Outlaws qualify 11 for state track

The Outlaws have entry at state with three relay teams and 11 individual athletes covering 13 events, after a very successful Sky-Em District Meet held Thursday, May 15 and Saturday, May 17 at Elmira High School.

For the girls team, three Outlaws qualified for state in multiple events, with Zoe Falk and Natalie Ambrose leading the way with four apiece.

Falk won the 1,500-meters (4:52.03) and the 800 (2:24.75), placed second in the long jump (16 feet, 9.25 inches) and teamed up with Macadia Calavan, Natalie Ambrose, and Michaela Miller to win the 4x400-meter relay in 4:04.57, which is the top time among 4A teams this season.

Ambrose started the day with teammates Miller, Calavan, and Emily Corrigan in the 4x100-meter relay and placed second in 51.35. Ambrose returned about 30 minutes later and won the 400, dipping under the minute mark in 59.59. She then flexed her muscles in the 200 where she placed second (26.84) to qualify in that event as well, before finishing with the win in the long relay.

"It's so good to have Natalie back on the team," said Coach Josh Nordell. "She's a link we were missing to give us more depth in the sprints."

In addition to her part in both relays, Michaela Miller won the long jump, just .75 inches ahead of her teammate Zoe Falk.

Tessa O'Hern earned herself a trip to the big meet after clearing 9-2 in the pole vault on her way to second place, just four inches behind the winner from La Pine.

Aria Blumm returns to state in two events after a convincing win in the 3,000 on Thursday (10:45.04) and a very close second place to Falk in the 1,500 (4:52.34).

"Those two showed a lot of strength in the final stages of the race and placed themselves in good position for next week's meet," said Nordell. "It is such an advantage that they can race each other as teammates."

The girls' team placed second in the meet with 145 points, just 12 behind defending champion Cottage Grove among the seven league teams.

In addition to the state qualifiers, a number of other girls contributed mightily to the Outlaws' score.

Macadia Calavan picked up third place in the 400 (1:02.94), Maddi Boettner finished third in the 800 (2:30.24) with her best time ever, and Dallas Knoop placed fourth with a career best of 15-10.25, an improvement of nearly a foot-and-a-half.

"When kids come up with personal records at championship meets it's so exciting for the whole team," said Nordell.

Katelyn Meeter lowered her best to finish sixth in the 1,500 (5:16.45) and came back for another three points in the 800 (2:34.17) after running a PR in the prelims Thursday (2:33.68). In addition, she finished eighth in the javelin with a toss of 88-5.

Freshman Sabrina Reifschneider did her part in both hurdles races, finishing sixth in both the 100 (17.62) and 300 (50.33).

Emily Corrigan scored two points for seventh place in the 400 (1:05.14), Cierra Mann did the same in the discus (88 7) and Katie Aryanfard picked up a point for eighth place in the 200 (28.79). Julieanne Meeter popped a personal best in the javelin (91-2) to place sixth.

"We gave Cottage Grove a challenge, but we knew it would take something unexpected to get past them," said Nordell. "I couldn't be happier with the way the girls competed."

Two seniors highlighted the boys' results, as Brandon Pollard and Jake McAllister will be returning to state with very high hopes in their respective events.

As expected, Pollard won both the 1,500 (4:00.56) and the 800 (1:58.55), but picked up a nice bonus as the anchor of the 4x400 team of Keenan O'Hern, Keegan Greaney, and McAllister that placed second in 3:32.45 to earn a spot at the big show.

Pollard remains the state leader among 4A runners in both events.

McAllister won the high jump (6-1) and placed a close second in the 300 hurdles (41.67), which took some of the sting from just missing the state meet in the long jump after placing third on Thursday by just four inches (20-6.75).

In addition to the heroics of the two veterans, a sophomore, Jadon Bachtold, made a big splash, placing third in both the 3,000 (9:33.35) and the 1,500 (4:20.59).

"Jadon is definitely a force to be reckoned with as he becomes an upperclassman," said Nordell.

Shea Krevi gave it his all in the 800 meters, finishing a close fourth with a personal best of 2:05.81.

Devon Calvin (9:56.60) and Dyut Fetrow (10:06.26), placed fifth and sixth in the 3,000 to add to the point total for Sisters. Ian Baldessari scored three for the team with his sixth-place finish in the 110 high hurdles (17.26).

O'Hern and Greaney both scored in the open 400 in fifth (53.86) and eighth (55.57).

Jacob Glatz took fifth place in the triple jump (37-5) and Timothy Streeter concluded the season on a high note with a sixth-place finish in the long jump at 19-1.

Kyle Wattenburg concluded his track career finishing ninth in both the shot put (37-5) and the discus (95-4), one place away from the medal stand.

Elmira won the meet with a whopping 194 points. Sisters finished fourth among the seven teams with 95 points.

"Our entire team showed a lot of heart, and now we'll head to Eugene and see if we can put some icing on this cake," said Nordell.

The OSAA 4A Track and Field Championships take place at historic Hayward Field in Eugene Friday, May 23 and Saturday, May 24 along with the 5A and 6A classifications. The 1A, 2A, 3A meet runs Thursday and Friday. The schedule and other meet information can be found at www.osaa.org.