Outlaws compete in big invitational

The Outlaws track and field team got to mix it up with a slew of great athletes at the Stayton Invitational held on Saturday, April 30.

Oregon West schools Stayton, Philomath, Woodburn, and Newport were among the 25 teams competing in the meet.

Due to the size of the meet, only two entries per event were allowed per school.

Like most of the meet this season, the weather played a role in performances as heavy rain fell at times during the meet, adding an extra challenge to the athletes.

Highlights for the girls team included the 4x100 relay, missing Gracie Vohs who was competing in a volleyball tournament, placing fifth in 54.29 (Nevaeh McAfee, Ila Reid, Lilly Sundstrom, and Hollie Lewis).The 4x400-meter relay team, also missing Vohs, lowered its season best behind the efforts of Delaney McAfee, Nevaeh McAfee, Hollie Lewis, and Ila Reid with a time of 4:19.88 to place just behind league rival Stayton in third place.

Other individuals scoring points for the Outlaws girls included Nevaeh McAfee who placed a solid fifth in both the girls 100 (13.95) and 200 (28.21). Sundstrom and Lewis battled in the long jump, with Sundstrom edging her teammate by less than an inch with a personal best of 15 feet nine inches to 15 feet 8.25 inches for Lewis, as the pair placed fifth and sixth respectively. Lewis also placed fifth in the high jump, clearing 4 feet 8 inches. Kiara Martin picked up fifth place in the pole vault to score for the Outlaws with a mark of 7 feet 6 inches.

The Outlaws girls placed ninth among the 25 teams with 34.5 points. Philomath dominated the team scoring to win with 143 points, nearly three times the second place team, McKay.

Podium finishes were harder to come by for the boys’ team with only three individuals scoring. In the boys 1500, Hayden Roth lowered his career best to 4:31.51 on his way to seventh place, and Spencer Tisdel picked up a point for eighth place in the pole vault with a mark of 9 feet 6 inches. Taine Martin completed the scoring for the team with a fifth-place finish in the high jump (5 feet 8 inches).

While not scoring, some boys made marked improvement in their events, according to coach Cailen McNair, including Colton Middlestetter in the 300 hurdles (47.70) and Cole Jervis in the 3000 (10:18.14).

Sisters placed 20th among scoring teams with 6.5 points, while the Vikings of Siuslaw easily outpaced the competition with 109.5 points.

With District, looming May 13-14, the Outlaws wind up the regular season at the Wally Ciochetti Invitational hosted by Cottage Grove on Friday, May 6, which includes 14 4A schools and two 3A squads.

“This meet is a tremendous preparation for the district meet because of the quality of athletes in every event,” said McNair. “Our track-and-field athletes are continually improving in hope of hitting the district meet in stride.”