By James Day
The Kennedy High girls track and field team, led by sophomore Loghan Sprauer, turned in one of the best performances in school history May 23-24 at the OSA Class 2A State Meet at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Sprauer won two events and took second in another to lead Kennedy to a second-place finish with 63 points. It was the top team showing for the Trojans’ girls squad since the 1985 team won the state title.
“Our girls competed with a lot of heart,” said Kennedy Coach Steve Ritchie, “especially given the pressure of performing at state and being in the hunt for a team trophy, where every point matters. They did very well.”
Sprauer won the high jump in a state-meet record 5-6, won the 200 in 26.70 and finished second in the 400 at 59.09. The 28 team points that Sprauer collected are a school record. The high jump mark also ties a 38-year-old Kennedy record held by Sharon Bernt.
Only three other Kennedy athletes scored points, although sophomore Amelia Grosjacques, second in the 100 hurdles at the 2012 state meet, had to miss this year’s event with an injury.
Junior Madison Sprauer took third in the 100 hurdles (17.15), fourth in the pole vault (8-6) and eighth in the 300 hurdles (51.14). Madison ranks in the top three all-time at Kennedy in all three events. Sprauer won all three events the previous week at the Tri-River Conference district meet where she won top athlete honors.
Senior Sadie Manley took second in the long jump (16-3/4), fifth in the 100 (13.48) and seventh in the 200 (28.66). Manley injured her foot in the 100 but gutted it out and competed in the 200 despite the injury, and the two team points she earned proved the difference between second and third place for the Trojans. Sophomore Lauren Stokley took fourth in the 3,000 (11:34.78) and fifth in the 1,500 (5:14.51). Both marks were personal bests.
“All four of our girls set lifetime bests in at least one event, and that really indicates they were really going after it,” said Ritchie. “I’m very proud of all of them.”
Meanwhile, Trojans javelin thrower Daniel Glaede placed third in the boys meet with a mark of 157-3, No. 2 all-time at Kennedy. Glaede had not thrown the javelin, even in practice, for a month leading up to the district meet because of an elbow injury.
Meanwhile, the Silverton High track and field squad produced a pair of second-place finishes at the Class 5A meet at Hayward Field. Senior Annaleise Kuenzi took second in the 100 hurdles in 15:38, smashing her own school record of 15.95 in the process. The top boys finisher was senior Andrew Rogers, who threw the javelin 184-8 to take second place.
Other Foxes athletes scoring points were Erin Sinn (fifth in long jump, 16-10, and eighth in the 100 at 13.00), Preston Kirk (fifth in the pole vault, 14-0), J’Rrett Baker (seventh in the discus, 137-6), Alia Parsons (eighth in high jump, 5-0) and Jonathan Sisley (eighth in 3,000, 9:18.89) Both Silverton teams totaled 15 points. The boys took 16th and the girls finished 18th. The previous week the girls finished second and the boys third at the Mid-Willamette Conference meet at McCulloch Stadium in Salem.
Silverton’s boys tennis team finished tied for fifth at the OSAA Class 5A tournament in Portland, led by senior singles players Kelsey Rosborough and Alex Carlier, a foreign-exchange student from Belgium. Carlier advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Jamie Fisher of Crescent Valley. Rosborough won his first match in the main draw before losing to eventual third-place finisher Nathan Hampton of Churchill. Rosborough then fought his way to the consolation championship match where he defeated Scott Ziegner of Hood River Valley, 6-2, 6-3. It was the second consecutive state consolation title for Rosborough. Earlier, Carlier took second and Rosborough placed third at the Mid-Willamette district tournament. Carlier defeated Rosborough in the semifinals before falling to Crescent Valley’s Fisher in the finals.
Defending OSAA Class 2A-1A baseball champion Kennedy advanced to the quarterfinals of this year’s tournament before losing to top-seed Umpqua Valley Christian 1-0. The Trojans, who finished 22-8 overall, tied for the Special District 2 title at 13-3 with Regis and Country Christian. The tie forced a one-day, two-game playoff May 18 for the district title. Kennedy downed Country Christian 6-4 in the first game but fell 14-0 to Regis in the title game. Kennedy traveled to Monroe on May 22 and won 6-2 in the first round of the playoffs before falling to Umpqua Valley Christian.
Outfielder Austen Miller and pitcher Dustin Meyer of Silverton received honorable mention for the all-Mid-Willamette Conference baseball team.
Former Silverton High athlete Kody Coxen took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships in Gresham. Coxen ran 9:20.05 and qualified for the NAIA championships in Marion, Ind. Coxen won his qualifying heat in 9:34.84 but had an off day in the finals, where he finished 14th in 10:00.59.
Former Foxes athlete Stephanie Wells participated in the NCAA West Regional track meet at Austin, Texas. Wells, a freshman javelin thrower, turned in a mark of 133-8 and did not advance.
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