Outlaws tracksters ramp up competitively

Last week, the Outlaws track and field teams began ramping up into competition following a two-week spring break.

Sisters hosted a three-way Sky-Em League meet on Thursday, April 12, against Sweet Home and Cottage Grove and a handful of runners traveled to Willamette University in Salem for the 1A/2A/3A/4A Meet of Champions on Saturday, April 14.

Intermittent snow flurries and cool temperatures did not thwart competitors at Thursday's meet as a few real bright spots emerged for the Outlaws.

In the first race of the day, the quartet of Ryliereece Morgan, Mandi Calavan, Brooke Robillard and Erynn Ricker ran the fastest 4x100 relay of the season among all 4A schools. Twenty minutes later, Ricker and Calavan went 1-2 in the 100, both dipping under the 13-second barrier in 12.93 and 12.99 respectively. Later in the meet, Calavan ran away with the 200-meter race with a season best of 27.27 seconds.

Morgan uncorked a personal best in the long jump of 17 feet 3 inches to join five other 4A girls who have surpassed the 17-foot mark already this season. She also won the high jump with a clearance of 4 feet 10 inches.

Other individual winners for the girls included Anna Bartlett in the 1,500 meters (5:24.23), Amy Hills in the 400 meters (1:09.), Kate Bowen in the 800 (2:31.91), and Erynn Ricker in the pole vault (8 feet 6 inches).

Official team scores were not available following the meet.

For the boys team Thursday provided a look at some of the best competition the Sky-Em League has to offer, as both Sweet Home and Cottage Grove have large teams with talented athletes.

The boys managed wins in two running events and three field events on the day. Jordan Pollard had a hand in two, as he won the 400 meters in a personal best of 52.09 seconds and ran the fastest leg for the winning 4x400 meter relay team that also included Korbin Sharp, Hayden Sharp and Keaton Green (3:47.63).

Hayden Sharp won the pole vault (10 feet 6 inches), Zach Anderson won the high jump over teammate Skyler Larson based on misses as both cleared 5 feet 6 inches, and Garrett Kersavage won the triple jump with a personal best of 39 feet 5 inches.

Two of the best races of the day came in the middle distances. Keaton Green and Cottage Grove's James Talley had a spirited battle in the 800 meters with Talley prevailing 2:06.81 to 2:07.06. Ethan Hosang also lost a close battle in the 1,500 meters. After leading much of the way, Hosang was overtaken down the stretch by fellow freshman Drew Chapman of Cottage Grove. Chapman clipped Hosang 4:35.32 to 4:36.33.

On Saturday, five distance runners trekked to Salem for the Meet of Champions, looking for a meet with deeper levels of competition in order to get a more comprehensive racing experience than what is available in smaller meets, according to Assistant Coach Josh Nordell. The results turned out to be outstanding, as all five runners ran either personal or season bests.

Sophomore Kate Bowen, a mid-year transfer from California, lowered her season bests on her way to winning both the 1,500 (4:55.44) and the 3,000 (10:51.73). Senior Anna Bartlett, running in the same two races, also established season bests of 5:08.19 and 11:15.0 to place fourth in both events.

Jordan Pollard also picked up two wins, cruising to the top spot in the 1,500 (4:14.27) and setting a personal best in the 800 (2:00.28). Pollard is currently the 4A leader in both events after setting a personal best of 4:06 at the Canby All-Comers meet during spring break.

Pollard won a tactical race in the 1,500 as the pace started out slow, but he was able to keep his composure and put in a 62.8-second last lap to hold off Stayton's Casey Pugh, according to Dempsey.

Dempsey was equally impressed with Pollard in the 800.

"Runners from Monroe and Seaside took out the pace on the first lap in 57 and Jordan ran more controlled, coming through in 59 seconds. He stayed in this position until the last 150 meters, where he showed why he is also one of the top five 400-meter runners in the state at the 4A level even though he is not training for this event. Jordan passed both runners like they were standing still and pulled away to a time of 2:00.23. That was a very impressive double for this time of the season," he said.

Two freshmen also found success in Salem as Ethan Hosang, who was a last-minute entry in the meet based on his time from Thursday, lowered his personal best in the 1,500 to 4:27.86 for 10th place among 21 runners. Classmate Natalie Sitz, ran her best 800 meters ever in 2:41.94 to place fifteenth.

Assistant Coach Dennis Dempsey accompanied the distance runners to the meet and had a lot to say about his impressions of the kids.

"The Meet of Champions was just what the doctor ordered," he said. "Kate, Anna and Jordan proved that they are some of the best runners at the 4A level in the state of Oregon. And freshman Ethan Hosang and Natalie Sitz showed that they are going to follow in a long line of wonderful distance runners at Sisters High School. It was fun to watch them compete so well," he said.

The entire Outlaws team returns to action with a dual meet with Sweet Home on Thursday followed by the Summit Invitational, which features 22 teams of all classifications from throughout Oregon and one from Idaho, on Saturday.