The Crook County girls and Ridgeview’s and Pendleton’s boys head into Saturday’s Intermountain Conference district track and field meet as the team favorites, while a number of athletes from The Dalles and Hood River Valley should figure in the individual mix.
But that’s on paper.
The meet at Pendleton High School begins at 11 a.m. with field events; running finals start at 1 p.m. The meet will be a combined varsity-junior varsity competition.
The district meet traditionally decides team championships and is used as qualifying for the OSAA state meet. The OSAA decided not to host state competition – in any sports. So, a group of coaches has organized a Class 5A state meet, the 5A Invitational, which will be held May 21-22 at Wilsonville High School. Athletes qualify for the 5A invite by recording top times and marks in each event throughout the season, including district.
Ridgeview won the 2019 IMC girls meet, 129-128 over Crook County in Prineville. Hood River was third with 118 points and The Dalles fourth with 108. Crook County’s boys easily won two years ago, scoring 213 points – 48 more than runner-up Pendleton. The Dalles was third and Hood River Valley fourth.
Pendleton and Ridgeview are in the best position, pre-district, to unseat Crook County, based on their team depth this season. Pendleton figures to score heavily in the jumps and throws, while Ridgeview has depth in the sprints and in the field events. Both schools have quality hurdlers.
Defending champions include Crook County’s Zachary Guthrie, who won the 100 and 200 and long jump in 2019. He has been ranked No. 2 in the 100 behind The Dalles junior Jaxon Pullen most of this COVID-shortened season. Pullen and Guthrie are ranked third and fourth in what could be a very competitive boys long jump where four jumpers are separated by 2.5 inches. Pendleton’s Zaanan Bane leads the qualifiers at 21-4.75; Ridgeview’s Jeremiah Schwartz is next at 21-4; Pullen’s best is 21-3.5; and Guthrie’s top mark this spring is 21-2.25.
Pendleton has one returning champion back to defend his title. Samuel Jennings won the javelin his freshman year. He has the best throw so far this season at 198-11 but lost last week in a head-to-head matchup with HRV’s school recordholder, Michael Goodman. Goodman also is among the favorites in the high jump.
HRV senior Josh Haynes is the other boys champion back from 2019. Haynes won the 1500 (4:13.42) and was second in the 3000 that year. Haynes and his teammates – led by sophomore Elliot Hawley – will be in ultra-competition distance races. Among the hopefuls in the 800 through 3000 is Juan Diego Contreras of The Dalles, who has the fastest qualifying mark in the 3000 (8:47.76) and teammate Nick Caracciolo.
Hood River’s Steven Stanley, whose best is 14-3, and Taylor Morehouse of The Dalles, who cleared 13-0 last week, will go head-to-head in the pole vault. They were teammates as The Dalles in 2019, when they placed second and third at district, respectively.
On the girls side, two 2019 champions are back: Hood River’s Poppy Miller in the pole vault; and The Dalles long jumper Emily Adams. With a best of 11 feet, Miller is a foot above her nearest competition in the vault, teammate Simone Tillman. Adams is ranked third in the long jump behind her teammate Zoe Dunn and Crook County’s Madelynn Fuentes.
If things go to form, Hood River and The Dalles will dominate the girls distance races. HRV’s middle distance standout, Chloe Bullock has the fastest times in the 800 and 1500. The Dalles counters with Emily Johnson, ranked first in the 3000 and third in 1500, and teammate Hannah Ziegenhagen, who is ranked second in those events.
The Dalles has the top-ranked girls 4x100 relay, with Adams, Elena Cardosi, Madeline Harrison, and Dunn. HRV has the top-ranked girls 4x400 relay, which includes Bullock, Amelia Huxtable, Kate Siekkinen, and Tillman.
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