South Eugene Girls, Tualatin Boys Rise To Top Of 6A

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

GRESHAM - 

Madison Elmore of South Eugene waited a long time to make an impact like this.

The junior helped the Axe win the 6A girls team title with a riveting effort in the 1,500 meters final, outkicking Summit's Fiona Max to win in 4:27.13 at the OSAA/OnPoint Community Credit Union track and field championships.

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Kim Spir

Elmore's time is the second-fastest recorded in the country so far this season and it beat a personal best she has carried with her since the eighth grade.

Injuries robbed Elmore of her 2018 track season and prevented her from running state the past two years in cross country.

"I've had a year and a half of injuries," she said. "I had a stress fracture and pneumonia and I tore my plantar fascia, so it's my first state meet in two years. It feels really great."

Sunset's Lucy Huelskamp gets some of the credit for making the race fast. She pushed the pace early and tried to challenge the legs of Max, who won the 3,000 meters a day earlier. 

Elmore executed her plan of staying close and then closing hard. Her time moved her onto the state's all-time top 10, at eighth. Max ran 4:27.27 for ninth. 

Elmore later contributed her energy to a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay to tip the scales for South Eugene in a tight team race on a rainy day at Mt. Hood Community College. The Axemen won it with 55 points, while Jesuit (52), Bend (51), Centennial (51) and Summit (50) were all close.

"We knew that we had to (leave) everything on the track, and that definitely showed, and we're so happy," said Elise Unruh-Thomas, who finished second in the 200 meters and anchored the relay.

The individual standout of the meet was Westview junior Colleen Uzoekwe, who collected 38 points in winning the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and placing second in the high jump.

Her point total was the most by a girl in the state's largest classification meet since Benson's Sara Callier scored a perfect 40 points in 2005.

"I'm really proud," Uzoekwe said. "I wish I could have done better on that (high jump), but I didn't let it bring me down in any of my other events."

Not to be outdone, Centennial got a big push from Oregon State-bound Madison McHone, who swept the hurdles events and beat Uzoekwe in Friday's high jump. She scored 30 points.

"Wow, I've worked really hard for it so I'm very thankful," she said. 

Jesuit ran the second-fastest 4x400 relay in state history, clocking 3:50.03 with a lineup of Molly Grant, Ella Nelson, Greta Anderson and freshman sensation Chloe Foerster, who anchored.

Foerster earlier charged home with a strong final 200 to win the 800 meters in 2:09.52. That's a new freshman class state record and moves her to No. 7 in state history.

"I knew the third 200 I needed to be strong," Foerster said. "I got a little bit boxed in so I needed to make sure I could get up and out and be ready for the last 200." 

The 5A girls meet was thoroughly dominated by North Salem, which got the ball rolling with a state meet record 47.77 seconds in the first final of the day, the 4x100 relay.

North Salem had the depth and talent to be in the hunt against the top 6A teams.

Rebekah Miller and Maliyah Thompson went 1-2 in the 100 meters. Miller also grabbed 15 points out of the horizontal jumps. Thompson won the 100 hurdles in 14.69 and was part of a 2-3 finish, along with her sister, Nerissa, in the 200.

The Vikings scored 119 points to finish well ahead of second-place Silverton (68 points).

"What are coaches and all of us have been talking about is if we go and do what we've been doing all season, we shouldn't have anything to worry about," Maliyah Thompson said. "The energy in the stands and with our team is amazing and we wouldn't be here without them."

North Salem won its first state championship since 1997, the year Sasha Spencer starred and broke an all-time Oregon record in the 400 meters that is still on the books.

"She's a great mentor and she's been guiding me since freshman year with little tips, and she's someone I can go to with questions," Miller said.

Silverton duo Justice McBride and Katie Sinn went 1-2 in the 5A girls 400 to give the Silver Foxes a shot in the arm and 18 points. West Albany finished third with 41 points and Hood River Valley was fourth with 37.

Thurston's Adael Scatena ran 43.52 for a meet record in the 300-meter hurdles. 

North Bend's Chelsea Howard won the long jump and triple jump.  

Tualatin Boys Claim First State Title 

All of the building blocks of Tualatin's first team title in track and field fit together according to plan on Friday and Saturday and the final session was conducted in a steady rain that did little to dampen Tualatin's coronation.

The Timberwolves got contributions across the board on the way to 74 points.

Thrower Mariano Kis won the shot put (57-11) and the discus (177-7). The sprint group, led by Kwabena Lynn, won the 4x100 relay. The Timberwolves placed second and fourth (for 15 points) in both the 100 meters and the 110-meter high hurdles. 

"This was the first year where it felt like one team instead of everyone doing their separate event," said Kis, who will throw at Colorado State.

Andrew Payton added five points with a fourth-place finish in the 800 meters. 

"It feels great," Lynn said. "We put in a lot of hard work every day and the end result we got today is really nice."

Sherwood, just a few miles down the road from Tualatin, placed second with 47 points. Junior Caleb Hagan had a big hand in that effort by sweeping the 6A sprint titles with 10.66 in the 100 meters and 21.68 in the 200.

The absence of Benson sprinter Micah Williams, who missed the state meet with an injury, was certainly felt. But cold and wet conditions wouldn't have been ideal for additional state record bids, even for Williams.

His teammate and friend, Jaylen Russell, salvaged some pride for the Techmen with a victory in the 300-meter hurdles in 37.61 seconds. That was good for No. 9 in Oregon history.

Sunset's Ethan Reese, already the 6A cross country champion from last fall, won his second straight 800 meters title, in 1:53.40.

Will Sheaffer, who scored 11 points in Jesuit's 6A basketball championship game victory, won the 1,500 meters.

Oregon City sophomore Ricky Ascencio won the 400 meters final in 49.13 seconds.

Liberty's Aidan Maloney, a Yale football recruit, won the 110-meter high hurdles, placed second in the high jump and sixth in the 300 hurdles. 

In 5A, North Bend's Jonathan Chilcote's powerful sprinting helped the Bulldogs secure the team championship with 72.50 points.

Chilcote anchored a victory in the 4x100 relay and also won the 100 meters in 10.98 and took fourth in the 200 meters. Ty Hampton, winner of the javelin on Friday, added a third-place finish in the discus and his teammate Hunter Bierce got fourth.

Ashland, which took second with 65 points, got another elite performance from junior distance star E.J. Holland in the 1,500 meters. With Crater's Jantz Tostenson on his heels for the second day in a row, Holland broke away on the final lap to win in 3:51.92. Tostenson was second in 3:54.48.

Dallas senior Malakai Connella ran 49.30 to win the 400 meters and also took the 200 in 22.31.

Hood River Valley sophomore Henry Buckles threw 59-5.50 to win the shot put.

Team Champions - 

6A - Tualatin boys 74 points, South Eugene girls 55 points RESULTS

5A - North Bend 72.5 points, North Salem girls 119 points RESULTS

May 17-18

4A - Newport boys 65 points, Hidden Valley girls 97 points RESULTS

3A - St. Mary's boys 49 points, St. Mary's girls 79 points RESULTS

2A - East Linn Christian boys 72 points, Enterprise girls 64.5 points. RESULTS

1A - Dufur boys 53 points, Adrian girls 57 points RESULTS