The weather report and gasoline prices are on the summer radar of The Dalles High senior-to-be Zoe Dunn.
The versatile track and field athlete monitors the weather report so she can properly prepare for her summer workouts — albeit pack a pair of sweatpants vs., say (as of late), an extra water bottle or two. She monitors gasoline prices because those workouts — as many as four times a week — often require her to travel the 175-mile round trip from The Dalles to Oregon City.
“I have a summer job,” she says, “so that helps.”
Dunn joined the Resolute Track Club in order to train with some of the region’s elite athletes. The club, run by founder, owner and coach Christina Whitney, is based in Oregon City. Dunn will train at Whitney’s house — equipped for strength and conditioning training — or at southwest metro-area tracks like those at Oregon City High and La Salle Prep.
The logistics challenges have been worth it for Dunn, who last month qualified for the Inland Northwest Region 13 Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in three events. Dunn finished second in the age 18U triple jump and third in the long jump at the June 23-26 USA Track and Field Oregon Junior Olympic Championships at Sam Barlow High in Gresham.
She also ran a leg on the third place 18U 4x100 meter relay team, which also qualified for the regional meet. Dunn joined Julia Sweeney of Reynolds High, Erin Taylor Jr., of Clackamas High, and Quinn Greene of Lake Oswego High on Resolute TC’s third-place JO state 4x100 relay. They combined for a 53.20-second clocking at Sam Barlow.
The Region 13 meet is July 7-10 at Hanford High School in Richland, Wash. Dunn will compete in the triple jump and 4x100 relay Saturday and in the long jump on Sunday. The top eight finishers at regionals qualify for the USATF National Championship, July 25-31, in Sacramento, Calif.
“I didn’t get a personal best in the triple jump, but I was close,” she said of her 36-foot, 3-inch mark at 18U state. “My best (jump) was my first one; they were all pretty consistent.”
Though she didn’t use it as an excuse, Dunn has been nursing a hip injury this summer. The injury limited her to three of six attempts in the bone-jarring triple jump. Dunn did set a PR in the long jump of 17-10.25. “I want to get 18 this summer,” she said of the latter event.
Coach Whitney thinks 18 feet is a realistic goal, although the hip injury is a concern. “I think it’s definitely realistic,” Whitney said. “Is it realistic this summer? We’ll see. Let’s see what she does after next weekend. She’s kind of had a little hip flexor thing flare up, too .… When she takes off, she tries to cross her body; it’s really the triple jump that it’s bothering her.”
No matter the outcome, Whitney said Dunn is willing to put in the effort to improve. “She’s getting stronger in the weight room,” said the coach, who is a certified personal trainer with additional certification in strength training. “That’s one thing she needs to work on … That in itself improves kids tremendously — just getting kids stronger.”
Dunn said she is seeing benefits from her strength regimen. “I like being down there. We’re in the weight room lifting two days a week and then on the track the other two. If I can’t make it, I always have my workouts and can do them (in The Dalles).”
Whitney said Dunn has the work ethic to be successful in track and field — and beyond. “We’ve just had her for a little bit so I’m just getting to know her; she drives a long way.
“I had one time a gal drive two hours (from Washington) to do hurdles .… I’ve been coaching for 18 years and that one was a while ago. But she only came once a week, not like Zoe. She tries to make it all four days. When she first contacted me and said she’s in The Dalles, I said to her, ‘That’s quite a commitment; are you sure about that?’ and her mom who was on the phone, too, said ‘Yes, she wants to do it’. And I said, ‘OK, let’s do it’.”
Dunn was coming off an already busy spring high school track and field season, where she placed in four events at the OSAA Class 5A state meet at Hayward Field in Eugene. She ran legs on The Dalles’ 4x100 (fourth) and 4x400 (second) relays, was second in the triple jump and long jump.
Dunn’s long jump mark places her third by less than an inch on The Dalles High’s all-time list behind Kristi Miller’s mark of 18-4 set in 1976, and Yasmin Hill’s best of 17-11 in 2015. In the triple jump, Dunn’s personal best of 37-1 set this past spring is the best in The Dalles High history — eclipsing the former mark of 36-3.75 set 24 years ago by Sharon Engles.
Dunn is the two-time defending Intermountain Conference long jump champion and was second this past season in the IMC triple jump. She won’t get the chance to defend her titles, as The Dalles is dropping to the Class 4A ranks and will be a member of the Tri-Valley Conference.
At the Junior Olympic (JO) state meet, Dunn got a chance to compete against the 2022 6A long jump champion — Sophia Beckman of Oregon City (where Whitney coaches during the high school season) — and the 6A triple jump champ, Anika Sukumar of West Linn High. Like Dunn, Beckman and Sukumar are seniors-to-be this fall who compete for Inner Circle Track Club. Beckman is Oregon high school’s all-time long jump recordholder at 20-8. Sukumar’s personal best in the triple is 40 feet, the fourth best of all-time in Oregon.
Beckman won the JO state long jump at 18-11.25 and Sukumar was second at 18-4.5 followed by Dunn. Sukumar won the JO state triple jump at 39-2.75.
Dunn said: “That was new to me. I’m not used to being in that high a level of competition. I was nervous, but it was fun .… I just wanted to PR,” adding that’s she’s hoping for similar results at regionals.
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