 46.51; (6) Newport 49.79.
4×400 Relay – (1) Sweet Home (Casey Tow, Noah Dinsfriend, Tristan Saultz, Lance Hanson) 3:31.35; (2) Sisters 3:35.81; (3) Newport 3:37.88; (4) Philomath 3:39.97; (5) Woodburn 3:41.88; (6) Cascasde 3:45.51.
Shot Put – (1) Jake Tucker 51-9½; (2) Kane Rust (Philomath) 49-2½; (8) Noah Moore (SH) 39-0; (14) Sevin Carson (SH) 34-1½; (18) Keegan Fox (SH) 32-10½.
Discus – (1) Max Moore (Newport) 165-2; (2) Jake Tucker (Newport) 137-1; (8) Tanner Waldrop (SH) 105-6*; (12) Jake Swanson (SH) 101-2; (17) Charles Crawford (SH) 94-2*.
Javelin – (1) Tanner Stottlemyre (Newport) 166-2; (2) Max Moore (SH) 163-5; (4) Jake Swanson (SH) 159-11; (5) Robbie Yunke (SHG) 156-1*; (6) Noah Moore (SH) 150-7.
High Jump – (1) Skyler Larson (Sisters) 6-2; (2) Tyson Doman (Woodburn) 6-1; (9) Paul Amrein (SH) 5-4.
Pole Vault – (1) Garrett Kersavage (Sisters) 13-0; (2) Connor Kutzler (Philomath) 13-0; (6) Brad Wolthuis (SH) 10-11; (10) Parker Lemmer (SH) 8-11*.
Long Jump – (1) Tristan Calkins (SH) 21-1; (2) Hayden Sharp (Sisters) 20-8; (4) Austin Sills (SH) 19-11.
Triple Jump – (1) Jayon Smith (Newport) 42-0½; (2) Garret Kersavage (Sisters) 40-11; (10) Aiden Shamek (SH) 35-7*; (15) Nathaniel Coleman (SH) 29-3.
Girls Results
Team Scores – (1) Philomath 189; (2) Newport 112; (3) Cascade 91; (4) Sisters 90; (5) Sweet Home 76; (6) Stayton 72; (7) Woodburn 26.
100 – (1) Maggie Ross (Philomath) 12.39; (2) Alissa Humphreys (Stayton) 12.63; (4) Kate Hawken (SH) 13.03*; (17) Crystal Wolf (SH) 14.41*.
200 – (1) Maggie Ross (Philomath) 25.93; (2) Alissa Humphreys (Stayton) 26.35; (3) Kate Hawken (SH) 27.22; (5) Jessy Hart (SH) 27.49; (10) Zoe James (SH) 28.24*.
400 – (1) Melia Morton (Philomath) 59.22; (2) Hannah Bovbjerg (Philomath) 59.98; (3) Jessy Hart (SH) 1:00.49*; (6) Haliey Green (SH) 1:05.29.
800 – (1) Emma Singleton (Sister) 2:29.31; (2) Madison Bushnell (Philomath) 2:34.12; No Sweet Home entrants.
1500 – (1) Hannah Hernandez (Philomath) 5:02.03; (2) Kate Bowen (Sisters) 5:18.63; (14) Madelyn Neuschwander (SH) 6:13.92; (15) Sicily Neuschwander (SH) 6:29.20.
3000 – (1) Hannah Hernandez (Philomath) 10:57.01; (2) Kate Bowen (Sisters) 11:30.23; (12) Sicily Neuschwander (SH) 13.43.59.
100 Hurdles – (1) Izabella McLane (Newport) 16.29; (2) Alivia Pittman (Philomath) 16.65; No Sweet Home entrants.
300 Hurdles – (1) Azabella McLane (Newport) 47.47; (2) Alivia Pittman (Philomath) 47.91; No Sweet Home entrants.
4×100 Relay – (1) Philomath 50.23; (2) Sweet Home (Torree Hawken, Jessy Hart, Zoe James, Kate Hawken) 51.49; (3) Newport 51.54; (4) Stayton 51.67; (5) Cascade 51.74; (6) Sisters 54.42
4×400 Relay – (1) Philomath 4:04.42; (2) Cascade 4:12.00; (3) Sweet Home (Jessy Hart, Zoe James, Torree Hawken, Kate Hawken) 4:13.65; (4) Newport 4:20.77; (5) Sisters 4:24.04; (6) Stayton 4:49.36.
Shot Put – (1) Mia Rust (Philomath) 36-6½; (2) Halle Hargett (Newport) 34-11; (4) Megan Hager (SH) 34-0; (7) Shelbey Nichol (SH) 31-4½; (16) Kirsten Watkins (SH) 27-2½.
Discus – (1) Sadiemay Gullberg (Philomath) 114-7; (2) Halle Hargett (Newport) 110-0; (3) Kennedi Waldrop (SH) 104-1*; (8) Megan Hager (SH) 96-7; (15) Kirsten Watkins (SH) 77-10.
Javelin – (1) Madison Hargett (Newport) 125-0; (2) Katen Edwards (SH) 115-9*; (5) Natalie Rodgers (SH) 106-2*; (6) Torree Hawken (SH) 98-1.
High Jump – (1) Emma Gates (Cascade) 5-7; (2) Hollie Lewis (Sisters) 5-0; (6) Kailey James 4-8*.
Pole Vault – (1) Shelby Larson (Sisters) 9-0; (2) Amey McDaniel (Philomath) 8-6; (6) Crystal Wolf (SH) 7-0*.
Long Jump – (1) Melia Morton (Philomath) 16-8½; (2) Samantha Silva (Sisters) 15-7½; (9) Crystal Wolf (SH) 14-6¼; (12) Hannah Powell (SH) 13-9¾; (15) Zoe James (SH) 12-9¼.
Triple Jump – (1) Ari Gomez (Newport) 33-11½; (2) Molly Rose (Cascade) 33-1; (5) Shelbey Nichol (SH) 31-5; (12) Hannah Powell (SH) 28-8.