By James Day
Kennedy High’s track and field teams both finished in the top 10 at the Class 2A state meet May 19-20 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The boys squad finished ninth with 29 points and the girls team was 10th with 22.5. It was the sixth consecutive top 10 finish for the Trojans’ girls squad.
“I was very happy with how our team performed at state,” Kennedy coach Steve Ritchie told Our Town. “Nearly every Kennedy athlete was right at or near their season bests, and they showed a lot of composure and confidence.”
Junior Bishop Mitchell led the way for the boys, scoring 23 points. Mitchell took second in the long jump (21-6), second in the 200 (23.08), fourth in the pole vault (12-6) and anchored the Trojans’ 4×100 relay squad to a second-place finish. The Kennedy foursome of Nick Perez, Brandon Rendon, Zach Garcia and Mitchell ran 44.89 and came within 0.03 seconds of tying the school record. It was the highest finish at state by a Kennedy 4×100 boys relay team.
“It was all right,” Mitchell enthused about his two-day run. “I’ve got some stuff to improve on and I look forward to next year. I’ve got no regrets. There were a lot of lessons learned.”
Kaylin Cantu shined for the Kennedy girls, taking second in the 1,500 in a personal best 4:47.51 and also taking fifth in the 800 in 2:24.88, just 0.01 off of her PR. Other athletes scoring points for the Trojans were Abby Frey (fourth in the javelin, 102-1), freshman Alejandra Lopez (sixth in 1,500 in 5:12.96) and Sarah Therkelsen (tied for sixth in the high jump, 4-8). In addition, Lopez took ninth in the 3,000 and Alyssa Eklund ninth in the pole vault.
The only senior scoring points for Kennedy was Garcia in the relay, so Kennedy will be bringing back athletes that scored 49.5 state meet points.
“Given that the weather conditions were challenging at times, and we had several first-timers, I thought the kids did very well and their marks and times showed that,” Ritchie said. “We should have a few more (athletes) at state next season, and possibly could figure into the team races.”
Silverton track: It has been a long year for Silverton athlete Tess Oster. The three-sport participant in soccer, basketball and track and field, was not able to compete in the fall and winter because of concussions.
So she broke out this spring and finished second in the javelin at the Class 5A state track and field championships. Earlier Oster had won the javelin and taken second in the shot put at the Mid-Willamette Conference district meet.
“It feels great,” Oster told Our Town on May 20 after her state meet victory. “It was hard watching your teammates doing something you have been doing most of your life. It gave me that energy to just come out here and do it.”
And it took every ounce of energy she had. Oster moved from seventh to second on her final throw, uncorking a 122-9 to finish runner-up to Madeline Thompson of Sandy, who opened with a 134-8 that easily stood up.
“When I got to my last throw I said ‘I don’t care if it goes far … I’m just gonna have fun,’ “ said Oster. “And luckily it went far and I got second.”
“That was a very competitive field,” Foxes coach Erik Cross told Our Town. “There were a lot of 117s and 119s. I’m very proud of her. She’s had a great season.”
Cross said that throws coach Craig Porter had helped Oster by working with her on some technique issues. “She just kind of put them all together right at the right time,” Cross said.
Oster helped lead the Foxes to sixth place in the girls team race with 24 points. Senior Maddie Fuhrman finished a sterling high school career by finishing sixth in the 1,500 (4:41.94), fourth in the 800 (2:16.98) and anchoring the 4×400 relay team to fourth place (4:05.80). Furhman finished in the top eight seven times in the past three state meets.
Also contributing for the Silverton girls was Baylie Cameron (7th in 300 hurdles (47.43)and freshman Jori Paradis, who finished eighth in the 800 (2:21.28). Paradis, Cameron and Desiree Sinn ran the other three legs on the relay.
The Silverton boys finished 14th with 21.5, led by high jumper Colton Myers, who won the event with a leap of 6-2. Four other athletes also cleared 6-2, but Myers was the only one who made it over the bar on his first attempt. Also scoring for the boys were Brock Rogers, who took second in the 110 hurdles (14.85) and seventh in the 300 hurdles (40.23) and Ian Rush, who tied for seventh in the pole vault (12-6). The Foxes’ 4×400 relay team of Brandon Bates, Sam Roth, Hosea Catterall and Austin Haskett took ninth, and Roth finished ninth in the 1,500.
Baseball/softball: Baseball and softball playoffs have begun in earnest. Silverton baseball, which finished fifth in the Mid-Willamette Conference, lost its Class 5A play-in round game May 18 at Churchill, 5-0, to finish 11-16.
Five Foxes baseball players received honorable mention on the all-MWC team: pitcher Colton Meyer, catcher Tanner Lanear, first baseman Kirk Martinson, shortstop Brice Shippen and infielder Grant Roth.
The Foxes’ softball team, meanwhile, avoided the play-in round by finishing second in the MWC behind champion Lebanon. Silverton entered the playoffs as the No. 10 seed with a 17-9 record.
Sophomore Maggie Roth was named one of the two first-team catchers on the all-MWC softball team. She was joined on the first team by shortstop Maggie Buckholz and second baseman Daisy Hernandez. Pitcher Alex Molloy and outfielders Katelyn Hickam and Lindsey Orr were named to the second team, while outfielder Whitney Ward received honorable mention.
Kennedy, meanwhile, reeled in a pair of championships, with the softball team cruising to a 10-0 league record in the Tri-River and a 16-5 overall mark that earned the Trojans the No. 5. Seed in the Class 2A-1A playoffs.
The baseball team, which has won or shared the league title five of the past six years, knotted up the Tri-River on the final day of the regular season by beating Regis in dramatic fashion. The Trojans overcame a 5-0 deficit to beat the Rams 8-7 by scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh. Kennedy, Regis and St. Paul all finished with 13-3 league records. The Trojans take an 18-9 record and the No. 12 seed into the playoffs.
Equestrian: Silverton took 12th among large teams at the OHSET state equestrian championships held May 11-15 at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond. The Foxes’ drill team captured the state title for the third consecutive year. Competing for Silverton were senior Elsie Guenther (captain), senior Nicole Kuenzi, senior Hannah Brunkal, senior Angeline Starrs, junior Brienne Hook and sophomore Hannah Zurbrugg.
The drill team win provided 40 of Silverton’s 101 team points. Hook, Starrs and Zurbrugg teamed up to take eighth in team penning, while another Foxes threesome of Nicole Worden, Ashley Kuenzi and Brunkal took 10th.
Guenther took 12th in showmanship and trail equitation and 13th in saddle seat equitation, while Guenther and Nicole Kuenzi were 15th in working pairs, and Guenther, Starrs and Nicole Kuenzi were 15th in Canadian flags.
Boys soccer: Foxes senior Aiden Bahr will play college soccer at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in Minnesota. Bahr was an honorable mention all-Mid-Willamette Conference pick this past year when Silverton took third in the MWC, finished 7-6-3 overall and advanced to the round of 16 of the Class 5A tournament before falling 1-0 to eventual state champion Hood River Valley. UNW-St. Paul is an NCAA Division III school that plays in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Follow my Twitter account (@jameshday) and the Our Town Facebook page for scores and updates on the baseball/softball playoffs.
