Junior Alaina Casady swept the long distance races and led The Dalles High’s girls track and field team to a runner-up finish at the 2024 Class 4A Tri-Valley Conference district meet May 10-11 at Gladstone.
District titles and state meet berths were contested during two days of warm weather at Gladstone High School, where The Dalles’ girls team scored 124 points compared to the 251.5 by champion Crook County. The Cowboys also won the boys competition with 247 points, while The Dalles was fourth with 90.Â
The top two finishers in each of the 15 individual events and two relays automatically qualified for the May 17-18 Class 4A state meet at Hayward Field in Eugene. Other berths to state were available to those who met qualifying standards and/or earned statewide wild card spots. (The Dalles had athletes qualify both ways.)
Casady won the girls 3000 meters on May 10 in 11 minutes, 22.57 seconds. A day later she edged Emily Picard of Madras in the 1500, 4:59.76 to 4:59.79. It was the first time either runner had dipped below the five-minute mark in the metric mile.Â
Two other athletes won district titles for The Dalles. Sophomore Derek Goulart won the high jump at 6 feet, 2.75 inches (1.9 meters). The Dalles senior Madelyn Harrison won the 200 in a personal best time of 26.59 seconds. Harrison also was second in the 100 (PR 12.98) and 400 (PR 59.37) and ran a leg on The Dalles’ runner-up 4x400 relay along with teammates Lily Adams, Ebany Mondragon, and Laura Black. They combined to run a time of 4:13.93 vs. champion Crook County’s 4:13.56. Those times are ranked 1-2 in Class 4A this season.
Junior Rowena Benjamin also earned a berth in the 4A state meet with her second-place finish in the 100 hurdles in a personal best 17.35. She later added a fifth-place finish in the 300 hurdles, also in a PR, 54.24, and was fourth in the pole vault at 7-6.
Senior Lily Adams had a stellar day. In addition to her 4x400 relay leg, Adams was second behind teammate Harrison in the 200 in 27.22 (season best); third in the 100 in 13.25; and fourth in the 400 in a season best 1:01.85. She qualified for state in the 200 and the 400.
Also placing (top eight) for the Riverhawk girls were: Marissa Baldy, sixth, triple jump (30-3.75, 9.24 meters) and eighth, high jump (4-4.75, 1.34 meters); Alondra Romero, sixth, long jump (PR 14-6, 4.42 meters); Gabrielle Kahler, fifth, pole vault (7-0) and eighth, 300 hurdles (57.04); Kestley Hodges, fourth, javelin (PR 95-2.5) and seventh, 3000 (12:46.29); Marley Perry, sixth 3000 (12:39.03) and eighth, 800 (PR 2:41.59); Abigail Pope, eighth, 1500 (5:30.76); Black, fifth, 400 (PR 1:04.4); Mondragon, seventh, 200 (29.34).
The Dalles girls 4x100 team of Mondragon, Romero, Benjamin, and Baldy finished fifth in 55.56.
The Dalles boys had five runner-up (state qualifying) finishes, including the 4x400 relay of Egan Ziegenhagen, Vincent Ziegenhagen, Tyson Long, and Noah Preston. They ran a season best 3:34.07. Long and Preston added PRs in the 800; Long was third in 2:00.82 and Preston fourth in 2:01.68. Vincent Ziegenhagen was third in the 300 hurdles in 43.63 and seventh in the javelin at 137-5.25 (41.89 meters). Long qualified for state as a wild card entrant in the 800.Â
Finishing second in that hurdles race was teammate River McClure, who ran 42.72 after running a leg on the Riverhawks’ third place, and state qualifying, 4x100 relay (44.18). Joining McClure on the team was Goulart, Anthony Jara, and David McCracken. They earned a wild card berth at the 4A state meet.
McCracken qualified for state in both sprints; he was second in the 100 in a PR 11.22 and was second in the 200 in a PR 22.98. Goulart was sixth in the 100 (11.43). The Dalles earned three other places in the distances: Kitt Lockwood was eighth in the 1500 in 4:30.4; Erickson was third in the 3000 in 9:41.17; and Phoenix Nanie was eighth in the 3000 in 10:21.89.
Junior pole vaulter Julian Morehouse finished second at 14 feet (4.27 meters) to Crook County’s Joel Rice (14-6, 4.42 meters).
Also placing for the Riverhawk boys were Tyler Irving, fifth, 110 hurdles (19.29) and eighth, 300 hurdles (42.85), and London Leitz, eighth, triple jump (37-7.5, 11.47 meters).
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