County competitors set new state-best marks at Nike Relays

Jesuit High School hosted more than 150 schools on Friday, April 25, for the annual Nike Twilight Relays. Track and field athletes from across Oregon competed in one of the most intense regular-season environments in preparation for the final month of the season.

From Yamhill County were three team representatives in McMinnville, Delphian and Dayton.

The Grizzlies had several top performances, including a continuation of the school’s 110-meter hurdles record being broken and reset by senior Brian Lewis. With a fifth-place finish in the event, Lewis cut one-tenth of a second off his previous best with a time of 14.74. It was the sixth-best time in the event by an Oregonian this season.

Lewis also joined Wyatt Ackley, Ryan Conklin and Kason Elkins for a time of 45.03 to finish 27th in the boys 4x100-meter relay.

Elkins had a season best of his own, running the 100-meter sprints in 11.12 and placing 23rd.

Mac’s boys were capped by a third-place finish in the twilight run of the 4,000-meter relay. Brayden Christopherson, Elyott Thelander, Nicholas Hanke and Isaiah Carpenter combined to complete the race in 10:36.55.

The Grizzly girls had a pair of top runners with sophomore Mayeli Wilson running a season best 12.85 to place 33rd overall in the 100-meter sprints.

Wilson teamed with Mackenzie Mendonca, Brooklynn Summers and Allie Kuchta to place seventh in the 4x200-meter relay in 1:45.57.

Another senior hurdler in Tayah Curry set a personal record in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles in 15.61. She placed 14th.

Placing sixth in the girls’ shot put was senior Ruby Riddle with a toss of 115-09; Kuchta tied for 17th in the high jump by clearing 5-0 1/4; and senior Brooklyn Johnston threw within six inches of a personal best with a heave of 125-02 in the javelin to place ninth.

Beating out Johnston and most of the competition was Dayton junior Hadley Hughes, who threw the javelin 134-05, placing fourth. Hughes also placed second in the discus with a toss of 124-11 and 12th in the shot put by reaching 34-10 1/4.

Hughes was the Pirates’ lone competitor.

The Dragons had a handful of students testing themselves against a majority of 5A and 6A talent.

Delphian’s Oli Beauregard hit a season-best mark of 10.99 in the boys’ 100-meter sprints. He also raced alongside Mac’s Lewis for the second time this season, once again edging out the Grizzly by a hair to capture third place with a time of 14.72 in the 110-meter hurdles.

Beauregard’s time was the fourth-best of anyone in the state this season in an event that saw eight of the top ten set new Oregon top times.

Mark DeVries, Vladimir Bunchuk, Nathan Cloutier and Beauregard ended Delphian’s meet with a season-best time of 3:31.88 and a 25th-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay.

Leading the Dragon girls was senior Liv Curry, who tied Kuchta in the high jump at 5-0 1/4 and placed 28th in the 100-meter at 16.11. Lily Olivares was not far behind at 16.48 to place 39th in the 100-meter, while senior Amelia Peterson joined the stacked javelin grouping with a throw of 122-08. Peterson claimed 10th and earned the 12th-best javelin throw by a state athlete this season.

The Grizzlies will meet Glencoe for a dual meet on the road on Tuesday. Meanwhile, both Delphian and Dayton will be in attendance for a day full of fun at the Amity Invitational on May 2nd.