The Lions track team returned to competition following some time off during spring break. Cottage Grove took around 30 athletes to the Martist invite over the weekend that included a field of eight total teams. The boys side finished third with 102 points and the girls finished fifth with 52. 

“I think the kids were really excited, we’ve gone like five weeks with just one meet so that’s a lot of practice,” said Head Coach Ricky Knutson. “And so, to have good conditions and good competition, I think the marks across the board for almost everybody were huge improvements. It was a strong performance across the board for the kids.”

Cottage Grove showed some strong performances in all the jumps, sweeping the high jump on both sides with Gracie Arnold winning with a height of 4’10 and Isaac Stere winning with a jump of 6’2. Arnold also took first in the javelin and finished third in the long jump. Stere also performed well in the long jump finishing second, and Ty Kishen rounded out the boys jumps by taking second in the triple jump. 

“On the guys’ side we had I think probably three of the top six teams in the state at that meet with Marshfield, Siuslaw and us,” said Knutson. “I kind of expected us to be in the mix there, it was pretty close. So I think it was a solid day for the guys and on the girls side, it just kind of showed us where our depth is but overall it was a solid day for both the boys and girls sides.”

In the distance and sprinting events Brennen Murphy took second in the 400m with a time of 53.17, Ethan Peterson in the 1500m finished third with a time of 4:33.23 and Jaden Owens and Carter Bengston in the 3000m who finished second and fourth respectively.

The boys hurdlers continue to be solid with Tyler Russell finishing second and fifth in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles followed by teammate Brycen Cameron who took third and second in the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles. Freshman sprinter for the girls Abby Hemenway finished in the top five in both the 100m and 200m sprints and the girls also saw top six finishes from Rylan Leach in the 300m hurdles and Taylor Bentley in the shot put and discus. 

“It’s nice to see the kids competing at this high of a level early,” said Knutson. “Because it means we’re kind of picking up where we left off last year. And we still have a lot of season left to improve so it’s encouraging.” Next for the Lions track team will be two JV meets with the first being finished on Tuesday, April 5 before The Sentinel’s press time. Followed by a JV meet at Marshfield on April 12 and the varsity team will return to matinee action on April 14 at the Philomath Invitational.

1-6 finishers in individual events (measurements in ft and seconds):

Boys 

1st place Isaac Stere - High Jump/6’02

2nd place Isaac Stere z- Long Jump/20’0.5

2nd place Ty Kishen - Triple Jump/40’4.5

2nd place Tyler Russell - 110m Hurdles/17.24

2nd place Brycen Cameron - 300m hurdles/44.03

2nd place Jaden Owens - 3000m/9:30.12

2nd place Brennen Murphy - 400m/53.17

3rd place Ethan Peterson - 1500m/4:33.23

3rd place Brycen Cameron - 110m hurdles/17.56

4th place Carter Bengston - 3000m/9:30.41

5th place Brennen Murphy - Long Jump/19’0

5th place Tyler Russell - 300m hurdles/47.34

6th place Hayes Valley - Triple Jump/36.6’5

Girls

1st place Gracie Arnold - High Jump/4’10

1st place Gracie Arnold - Javelin/106’11

3rd place Gracie Arnold - Long Jump/14’0

4th place Abby Hemenway - 200m/28.89

5th place Abby Hemenway - 100m/13.87

6th place Rylan Leach - 300m hurdles/1:00.18

6th place Taylor Bentley - Shot Put/30’4