The Lions, who are the 2023 Boys District Champions and Coed Champions, had a strong two days at the district competition on May 19 and 20 in North Bend.

Although Brennen Murphy's 34 points helped the squad win, it took the entire team to defeat Marshfield by just three points. Hayes Valley also won four events with outstanding performances, giving the team a total of 22 points.

Even though the Lions only had one first-place finish—Murphy won the Varsity Triple Jump with a leap of 41' 7—they crammed three competitors onto the podium in seven events to gain significant team points. The girls, who outperformed expectations and scored enough points to help the program claim the coed victory, didn't want to be left out of the action.

State qualifiers include Brennen Murphy - Triple Jump, 400m, 200m, High Jump, Carter Bengtson - 3000m, Brycen Cameron - 300m Hurdles, Jaden Owens - 1500m, 3000m, Wyatt Pepiot - 800m, Tyler Russell - 110m Hurdles, Hayes Valley - 110m Hurdles, Eli Williams - Shot Put, Discus, Tayler Bentley - Discus, and Maddison France - 3000m.

The girls earned enough points for CG to edge Junction City for the coed championship, and the boys upset Marshfield by three points to retain their league title. Cottage Grove has won two of the three awards from the district competition for the second year in a row, and the Track & Field program is at the top of the Sky-Em.

The boys, who missed out on a trophy last year by one point, are in a good position to place in the top four this week in the state meet, which is being held at Hayward Field during State Championship Week this Fri. and Sat. May 26-27. The boys aim to win their first track and field state championship since 1976 if they finish in the top four.

Brennen Murphy, Wyatt Pepiot, and Gabe Evans recently made the decision to carry on competing in college sports at the collegiate level, revealed in a post May 22, on the CG Track Facebook page. While Murphy will enroll at Western Oregon University, Pepiot, Evans, and Evans will study at Bushnell University in Eugene.

200 Meters Varsity - Finals

2. 12 Brennen Murphy 22.15a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

400 Meters Varsity - Finals

2. 12 Brennen Murphy 51.63a Cottage Grove Q

800 Meters Varsity - Finals

3. 12 Wyatt Pepiot 2:02.83a Cottage Grove Q

3000 Meters Varsity - Finals

2. 10 Maddison France 11:38.48a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

1500 Meters Varsity - Finals

2. 12 Jaden Owens 4:14.72a Cottage Grove Q

3000 Meters Varsity - Finals

2. 12 Jaden Owens 8:51.49a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

3. 10 Carter Bengtson 8:55.80a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

110m Hurdles Varsity - Finals

2. 12 Tyler Russell 15.77a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

3. 10 Hayes Valley 16.17a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

300m Hurdles Varsity - Finals

2. 11 Brycen Cameron 41.84a Personal Record Cottage Grove Q

Discus Varsity - Finals

3. 10 Tayler Bentley 101' 7 Cottage Grove Q

Shot Put Varsity - Finals

2. 11 Elijah Williams 47' 0 Cottage Grove Q

Discus Varsity - Finals

2. 11 Elijah Williams 128' 8 Cottage Grove Q

High Jump Varsity - Finals

2. 12 Brennen Murphy 5' 10 Cottage Grove Q

Triple Jump Varsity - Finals

1. 12 Brennen Murphy 41' 7 Cottage Grove Q