Track competitive at relay meet

After three-plus weeks of training, largely indoors, one canceled meet, and other challenges, the Sisters High School track and field team got its first taste of competition at the Crook County Relays held in Prineville on Thursday, March 21.

A total of nine teams competed, including La Grande, Mountain View, North Lake, Redmond, Ridgeview, Paisley, Madras, and Sisters, along with the host Cowboys.

Relay meets are common at the start of the season as a way to give athletes more of a “soft” entry into the season as virtually all running events are run in non-traditional relay fashion, which gives athletes a unique opportunity to work together teams of four, some as coed.

The 4x100 team of Korbin Sharp, Ben Johnson, Brody Anderson, and Hayden Sharp won the boys’ race in a time of 44.91, narrowly defeating Mountain View by .07 seconds. The girls’ 4x100 of Ana Cole, Alexa Stewart, Samantha Silva, and Hollie Lewis placed fourth, clocking 55.18.

The Sharp brothers along with Anderson and Skyler Larson placed fourth in the 4 x 400 relay in a time of 3:40, while the girls’ group of Lewis, Stewart, Ella Cole, and Maddi Busick finished sixth in 4:48.

Busick teamed with Iris Diez, Chase Frankl and Collin Fischer in the Sprint Medley relay (100, 100, 200, 400) which was timed in 2:03.4.

A shuttle hurdles relay team for Sisters won the event in 1:12.18, though the results did not clearly indicate the actual entrants.

The 4x800-meter team of John Peckham, Sam May, Natalie Sitz and Kate Bowen placed fourth in 9:53.9 to complete the running events for the Outlaws.

Hayden Jones had a good day, placing sixth in two throwing events, establishing a personal best in the shot put (36 feet 10 inches) while also chucking the spear 134 feet 2 inches. He placed eighth in the discus with a toss of 91 feet even for another personal record.

Garrett Kersavage placed second in the pole vault with a personal best of 12 feet 6 inches and Orry Abbenhuis was two places behind, also with a personal best at 10 feet 6 inches. Kersavage also claimed the runner-up spot in the triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 39 feet 3.75 inches. Hayden Sharp landed a personal best in the long jump where he placed sixth with a mark of 18 feet, 9.75 inches.

Three Outlaw girls snagged second-place finishes. Shelby Larson cleared 8 feet 6 inches in the pole vault, Ryliereece Morgan soared 16 feet 2.5 inches in the long jump, and Samantha Silva went 31 feet 10.5 inches in the triple jump.

“It was good to get on a track that wasn’t covered with snow, smiled Jeff Larson after the meet. “Seriously, the kids had a fun time and it’s good to start the competitive season with a meet like this.”

The Outlaws have no competitions during spring break, but return to action with a home-league meet on April 10 against Cascade and Sweet Home.