Track girls take second at state

Amy Cretsinger took the state title in long jump.

Amy Cretsinger won one event and was second in three others to lead the Outlaw girls to second place at the OSAA 3A Track and Field Championships.

The meet was held Friday May 24 and Saturday May 25 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Henley won the team title with 65.5 points, followed by Sisters with 58 and The Dalles with 47.

Cretsinger leaped 18-feet-4-1/2-inches in Friday's long jump competition to claim the state title by nearly a foot and get the scoring started for the Outlaws.

The Outlaws qualified individuals in the 100-, 200-, 300- and 400-meter hurdles and both relays to set up Saturday's showdown with Henley.

Saturday got off to a great start as Mollie Van Acker, Amy Cretsinger, Minique Yost and Noel Kimbrough blazed to a school record of 49.99 in the 400-meter relay to finish second, just .08 behind The Dalles.

In the 1,500 meters, Resa Hodson ran to a personal best and new school record of 4:58.47 to finish ninth.

The biggest surprise of the day came in the 100 meters when Noel Kimbrough, running in lane one, eked out first place by one one-hundredth of a second in a school record time of 12.64.

"I always tell the kids that anything can happen in the finals, and Noel proved that today," said head coach Bob Johnson.

Minique Yost brought in some big points for the team in the 400 meters with her runner-up finish in 59.79.

Cretsinger came through for second place on her final triple jump with a 36-feet-1-inch effort to move up from fourth place.

Amy Jones of Grant Union won the event with a fine mark of 37-feet-6-inches.

Kimbrough came up with seventh place in the 200 meters (26.34) to add two more points to the Outlaw total.

Cretsinger had yet another clutch performance in her final event of the day when she out-leaned defending state champion Lisa Sorenson of Scappoose to finish second in the 300-meter hurdles, breaking her own school record with a time of 45.91.

Entering the final event, the 1,600-meter relay, Sisters trailed Henley by 3.5 points, which added drama to the potential outcome.

Noel Kimbrough, Mollie Van Acker, Resa Hodson, and Minique Yost ran to a school record of 4:05.5 to place fifth, but Henley sealed the team title with its second place finish behind Cascade in 4:01.49.

Amy Cretsinger was named the 3A Female Athlete of the Meet, compiling 28 individual points.

Her winning mark in the long jump was the best in any classification in Oregon this year.

Four boys represented Sisters at the meet as well.

Jawan Davis finished third in the high jump with a leap of 6-feet-2-inches, just two inches out of first place.

Drew Herberger (160-feet-5-inches) and Steve Mills (155-feet-7-inches) finished 14th and 16th respectively in the javelin, and freshman Daniel Holloman placed 10th in the long jump at 19-feet-81/2-inches.

"It was a dream season," said Coach Johnson.

"We couldn't have been happier with the kids' attitudes and performances."