The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The magic of Hayward Field, followed by good competition at the Meet of Champions, helped many members of the Outlaws track-and-field team produce career bests last weekend.

Friday, April 21, about half of the team took part in the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field that featured teams of all classifications from throughout the West, with running events, as the name implies, done in relay fashion.

A highlight for the girls team included a season best in the 4x400-meter relay as Ila Reid, Delaney McAfee, Nevaeh McAfee, and Gracie Vohs clocked 4:18 flat, tops among 3A teams so far this season.

For most of the rest of the team, the trip to Eugene served as a chance to experience competing at what many consider the finest track-and-field facility in the world and to be inspired to set high goals in order to return for championship meets in the future, according to coaches.

Sisters turned out to be one of the few teams from a classification in Oregon smaller than 5A, so the competition level was very high.

On Saturday, Sisters faced over 30 teams from 4A/3A/2A/1A ranks at the annual Meet of Champions, hosted by Sweet Home High School. The meet required qualifying marks, which led to good depth in every event and the kind of competition that is likely to produce season-best marks.

Three senior boys reached the podium at the meet, with Hayden Roth’s lifetime best of 9:17.2 earning him second place just behind the winner Mateo Candanoza of Philomath, who won with a time of 9:16.43. Candanoza finished fourth in last year’s 4A state meet. Roth’s mark ranks him fourth among 3A runners.

Taine Martin picked up a third-place medal in the pole vault, just shy of his best, with a mark of 11 feet, 6 inches and Corbin Fredland snagged eighth place in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal best of 44.38.

For the girls team Kathryn Buller picked up the only first place medal by clearing 4 feet, 10 inches in the high jump, which secured the win based on fewest misses. Grace Vohs cleared the same height and finished third.

Junior Ella Bartlett dipped under 11 minutes for the first time on her way to second place in the 3,000 meters in 10:59.40, which ranks third among 3A runners. The 4x400 relay team of Vohs, McAfee, McAfee, and Reid nearly matched their performance from the day before to finish second in 4:18.93.

Vohs finished fourth in the 400 meters with a lifetime best of 1:01.79, which moved her up to second in the 3A rankings, while Mae Roth (8 feet, 6 inches), Kate Singleton (8 feet), Buller (8 feet) and Norah Thorsett (7 feet, 6 inches) placed fourth through seventh in the pole vault.

Lilly Sundstrom placed sixth in the 100 hurdles (17.71) and joined the McAfee twins and Reid to place eighth in the 4x100 relay in 54.80. Sundstrom’s hurdle time ranks seventh in 3A.

Other personal bests came from Freja Pederson in the 800 (2:45.77), Delaney McAfee in the 100 (13.64), and Brooke Duey in the 100 hurdles (18.90) and 300 hurdles (51.67).

The girls placed third in the team standings behind 4A teams Philomath and Cottage Grove, while the boys placed sixteenth among twenty-eight scoring

teams.

The Outlaws will stay close to home for a triangular meet against Mt. View and Ridgeview at Ridgeview on Wednesday, April 26, and a handful of athletes may compete at the high-powered Jesuit Relays in Portland on Friday, April 28.