Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
HOOD RIVER — The Hood River Valley (HRV) girls were fourth, and the boys, fifth, at the 2026 Northwest Oregon Conference district track and field meet May 20 and 22 at Putnam High School in Milwaukie.
The Eagles, led by head Coach Kyle Turner, had 12 state meet qualifying performances at district. The top eight finishers in each event scored team points. The Hood River girls had 15 point-scoring times and/or marks at the district championship; the HRV boys had 11.
“There were so many performances where kids really stepped up, which is saying a lot with so many freshmen and sophomores,” Turner said.
The top two finishers in each event and those who met qualifying standards (based on their district meet performances) qualified for the May 29-30 OSAA Class 5A state meet at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene.
HRV had three girls district champions, including sophomore Georginia Williams. She added to her impressive sprint resume with district titles in the 100 meters (12.52-second personal record) and 200 meters (25.62 PR), a seventh-place finish in the 400 meters, and a leg on HRV’s fourth-place 4x400 relay. Williams, who is in the top 10 in school history in all three events, scored 22 of the Eagles’ 85.5 team points. (Canby won with 130.)
“Georginia dropped her 100 time from a 13.16 (fifth place) last year to a 12.52 to take the league championship,” Turner said. “In the 200 as a freshman, she ran a 27.37 finishing seventh at conference champs, whereas this year she very maturely conserved energy in her prelims and set new PRs in the finals for both 100 and 200 — first time under 26 flat.”
Senior distance runner Syl Perrin added a district title in the girls 3000 (10:33.53), was third in the 1500, and she also ran the fastest leg of her life on the long relay. Teammate Savina Davis, overcame a bothersome cold to place second in the 1500 and fifth in the 800 (season best 2:23.84 in the prelims). They joined Williams and Amelia Gabriel on the 4x400 relay, which ran 4:13.74.
Five HRV athletes placed in field events, including freshman Diyora Khudoidodova, who won the high jump in a personal best 5 feet, 5.25 inches, and was fourth in the javelin at 99-3. Teammate Tiana Britt was sixth in the javelin at 93-3. Karina Little placed third in the pole vault at 9-5 (PR, wild card berth to state) and teammate Eleanor Buser was eighth. Roslyn Ross jumped a personal best 15-1.5 to place fifth in the long jump.
Seniors Matt Trickey, Francisco Solberg, Jack Miller and Solomon Parson paced the Eagle boys point scorers at district. Trickey is headed to this week’s state meet in the 100 and 200. He had the fastest qualifying time in the May 20 prelims of 10.73 (PR and school record) in the 100 before settling for second place in the May 22 final. Trickey ran a personal best of 22.07 to place second behind Canby’s Tanner Hall in the 200 final. (Canby edged Wilsonville 125-122.5 for the boys team crown; HRV scored 56.5 points.)
Trickey also ran legs on HRV’s sixth-place relays, which included Colin Gerald, Talon Britt, and Parson in the 4x100 ,and Sam Knoll, Andres Moretti, and Brayden Strong in the 4x400.
Of Trickey, Turner said: “What most people won’t hear is that he also ran a 50-flat leg on our 4x400 relay, which is the fastest leg I’ve seen since coaching at HRV.”
Solberg overcame nagging injuries this season to finish second in the boys pole vault at 13-0.75, Miller was third in both the shot put (45-10.5 personal best) and javelin (152-6 season best), and Parson was second in the javelin with a career best of 171-3 — a 14-foot PR. HRV’s other district points came from Moretti and his eighth-place finish in the 800 (2:03.2 PR, prelims), and junior Wyeth Droege’s 5-11.25, fourth-place high jump effort.
Droege finished in a tie for fourth in the high jump but earned a wild card berth to state; Miller is heading to Eugene, as well, as a wild- carder in the shot put.
“Jack has been one of the league favorites in the javelin for the last few years, [but] wasn’t able to finish top two in the javelin,” Turner said. “Jack is really putting effort into improving his other throws and PR’d by over a foot in the shot put.”
Turner said Droege set him himself up in the prelims in both the 110 and 300 hurdles, looking like he had a great shot of making state — including a two-second personal best in the intermediates. But the Eagle junior re-injured himself after qualifying for state in the high jump on the second day at district and was unable to compete in the hurdle finals.
“We are praying for a quick healing so Wyeth will be able to compete at state,” Turner said. “He’s just a great all-around kid who everyone roots for and loves being around.”
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