HOOD RIVER — Hood River Valley’s boys track and field team has leaders in two events on the eve of the May 21 and 23 Northwest Oregon Conference (NWOC) district meet at Canby High School.
At stake are individual and team titles, and qualifying spots into the Class 5A state meet May 30 and 31 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene. The NWOC finals at Canby begin May 21 at 4 p.m. with field events and 5 p.m. with running preliminaries. On May 23, field events begin at 3:30 p.m. with running finals at 5 p.m.
Senior distance runner Logan King and junior pole vaulter Francisco Solberg are event leaders among the NWOC’s nine teams for Coach Kyle Turner’s HRV squad.
King and his distance running teammate Kai Wagner qualified for the state 3000-meter final in 2024 and they figure to be in the mix in the district distance races again this week. King was third at the district meet a season ago at 3000 meters, and Wagner was fourth.
King is ranked No. 1 in the league in the boys 1500 meters, and third in both the 800 and 3000. Wagner has the second fastest 3000-meter time among NWOC boys this spring of 8:37.04 (school record), behind Liam Wilde of Wilsonville.
Hood River’s other boys event leader entering the district championships is Solberg. He cleared 13-6 this spring and has won the event at all five of HRV’s league meets. Solberg finished in a tie for eighth place at state in 2024.
Sophomore hurdler Wyeth Droege found his form midway through the season and is ranked No. 5 in the boys 110 hurdles and No. 7 in the 300s. His 6-foot, high jump best is No. 4 in the district.
Throwers Jack Miller, Omar Sedano and Solomon Parson should figure in the district title mix. Miller and Sedano are ranked second and third in a tight boys shot put field, where nobody has distanced themselves – the top five throwers are within nine inches of each other. Sedano is ranked No. 4 in the discus, and Miller trails La Salle Prep’s Sterling Dressel by less than a foot in the javelin - while Parson in No. 3. Miller qualified for state in 2024 as a sophomore in the javelin.
Parson also will be part of an HRV 4x400 boys relay that should vie for a spot at state.
The same can be said about the Eagle girls 4x400, which is among the top four relays in the league – with a number of combinations of legs. Sadie Baumann, Hazel Haspela, Keira Brennan and Savina Davis are listed as the team which combined for HRV’s quickest time this season — 4:21.03 (ranked No. 3 in NWOC). But Coach Turner has options this season with his sprint group.
Davis, a freshman, has the second fastest open 400-meter time in the district in 2025 and is ranked third in both the 800 and 1500. The 400 came when she was doing some speed work at a mid-week meet at Centennial and then, three days later, ran the second fastest 800 (2:18.96) in school history.
Distance runner Syl Perrin is the most experienced Eagle runner, having finished third in both the 1500 and 3000 at district in 2024. Perrin is ranked third in district in the 3000 and fifth in the 1500. The junior qualified for the 5A state meet in both races a season ago.
Also on the track, freshman sprinter Georginia Williams has distinguished herself as one of the league’s best. She is ranked in the top nine in the 100, 200 and 400.
In the field, senior Alex Bronson is the No. 2-ranked girls triple jumper in the district; fellow senior Sylvaine Farr is ranked No. 3 in the pole vault; freshman Lilah Tactay is third in the high jump and eighth in the discus; and senior Hailey Harjo is seventh in the shot put.
Hood River’s girls were fourth at the district meet in 2024 and the boys were sixth. La Salle Prep’s boys team and the Wilsonville girls won the district team titles a season ago.
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