Sisters track teams have high goals

With the largest turnout in recent years, the Sisters High School track teams have Head Coach Jeff Larson expecting the Outlaws to have a big impact in the Sky-Em League and at the state level.

The girls team overwhelmed the rest of the league last year, amassing 161 points to win the district title, and had athletes in eight individual events and both relays at the state meet where the team finished tied for 12th place.

But with all but one of the qualifiers returning, along with a crew of newcomers, Larson expects the girls team to come out even stronger for the 2016 campaign.

The Outlaws show depth in the sprints, hurdles, and pole vault, and potential in the throwing, jumping, and distance events as well.

Michaela Miller, one of five seniors on the team, returns as the district champion in the 100 and 300 hurdles. She scored in both hurdles races at state and ran a leg of the 400-meter relay that placed fourth along with Erynn Ricker, Mandi Calavan, and Macadia Calavan. Miller also qualified for state in the long jump, where she placed 11th.

Ricker is another one to watch as the lead sprinter for the team and was named Sky-Em track athlete of the meet last year as a freshman. She qualified in the 100 and 200 last year, as well as in the pole vault. She and fellow sophomore Mandi Calavan give Sisters a powerful 1-2 punch in the sprints. Seniors Macadia Calavan and Dallas Knoop, along with some untested new members of the team, ought to give the Outlaws a lot of depth in all the sprint races as well as the long jump, where Knoop ranks second on the team to Miller and is the team's leading triple jumper.

Junior Sabrina Reifschneider showed dramatic improvement during last season and qualified with Miller in the 300 hurdles. The pair are the top two returning hurdlers in the league.

Julie Meeter shows she is ready to challenge the school record books and make a return appearance at the state meet in the javelin as she popped a career best in the first meet of the 2016 season at 115 feet.

Like Meeter, senior Tessa O'Hern placed ninth at state last year, but has already added to her career best in her specialty, the pole vault, by four inches to hit the 10-foot mark. She and her coach Jim Anderson are both excited about the possibilities this year.

Senior Megan Calarco scored a lot of points for the Outlaws last year, especially in the 3,000 meters, and looks ready for the 2016 season after her victory in the first meet at Bend High last week.

A crop of newcomers should help the Outlaws be even deeper than last year in the middle and long distances, despite losing 3,000-meter school record-holder Aria Blumm to graduation. Sophie Borders, the Sky-Em District cross-country champion, is on the team this season and should be a great addition in the 1,500- and 3000-meter races. She is joined by junior Zidane Galant-LaPorte and a quartet of promising freshman: Amy Hills, Tate Ricker, Molly Winter and Alexa Stewart.

"Quite a few kids have not yet competed, so I am anxious to see how the girls do when we are at full strength after spring break," said Larson. "Success in track comes from having more than just one or two stars. It's all about depth, which we appear to have again this year. This might be the most complete team I have ever coached."

The boys can only go upwards in the league after a fifth-place finish in the Sky-Em among six teams, mostly due to low turnout. This year's squad is 25 strong and looks different already, with a good spread of experience and talent across most of the 17 events.

Returning from a stellar junior season in which he placed seventh at the state meet in the 1,500- and 3,000-meter races is Jadon Bachtold, making him one of the top returnees at the 4A level. Sophomore Jordan Pollard is also back and looking stronger than ever, according to Larson.

A huge plus for the Outlaws comes from the arrival on the team of TJ Hooks, who placed second last fall in the state cross-country meet, the highest finish ever for an Outlaw. In addition, Izaak Kanzig is back after two years in South Korea. Kanzig qualified for the state track meet as a freshman in the 800 and should bring speed to the 1,600-meter relay team that should contend for a berth at state again after a seventh-place finish there last year. That team was comprised of Bachtold, Sam Garbrecht, Keegan Greaney, and exchange student Andreas Pederson.

Senior Dyut Fetrow, a versatile runner, also figures to contribute.

Seniors Seth Larson (javelin) and Rory Petterson (discus and shot put) lead the throwing unit as both are stronger than a year ago and have started this season right where they left off last year.

"I am excited that we got a crew of freshman out, but we also added some upper-classmen who did not compete last year, including Tyler Cross, Jacob Allen and Sam Lewis," said Larson. "It's a great group of hard-working kids, and I have a feeling they will meet or exceed whatever expectations we coaches have for them."

Larson is assisted by what he considers among the most experienced coaches around, including Jim Anderson (pole vault and horizontal jumps), Carlos Garcia (hurdles, relays, sprints), Wes Cook (distance events and high jump) and Dr. Eden Miller (throws).

"They are the best staff I've ever been a part of, including at the college level. These people check their egos at the door and put the kids' success first."

The staff shares the philosophy of expecting the kids to work hard, building each other up, and having fun, according to Larson.

Sisters cannot host any meets this season since the track is in need of repair, but will stay close to home twice this season with meets at Summit April 23 and Madras April 30.

The Outlaws open the league season with a three-way meet April 7 at Elmira, which will also include the Sweet Home Huskies.