Ellis soars to state title

Cortney Ellis capped a stellar athletic career at Sisters High School by claiming the state title in the long jump Friday, May 28 at the state 3A Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Ellis's winning leap of 17-feet-9-inches was her second-best ever and topped the runner-up by nearly a full foot. Ellis actually won the competition on her first jump, sailing 17-feet-5-inches, according to jumping coach Jim Anderson.

"With her first jump, she knew she had it in her tank," he said.

Four of Ellis's six jumps would have been good enough to win, but it was the fifth that established the mark recorded as first place, 11 inches ahead of runner-up Kim Haliday from Grant Union.

"Cortney spent a lot of time this week working on the runway getting her steps perfected," said Anderson.

The practice paid off: five of her six jumps were right on the takeoff board.

"She's so coachable, she did exactly what she had learned," Anderson said.

Another of Anderson's charges, David Martin, narrowly missed a state title of his own with an exceptional day of pole vaulting.

Four vaulters, included Martin, topped out at 14-feet-10-inches, but Martin had to settle for fourth place based on the number of attempts he missed during the competition.

Anderson was impressed with Martin's stamina and determination, pointing out how difficult it can be to deal with the adversity of misses, which add up to additional attempts. Vaulters get three chances at each height, and Martin used all three tries at both 14-feet-6-inches and 14-feet-10-inches.

"When the bar was moved to 15-feet-2-inches, David was the only one of the four who came close so he had a good shot at it," said Anderson.

Matt Ehrenstrom, a junior, matched his second best effort, clearing 13-feet-6-inches, which left him in ninth place.