It is West and West in CVC Track Districts
It is West and West in CVC Track Districts
Titans sweep the team championships at McNary High
West Salem’s boys and girls came home with the Central Valley Conference Track and Field Districts team championships with wins and places in multiple events over the two day event at McNary High School. The top two competitiors from each event advanced to the OSAA 6A meet at Hayward Field in Eugene next week.
An anticipated battle in the sprints went to West Salem’s Mihaly Akpamgbo, who defeated fellow junior and defending 5A champion DeMari Thompson of North Salem in the 100 and 200 meters. Thompson–who had a state 100 best of 10.59 coming into districts—won the preliminaries with a time of 10.75. But in the finals, Akpamgbo recorded a personal best of 10.67 to nip Thompson, who matched his prelims time. Both runners qualified for state.
Akpamgbo had all the superior times in the 200 meters, with a best number of 22.03 seconds to hold off West teammate Elijah James, who had a personal best of 22.84. Thompson was third.
In the 200 final, Akpamgbo had another personal best of 21.89 seconds, topping Thompson was second at 22.32. Again, they both move on to the state championships next week.
In the boys 400 meters, McNary’s Ben Sheets had a personal best in the finals of 51.54 to win the event, edging North Salem’s Erick Gonzalez, who recorded his own record of 51.60. In fact, the top five competitors all recorded top career times.
The 4x100 meter relay was a photo finish on the boys’ side, where North Salem’s team of Pierce Walker, Erick Gonzalez, Xander Odom and DeMari Thompson took first place with a time of 42.94. West Salem had the same time on the stop watch behind the foursome of Elijah James, Ian Cooper-Leavitt, Marcos Chavez-Long, and Mihaly Akpamgbo. Both teams advance to the 6A championships in Eugene with some of the best times in Oregon.
In the 4x400 relay, West powered its way to the victory by more than a second over North. The Titan relay team of Dominic Stephens, Logan Schwartz, Elijah James, and Brady Bliven recorded a time of 3:36.51 to advance to state along with the Vikings’ second place squad.
In distance running, West Salem was also dominant. Brady Bliven cruised to the 800 meter crown with a time of 1:57.83, ahead of South Salem’s Kellen Hayase by more than a second. Jack Meier won both the 1500 and 3000 meters over the two day meet. In the 1500, Meier recorded a personal best of 4:05.70 to nip Bliven by just .13 seconds, with the Titans’ Logan Schwartz in third. In the 3000 meters Friday, Meier recorded a season-best time of 8:39.13, nearly twenty seconds ahead of teammate Ryan Newton.
In the hurdles, Matt Nivala won the 110 hurdles, and finished second in the 300 meter event, with times of 15.27 and 41.21, respectively. Sprague’s Shawn Parker topped Nivala in the 300 with a personal best time of 41.16—just a margin of five hundredths of a second.
West boys swept the jumps in district meet field events. The long and triple jumps were both captured by Logan Hilty on Friday and Saturday respectively. Hilty recorded a personal best of 21’ 8 ½ inches Friday in the long jump, and another personal record of 43-8 Saturday in the triple. Fellow Titans Mobolaji Majekodunmi (LJ) and Kellyn Filley (TJ) finished second in the same events respectively. Majekodunmi nabbed the high jump title with his own personal best of 6 feet, 4 inches. The pole vault crown was claimed Friday by South Salem’s Griffin Haider with a personal record of 13-6.
In the other field events, West Salem’s Makai DeBerry flexed his muscles in winning the shot put and javelin. The Titan junior had a best effort of 44 feet 6 ¾ inches to win the shot put by nine inches-plus over North Salem’s Roan Bashioum. DeBerry’s 161-10 mark in the javelin Saturday was a personal record. The Titans swept the event with personal bests also recorded by sophomores Tyler Hawkins and Koen Graf.
Sprague junior Wil Charles had a personal best 140-9 in the discus to win the event Friday, ahead of North’s Bashioum—who qualified for state in two events.
The West Salem boys rolled up 279 ½ points in the district meet, 164 points better than second place North Salem.
On the girls’ side, the point totals were smaller, but the margin of victory was still decisive, as West Salem won the conference crown easily with 211 points, 51 points better than second place Sprague.
The West girls took home titles in the early events Friday, with wins in the pole vault (Alessia LeMeza—9’ 4”) and the long jump (Olivia Jolivette—18’1”). The personal records for the Titans in both events were a heartening start to a good meet for the team. The discus was won on Friday by Sprague’s Olivia Jacobson, which had a personal best in winning the event at 104’ 7”.
Saturday, the rest of the Titan squad mixed it up in the other events, with positive results.
In the girls 100 meters, the clear favorite didn’t even finish the finals race. West Salem’s Olvia Jolivette, who had the clear top preliminary time coming into the race, false started. That cleared the way for South Salem’s Brooksie Isham to advance to state with a personal record time of 12.90 seconds. North Salem’s Bethany Lawson took the other state qualifying spot with a time of 13.03.
Jolivette did take home the title in the girls 200 with a season best of 26.32 seconds, edging South Salem senior Mya Fry, who also recorded her top mark of the season at 26.58 seconds. Fry won the 400 meter race (1.00.30), six tenths better than McNary’s Kiana Olivo with a person best of 1.00.90.
West claimed the 4x100 meter relay as the Titan squad (Sophia Johnson, Olivia Jolivette, Lola O’Brien, and Amaya Higgins) recorded a time of 50.41, nearly a quarter second better than South Salem’s team (Briella Mathis, Mya Fry, Madiln Gunter, and Brooksie Isham).
Hurdles races were won by athletes from North and South Salem. North Salem’s Jackie Biers—who has one of the best times in the state, ran a 15.91 in the 100 meter hurdles to coast into state. In the 300 meter race, Brooksie Isham recorded the meet’s best time at 46.64 seconds.
In the distance races, South Salem went 1-2 behind the efforts of Chloe Kolb (2:19.92) and Lucky Becker (2:30.03). Becker’s time was a personal best.
The girls’ 1500 meters was claimed by West Salem’s Avery Meier, who recorded a time of 4:47.01. Nabbing the second spot and a trip to state was Sprague’s Sara Abbot, who had a personal best time of 4:51.82.
Meier on Friday also claimed the grueling 3000 meter race, with a time of 10:55.91, with Abbot right behind her at 11:00.00.
West and South finished 1-2 in the 4x400 meter relay. The Titan team of Lola O’Brien, Madison Forest, Sophia Johnson and Avery Meier finished with a time of 4:09.33. South Salem’s team of Chloe Kolb, Lucy Becker, Mya Fry, and Sophia Miller were right behind at 4:10.11.
In Saturday’s field events, junior Emma Dalke of West was nearly three feet better than the competition in the girls shot put, with a best effort of 34 feet, 5 ¼ inches. Sophomore Aniyah Razo of North Salem also qualified for state in second place at 31’, 7 ¾”.
West’s Olivia Jolivette qualified for state in a second individual event with a personal best in the long jump on a person best of 18 feet, 1 inch. Senior Madison Downey of Sprague also advanced with a person record of 17 feet, 5 inches, good for second place.
Downey also moved on to state in the triple jump, winning with a best mark of 35’, 11”—her career best. Alessia Lemeza of West Salem was second at 33’ feet 2 ¼ inches.
Because of ties, a total of four girls will be competing at state in the high jump. Sidney Frey of South Salem won the event with a personal best leap of 5 feet even. There was an breakable three-way tie for second place at 4’ 10”. Moving on to state will be senior Gwenyth Duncan and sophomore Jaida Carodine of Sprague, and sophomore Asia St. John of McNary.
The OSAA Track and Field Championships begin Thursday, May 25 for the 1A, 2A, and 3A competitors at Hayward Field in Eugene—and continue until Friday. The 6A, along with 5A and 4A championships run on Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27. The Titans are taking 24 competitors to Eugene, after winning 21 event championships. West Salem won the boys track team title in 2018.
The 3000 meter run opens festivities for the 6A meet, beginning at 9:30 am for the girls and at 10:10 am for the boys.
Complete meet results can be checked here—from athletic.net: https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/482662/results/all
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