Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
HOOD RIVER — Senior Francisco Solberg vaulted a lifetime best of 14 feet to lead the Hood River Valley (HRV)boys team at the May 29-30 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) Class 5A state track and field meet in Eugene.
HRV Coach Kyle Turner said it was hard to pick just one person as the MVP this season, culminating at the state meet. “There were so many great performances [this season]. It’s impossible to list them all,” he said.
Solberg is a good place to start. He overcame injuries this season to finish second at state behind champion Jackson Meyer of Ridgeview High, and scored eight team points for the Eagles in the meet at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus. The HRV boys finished in a tie for 17th place with 12 points. Summit High of Bend won the 5A meet with 103 points.
Solberg cleared 12-6.75, 13-0.75, 13-6.5 and 13-9.25 on his first attempts. He missed at 14 feet before clearing that height to keep pace with Meyer, who eventually topped 14-2.75 to win the competition. Solberg, whose previous best was 13-6, moved to No. 7 on the HRV all-time list in the pole vault.
HRV had one other boys state meet placer in senior Matt Trickey, who was seventh in both the 100- and 200-meter races. Trickey ran 10.99 seconds in the May 29 prelims of the 100 and 11.09 in the May 30 final. He added a 22.21-second qualifying time in the 200 later that first day and clocked 22.26 in the final.
Also competing at state for the Eagles boys were seniors Jack Miller and Solomon Parson, and junior Wyeth Droege. Miller placed 14th in the shot put at 45-1.75, Parson was ninth in the javelin at 158-2, and Droege cleared 5-11.25 to place ninth in the high jump.
The Hood River Valley girls placed in a tie for 18th place with 12 points. Summit edged Crater for the girls team title, 60-59.
The Eagles were led by the runner-up finish of freshman Diyora Khudoidodova in the high jump with a personal best leap of 5-5.75. That mark is No. 2 on HRV’s all-time list in the event. Khudoidodova cleared 4-10.25 and 5-00.25 on her second attempts, then had first-attempt makes at 5-02.25, 5-03.25, and 5-04.5. She missed her first attempt at 5-05.75 before clearing that height but she failed on three tries at 5-7.
Scout Haugen of Silverton High School won the event at 5-05.75 — on fewer misses.
Hood River sophomore sprinter Georgiana Williams was fifth in the 200 meters in 25.82. She also ran 12.89 in the first day of preliminaries in the 100.
HRV Coach Turner said of Williams and Trickey: “Both have run well this year but were saving their best for when it really counted. Last year Matt ran 11.43 in the 100 and a 23.57 in the 200. This year he ran under 11 seconds three times in the 100, breaking a 40-year-old school record. In the 200 he improved by a second and a half this season to post a time that is second all-time in Hood River track and field.
“Similarly, Georgiana dropped her 100 time from a 13.16 last year to a 12.52 to take the league championship.”
Also competing at state were distance runners Syl Perrin and Savina Davis, and pole vaulter Karina Little. Perrin was 10th in the 3000 meters (10:25.31) and 11th in the 1500 (4:53.89). Davis was 10th in the 1500 in 4:49.31.
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