Oregon high school state track and field preview: Storylines, favorites, what to watch (girls)
By René Ferrán
A classification-by-classification look at this weekend's OSAA girls track and field state championships
Lily Jones (Roosevelt) and Mia Brahe-Pedersen (Lake Oswego) photo by Taylor Balkom
Where: Hayward Field, University of Oregon, Eugene
When: Thursday — 3A/2A/1A Field Events, 10 a.m.; 3A/2A/1A Running Events, 12:30 p.m. Friday — 6A/5A/4A Running and Field Events, 9 a.m. 3A/2A/1A Field Events, 3 p.m.; 3A/2A/1A Running Events, 4 p.m. Saturday — 6A/5A/4A Field Events, 9:30 a.m.; 6A/5A/4A Running Events, 12:30 p.m.
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CLASS 6A
2022 district champions
Lincoln (PIL); Jesuit (Metro); Sherwood (Pacific); Central Catholic (Mt. Hood); Lake Oswego (Three Rivers); Summit (Mountain Valley); Grants Pass (Southwest)
Returning 2021 champions
Oregon City (team); Mia Brahe-Pedersen, So., Lake Oswego (100, 200); Olivia Iverson, Sr., West Linn (400); Chloe Foerster, Sr., Jesuit (800); Harley Daniel, Sr., Oregon City (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles); Kyra Bakke, So., Tualatin (High jump); Nicole Prall, Jr., Lincoln (Pole vault); Sophia Beckmon, Jr., Oregon City (Long jump); Anika Sukumar, Jr., West Linn (Triple Jump)
What to watch
Team race
Lake Oswego has finished in the top two at the state meet once in program history — a distant tie for second in 2000 behind Benson during the Techsters’ six-year title run.
That should change this weekend. The Lakers bring 16 qualifiers to Hayward Field, including two who will be on record watch in Brahe-Pedersen and junior Kate Peters, an Eastbay All-American in cross country last fall.
They dethroned Oregon City as Three Rivers district champion last weekend and have the firepower to contend with Summit (meet-high 17 entries), Sherwood (13), Jesuit (13) and Grants Pass (13). The Pioneers have only nine qualifiers, but all are among the top five seeds in their events, meaning they’ll put up a spirited defense of the unofficial 6A title they won last spring.
A banner year for girls track? 11 records on notice this weekend
How many state records could fall this weekend? If everything falls into place, 6A athletes could set as many as 11 all-time state bests over the two days of the championships.
Brahe-Pedersen could be part of four of those records. She is four-hundredths of a second off Olympian Margaret Johnson-Bailes’ 54-year-old record in the 100 and a quarter-second off Johnson-Bailes’ mark in the 200. She also anchors a 4x100 relay that is five-hundredths off Benson’s record set in 2003 and runs a leg on a 4x400 that needs to shave two seconds to break another Benson state record.
Peters could challenge Ella Donaghu’s state record in the 3,000, and she and Jesuit senior Chloe Foerster will look to break 4:20 in the 1,500 and go after another of Donaghu’s records. Foerster, a University of Washington signee, is also just two seconds off Leann Warren’s state record in the 800.
Oregon City has two athletes who already set state records this spring. Senior Harley Daniel broke the 300 hurdles record at the Willamette Falls Invitational this month, and junior Sophia Beckmon broke her own long jump record at the Jesuit Twilight Relays and now looks to become the first Oregon girl to jump 20 feet legally.
West Linn junior Anika Sukumar, who triple-jumped a wind-aided 40 feet at Hayward Field last month, could topple Sara Callier’s state record set in 2005.
Finally, there’s the pole vault, where Lincoln junior Nicole Prall has Sarah Sasaki’s state record of 13 feet in her sights. Of course, even if Prall breaks the record, it could be short-lived — Addison Kleinke, a home-schooled eighth-grader who will vault for Churchill next year, cleared 13-6 at a meet in Florence in March.
Small-school champs from ’21 face stiffer tests in 6A
Another interesting sidelight is seeing how a couple of small-school state champions fare against 6A competition after transferring over the summer.
Clackamas senior DeShanae Norman won 4A state titles for Gladstone last spring in the long jump and 100 hurdles. Although she’d be a long shot to defeat Beckmon or Daniel in those events, she is one of two high jumpers in the field to have gone 5-8 this season — Tualatin sophomore Kyra Bakke is the other.
Sophomore Zoe Rector arrived at Central Catholic from Riverdale, where as a freshman she won 3A titles in the 800 and 1,500. She dropped the 800 this spring and will run the 1,500 and 3,000, where considering the depth of both those fields, making the podium would be an accomplishment.
Rams junior hopes to accomplish rare feat in discus, javelin
It’s been 30 years since a girl in the state's highest classification won the state discus and javelin titles at the same meet.
Central Catholic junior Kyeese Hollands looks to join Lisa Kirk of Crater (1975) and Tonia Roth of Roseburg (1992) in turning that rare double.
Hollands comes to the state meet as the top seed in both events, although she’ll face stiff competition from Mt. Hood district rival Sydney Brewster of Sandy in the discus and Rams teammate Elliott Bush in the javelin.
Brewster is trying for the more common shot put-discus double (accomplished 16 times, including by Roth when she swept the three throws in 1992). She’ll battle seniors Jewyl Newton of St. Mary’s Academy and Natalie Cunningham of West Salem. The trio’s season bests are within 7 inches of each other.
Lakers sophomore on track to eventually threaten 400 record
While Josie Donelson isn’t quite ready to challenge Sasha Spencer’s quarter-century-old state record in the 400 meters, the Lake Oswego sophomore has quietly crept her way up the all-time list this spring.
Her winning time of 56.44 at the Three Rivers district meet marked the third consecutive meet she ran in the 56s and moved her to 31st on the state list.
If she can chip away another 45-hundredths of a second, she’ll move into the top 20 all-time and position herself for a run at Spencer’s 53.93 run for North Salem in 1997.
Donelson also anchors the Lakers' 4x400 relay that ran 3:51.82 (No. 4 all-time) at the Arcadia Invitational last month. That’s less than two seconds off Benson’s all-time mark of 3:49.97 run in 2003.
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CLASS 5A
2022 district champions
Wilsonville (Northwest Oregon); Thurston (Midwestern); Corvallis (Mid-Willamette); Crook County (Intermountain)
Returning 2021 champions
North Salem (team); Kensey Gault, So., Ridgeview (100 hurdles); Ofeina Pulotu, Jr., Parkrose (Shot put)
What to watch
Team race
It’s been 32 years since Corvallis won its only state title; crosstown rival Crescent Valley has never won the championship. However, the Mid-Willamette teams bring the largest contingents down Highway 99 to Hayward Field this weekend, with the Spartans qualifying 16 and the Raiders 14.
Will that depth be enough to dethrone North Salem, which also won the last OSAA title in 2019 when the meet was held at Mt. Hood Community College and advanced 11 qualifiers? Or, what about Thurston, which makes the short jaunt across I-5 from Springfield with 13 qualifiers in hopes of its first title since 1970?
Whoever wins the title, expect a much closer result than the past nine OSAA meets (average margin of victory: 64 points).
North Salem heptathlete hopes to make history
There have been several girls who have won three individual events at the 5A state meet. North Salem junior Jordan Koskondy has a chance to become the first four-event champion.
Koskondy is the top qualifier in all four of her events — the 100, 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and shot put. She has the state’s leading times in both hurdles races and is No. 2 in the 100 and shot.
None of this should come as a surprise. Koskondy was an All-American heptathlete at the AAU National Junior Olympics in August and won the Ponte Vedra (Fla.) Pride Heptathlon Invitational in November.
Thurston’s Raven also a No. 1 seed in four events
Thurston junior Breanna Raven holds the key to her team’s title hopes.
Raven was an 800-meter runner last spring, finishing second at the Eugene City Championships during the COVID-shortened season. This year, she transitioned to the 200, winning the Midwestern district title, while also earning district titles in the long and triple jumps.
She also anchored the Colts’ 4x100 relay to the district title in a 5A-leading time, and she leads 5A in the 200, long and triple jumps.
Distance races could hold key to title race
The eventual winner of the team title could come down to a three-way duel in the 1,500 and 3,000 early Friday and Saturday mornings.
Crescent Valley freshman Emily Wisniewski is the top qualifier in both events after sweeping the Mid-Willamette district titles. North Salem senior Isabel Swain finished second in the 3K and third in the 1,500, and sisters Avery and Madeline Nason of Corvallis are among the contenders in both races.
Thurston will not have a runner in either race and will hope that the three MWC teams split the points evenly.
Parkrose shot putter looks to end 35-year title drought
No Parkrose girl has won an OSAA state title since Kamala Kohlmeier broke the tape in the 100 hurdles in 1987.
Pulotu has a chance to end that streak Saturday, looking to follow her culminating-week state meet victory last April with an official title this weekend.
Pulotu owns 5A’s best throw this spring — a 41-4 at an early-season Northwest Oregon meet — but has broken 40 feet only once since. She enters Hayward Field as the No. 3 seed behind Koskondy and Thurston sophomore Bailey Tovey.
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CLASS 4A
2022 district champions
Astoria (Cowapa); Estacada (Tri-Valley); Philomath (Oregon West); Marist Catholic (Sky Em); North Valley (Skyline); Baker (Greater Oregon)
Returning 2021 champions
Hidden Valley (team); Karlee Touey, Sr., North Valley (300 hurdles); Emma Gates, Sr., Cascade (High jump)
What to watch
Team race
Hidden Valley won the last official (2019) and unofficial state titles, but the Mustangs likely will finish off the podium this spring, opening the door for some schools to end long title droughts. Philomath, with a meet-high 16 qualifiers, last won the blue trophy in 2010, and three schools with 14 qualifiers each — Baker (never), Marist Catholic (2006) and North Valley (2014) — should also challenge. Astoria and Cascade, with 11 qualifiers apiece, could end up on the podium.
Track events
Are there any more Toueys coming through North Valley? If Karlee is the last, she looks to go out with a bang as the top qualifier in the 300 hurdles and 200 and No. 2 in the 100 to Gates. The Hellesto sisters — freshman Janice in the 400 and junior Ingrid in the 300 hurdles — will fuel Philomath’s title hopes on the track, while Marist Catholic pins its hopes on its distance corps with senior Jennifer Tsai and junior Avery Hedden the top two seeds in the 1,500 and Hedden No. 2 in the 3,000.
Field events
Gates recently became the fourth Oregon girl to clear 6 feet outdoors and now aims at Joni Huntley’s 48-year-old state-meet record of 6-0 before heading to the University of Arizona. The remaining field events don’t have any superstar athletes but a bunch of tightly bunched fields that should lead to wild competitions with no clear favorites. Two who could pick up a lot of hardware over the two days are Astoria senior Maddie Sisley, the top seed in the long and triple jumps, and Molalla senior Elizabeth Grandle, the No. 2 qualifier in the high jump, long jump and javelin.
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CLASS 3A
2022 district champions
Catlin Gabel (District 1); Blanchet Catholic (District 2); Nyssa (District 3); Cascade Christian (District 4)
Returning 2021 champions
Sutherlin (team); Mallory Turner, Sr., Sutherlin (100 hurdles, High jump); Olivia Farrior, Jr., Amity (300 hurdles); Erica McDonald, Sr., Sutherlin (Shot put); Hallee Hughes, Jr., Willamina (Discus); Mackenzie Walker, Sr., St. Mary’s (Medford) (Pole vault)
What to watch
Team race
Nyssa has never won a state title in girls track, and it’s been 11 years since Catlin Gabel won. With 18 and 17 qualifiers, respectively, the Bulldogs and Eagles rate as co-favorites to dethrone Sutherlin and deny St. Mary’s (Medford), the last OSAA champion in 2019. Sutherlin brings 11 entries to Hayward to defend its title, including Turner as the top seed in both events she won last spring, while Southern Oregon rivals St. Mary’s and Cascade Christian join Blanchet Catholic with 10 qualifiers apiece.
Track events
Catlin Gabel’s title hopes ride on its big guns on the track — sophomore Alicia Ye in the 100 and 200 and senior Megan Cover in the 1,500 and 3,000. Ye took second to De La Salle sophomore Mia Rhodes at the district meet in both races, and the four-point swing could prove critical in the team standings this weekend. Nyssa juniors Gracie Johnson (200, 400) and Asbel Tellez Jaquez (100) could also score crucial points in the team race.
Field events
Walker already broke the 3A state record in the pole vault this season and now takes aim at moving into the top 10 on the all-time state list. Hughes is less than 5 feet from the 3A junior record in the javelin and has a shot at sweeping all three throws titles — although Umatilla senior Taylor Durfey, the state leader and top seed in the shot, will have something to say about it. Southern Oregon jumpers bring the state’s top marks to Hayward — Turner in the high jump, Cascade Christian junior Autumn Murray in the long jump and St. Mary’s junior Sidney DeBoer in the triple jump.
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CLASS 2A
2022 district champions
Faith Bible Christian (District 1); Regis (District 2); Oakland (District 3); Coquille (District 4); Weston-McEwen (District 5)
Returning 2021 champions
Regis (team); Emma Miller, Sr., Neah-Kah-Nie (100); Holly Hutton, Sr., Bandon (800); Makena Houston, Sr., Columbia Christian (1500, 3000); Kieryn Ruda, Sr., Lost River (300 hurdles); Laura Young, Sr., Monroe (Shot put, Discus); Whitley Stepp, Sr., Regis (High jump); Trinidy Blanton, Jr., Coquille (1A Javelin at Powers)
What to watch
Team race
Regis will have a difficult time adding its first OSAA state title since 2004 to the unofficial title it won last spring. The Rams qualified 10 entries, which trails Coquille (14), Bandon (13) and Oakland (12) among the title contenders. Boosting the Red Devils’ chances of winning their first title is the addition of Blanton from Powers — she is the top seed in two events and the No. 3 seed in two others.
Track events
Houston already ranks among the all-time 2A leaders in both distance races and could become the fourth ever to break 4:40 in the 1,500 and second to break 10 minutes in the 3,000 if everything goes right. Blanton will challenge Miller and Delphian junior Portia Binford in the 100 and is the top seed in the 200. Binford also has a chance to dethrone another champion as the state leader in the 300 hurdles, eight-hundredths faster than Ruda during the season.
Field events
Stepp is the top seed in all three jumps and has the state-leading mark in the high and triple jumps. Her head-to-head battle with Blanton, the state leader in the long jump, could go a long way in deciding the team race. Blanton also looks to add a 2A javelin title to the 1A crown she won at Powers. Young won the OSAA shot put title as a freshman and the unofficial crown last spring — she’d love to cap her career by setting the 2A all-time mark in the shot (she’s 3 inches away) and the school record in the discus (she’s 2 feet away).
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CLASS 1A
2022 district champions
Damascus Christian (District 1); North Lake (District 2); Dufur (District 3); Crane (District 4)
Returning 2021 champions
Crane (team); Breanna Steele, Sr., North Clackamas Christian (800); Olyvia Oeverman, Sr., St. Stephen’s Academy (1500)
What to watch
Team race
Only four points separated Crane and Adrian at the Special District 4 meet, and the Mustangs and Antelopes should reprise that duel this weekend at Hayward Field. Both teams advanced 14 entries from district, and the title race could come down to the 4x400 — in which the Antelopes are the top seed but Crane has no entry. Damascus Christian could break up the Eastern Oregon duo with its meet-high 21 qualifiers and win the program’s sixth title and first since 2015.
Track events
Crane sophomore Kortney Doman, fresh off leading the Mustangs to the state basketball title and being named 1A co-player of the year, is the top seed and state leader in both hurdles races. Adrian freshman Addy Martin is the top seed in the 100 and 200. Both schools will be counting on them to take care of business on the track in their team title battle. Damascus Christian counters with freshman Ayla Pontius, the top seed in the 400, among its sprint corps. Oeverman and Steele will do battle in the middle distances, with each hoping to double in the 800 and 1,500 and steal one of the titles from the other.
Field events
While Adrian and Crane look to pile up points on the track, Damascus Christian will quietly stash points away from the limelight in the field events. The Eagles have two top seeds in junior Sierra Hale in the javelin and senior Alysha Colburn in the pole vault. The Antelopes counter with senior Lizzy Nielson in the jumps, while the Mustangs have Doman as the top seed in the high jump.
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