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A record spring: Foxes, Trojans shine at state track

James DayThe Silverton High track and field teams turned in superb performances May 24-25 at the OSAA Class 5A state championships in Gresham.

The Foxes’ girls team finished second behind North Salem, while the boys squad took third behind North Bend
and Ashland.

“This is the highest placing for the girls since I have been coaching,” coach Erik Cross told Our Town. “The last time Silverton girls placed second was in 1991. This is the third time the boys have placed third in the program’s history. The last time was in 2011. I’m very proud of how the whole group came together and gave their best efforts for each other.”

The girls squad also produced three state champions, a record for the program.

Winning titles were Savannah Reilly (5-4 in the high jump), Riley Traeger (138-9 in the javelin) and Justice McBride (59.03 in the 400, just 0.04 off the school record).

Other top participants for the girls squad included:

Jori Paradis took third in the 1,500 in 4:47.91, her third personal best in her past three races. Paradis also was fourth in the 800 in 2:20.91 and ran the third leg on the Foxes’ 4×400 relay team that took 2nd in 4:04.36.

Katie Sinn took second behind McBride in the 400 in 59.34, was 6th in the 200 in 26.85, ran the anchor leg on the 4×400 and also ran anchor on the 4×100 squad that also took second.

• Reilly also participated on the 4×100 and McBride and Ellie Schmitz added a leg on both relays.

For the boys, Haile Stutzman finished his sterling high school career with a pair of 4th-place finishes. He broke his own school record in running 8:37.82 in the 3,000 and became just the second Foxes runner to break 4 minutes in the 1,500, running 3:59.35. Stutzman also ran the second leg on the 4×400 relay squad that took 2nd in 3:27.37.

Other top finishers for the boys included:

Ben Willis was second in the shot put (57-1) and 5th in the discuss (152-7).

Anthony Fleshman was second in the 300 hurdles in 39.13 and ran the opening leg on the 4×400 relay.

Cory Garlinghouse was fifth in the 400 (51.15) and ran third in the 4×400 relay.

Jadon Mansur was fifth in the 800 (1:58.55) and anchored the 4×400.

Kennedy track: Hallie Sprauer scored in four events May 17-18 to lead the Trojans’ girls to fourth in the Class 2A-1A state meet in Monmouth.

Sprauer took second in the high jump (5-3) and the triple jump (34-6.25), was third in the long jump (17-0.5) and ran the anchor leg on the Trojans’ 4×100 relay squad that finished sixth in 52.47. Sprauer zoomed into second place in the triple jump on her final try and her long jump broke a 1975 school record.

Coach Steve Ritchie told Our Town it was the “best meet of her high school career.”

The Trojans finished with 53.5 points. It was the ninth consecutive top 10 finish at state for the Kennedy girls.

Here is a look at other top Kennedy girls performed:

Alejandra Lopez was third in the 3,000 (11:02.25) and sixth in the 1,500 (5:08.71).

Sophia Rodriguez was fourth in the triple jump (33-4.25.

Lilly English was third in the discus (108-0).

Caitlyn Perez was fourth in the 100 hurdles (17.52).

The Kennedy boys, led by state champion hurdler Carlos Saravia, scored 20 points and finished 14th. Saravia won the 300 hurdles in 40.72.

The 300 hurdles victory was the first-ever for a Kennedy boys athlete and it marked a significant comeback for Saravia, who took a bad fall at a meet last spring and ultimately required shoulder surgery.

Also scoring well for the Kennedy boys was Nick Suing, fourth in the shot put (47-1.5) and sixth in the discus (124-6).

Golf:  Three Silverton boys players participated in the Class 5A tournament at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis. Junior Daniel Valihov was the top finisher for the Foxes, tying for 13th with a two-day score of 80-78—158. Senior Stephan Samoilov tied for 15th with a 78-82—160, with junior Maverick Cheremnov part of a tie for 27th with scores of 78-93—171.

Baseball: Silverton ended perhaps its best season in history with a 19-8 record. The Foxes hosted a state playoff game for the first time in 26 years and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time ever.

Silverton fell to Thurston 18-8 in the quarters, but first-year coach Jeremiah Runion told Our Town “this season was great, and we’re going to miss all those seniors. All these guys are fighters.”

Six of those seniors were honored on the all-Mid-Willamette Conference all-stars. Riley Kramer was joined by junior Gage Mack among first-team pitchers. Shortstop Owen Bischoff and center fielder Hunter Runion also made the first team. Third baseman Caleb Ward was a second-teamer, with catcher Cooper Hannan, first baseman Jacoby Quintero and junior second baseman Cole Runion earning honorable mention.

The Foxes also seem primed to make their mark at the next level as Hunter Runion (Montana State-Billings), Bischoff (Yakima Valley Community College) and Ward (Treasure Valley Community College) already have signed to play in college.

The Silverton softball team, meanwhile, placed Riley Barba on the all-MWC
first team and Erin Breshears on the second team.

Editor’s note: The Kennedy baseball and softball squads still were playing in the Class 2A-1A tournaments at presstime. See our Facebook page and the June 15 edition for the results.

Youth softball: The 12B Silver Fox Fastpitch squad, a team of players from Silverton and Mount Angel, has won two tournaments and finished third in another tourney. In one of the events, held April 20 in Newberg, the squad won against 14U competition.

Players on the squad are Isabel Berning, Bella Diaz, Greyson Glivinski, Hannah Houts, Ellie Martin, Ariana Meraz, Jerisha Perez, Mckenzee Petersen, Paisley Rains and Grace Talbot.

The head coach is Felix Meraz. Assisting him are Manny Diaz, Monica Petersen and Lorenzo Perez.

Players are required to be involved in the community. In December team members assembled food boxes at SACA and players honored breast cancer survivors at a Mother’s Day tournament in Salem by wearing pink and the word FIGHT across their backs with the initials of whom they are fighting for on their
jersey sleeves.

The program has tryouts for 10U-12U-14U Silver Fox players Aug. 6-8 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the high school field. Email [email protected] for information.

Tennis: The Silverton girls doubles team of senior Alyssa Khieu and junior Aneisa Fink advanced to the Class 5A semifinals and led the Foxes to 6th place in the tournament.

The third-place finish of the duo is believed to be the highest at state for a boys or girls player, Foxes girls coach Shawn Pool told Our Town.

Khieu and Fink, who were seeded second in the tournament, defeated pairs from Ashland and Parkrose in the first two rounds before falling to a team from North Bend in the semis. The Foxes duo then came back from being down a set to claim third place with 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win against a Crescent Valley duo.

Silverton scored 5 team points, good for 6th place.“We return a lot of great players for next year,” Pool said.

“However we are looking for more athletes to play tennis. Four to six more talented athletes will put us in contention for the state championship within the next two to three years, maybe even next year.”

The Silverton boys totaled two team points scored by the doubles team of junior Isaac Milner and senior Romain Granger. Milner and Granger defeated a team from North Bend before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions from Redmond.

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