Hood River area athletes competed in the Oregon Special Olympics Athletics (track and field) Regional Competition this past Saturday, July 30. The annual event had been cancelled the last two years due to health concerns but returned Saturday at Clackamas High School with all the enthusiasm and competitiveness that has become customary at these events.
The level of competition will be different this week when Hood River Valley and The Dalles resume their track and field seasons after a week off for spring break, but the goal will be the same as athletes from both schools continue to work themselves into competitive shape.
The Dalles junior Taylor Morehouse peaked at the right time in the pole vault Saturday, winning a Gorge showdown at the 5A Invitational track and field meet at Wilsonville High School.
As the years fly by, the number of participants taking part in the Jumpstart Elementary School Track and Field Meet has grown considerably, especially from last year’s 65 to nearly 80 this past Wednesday at Sid White Field in The Dalles.
At the beginning of the season, first-year Head Track Coach Brandon Bertram had a lot of questions about his team. The departure of almost all of his athletes from the boys’ 2016 squad that won HRV’s first-ever state track title, combined with fresh faces who had never stepped on a track for competition before, left those questions unanswered through the early part of the season.
