Track teams overcome cold at Icebreaker meet in Bend

The continuation of winter weather didn’t keep the Sisters girls and boys track teams from showing some spark at the Mountain View Icebreaker held Thursday, March 16, in Bend.

Amid cold wind, rain, sleet and snow the Outlaws had a number of athletes close to personal bests and one near-school record.

Kelsey Neilson cleared 4-feet-10-inches to tie the school high jump record and considering the conditions, the record is likely to fall soon.

Other top performances included a second-place finish in the 200 meters by Tiffany Martin (30.82), Neilson’s second place in the long jump (14 feet, 10 inches) and a two-three finish by Anna Pepperling and Cammy Jacobson who both cleared seven feet in the pole vault.

The boys started the meet with a bang as the two teams entered in the 400-meter relay finished second and fourth, which showed some unexpected depth in the sprint corps, according to Coach Ross Kennedy.

“For us to have two teams of four be that competitive with Cory McCaffrey on the sidelines nursing a sore knee is amazing,” said coach Kennedy.

Kelly Crowther provided a third place finish in the 400 (55.40) and Eli Callan won his first ever varsity race at the wire in the 110 hurdles (17.71).

In the 800 meters, Stefan Redfield placed third (2:12.1) and was followed by a second varsity victory for Callan, this time in the 300 hurdles (43.9).

The meet, which included Bend, Summit, Sisters and host Mountain View was not scored.

The Outlaws don’t compete again until after spring break when they host the Sisters Rotary Invitational on Saturday, April 8.

With the largest turnout in school history, Kennedy expects both the boys and girls teams to be very competitive as the season unfolds.

“Our boys team has tremendous depth in the running events and our field events are looking very solid,” he said.

The girls, led by Jenny Boswell who is the returning state champion in both hurdles races, will be in the thick of things in the Capital Conference, according to Kennedy.

“We’re looking forward to April and May,” he said.