Riverhawk Track finishes strong at district; multiple athletes going to state

Senior Taylor Morehouse won districts handily with a new PR of 15 feet, mere inches from the school record, and 3rd in the entire state.

Story by Jill Pearson, photos by Ashley Quisenberry

There’s no equivalent for the opera at track & field, although perhaps there should be: “it ain’t over ‘til the 4x4 anchor crosses the line.”

After two days of prelims, finals, wind, rain, sun, and fierce competition over in Prineville, the Riverhawk women’s relay squad finished first with a 6-second PR at 4:14, with anchor Zoe Dunn breaking away on the home stretch. Although Dunn also qualified in the long jump, triple jump, and 4x100 relay, this one was the icing on the cake, the piece de resistance- and in true operatic drama, the one she’d felt most nervous about.

Handoff from Lilly Adams to Madelyn Harrison in the 4x400

Girls 4x400 podium: Zoe Dunn, Amyrah Hill, Madelyn Harrison, and Lilly Adams

Perhaps the opera isn’t too far of a stretch for the near culmination of a track and field season- before it meant staged drama and music, it was simply the plural of work (Latin, opus), labor is expertly and routinely done. Practice is nothing more and nothing less than that: drills, repetition, warm-ups, cool downs, handoffs, starts, strides: all works- opera- done over and over again. But from that consistency, that persistent hard work- something glorious can appear. A perfect handoff in the relay. A flawlessly coordinated pole vault, flipping in midair so that knees and feet miss the bar entirely. Several extra feet in the discus, feet turning as gracefully as a ballerina’s. Or as the Pendleton coach next to me commented - that a finish kick in the 3000m was “a thing of beauty.” It was- and it takes a surprising amount of effort to make it look easy. 

Conor Blair in the 300m hurdles

Speaking of the 3000m, which was the only track event final on Friday night, The Dalles showed strong on both sides- all six runners made the podium. On the women’s side, freshman Alaina Casady placed 3rd just behind Ridgeview’s Morgan Shaw, with teammates Caitie Wring in 4th and 6th. For the men, junior Juan Diego Contreras won the contest in 8:56.7, ahead of Hood River’s Elliot Hawley and fellow Riverhawk Leo Lemman. Lemman’s time of 9:17.2 was quick enough to earn him one of the coveted “wild card” spots at State next weekend; besides the top two who automatically qualify, the next 5 fastest times in 5A can also compete. 

In the field events, junior Amy Hernandez made the podium in 8th for the discus, with a four-foot PR at 75’4.5”, while sophomore Orlando Mora improved his throw by over 6 feet, coming in 7th at 112’8”. Both TD high jumpers River McClure and Michael Cole made the podium, tying for 4th and 6th, respectively at 5’6” and 5’4”. On the women’s pit, freshman Hannah Adams and exchange student Emma Krause both jumped 4’4”, tying for 5th and 7th. 

Zoe Dunn in the triple jump

Alaina Casady, finishing strong in the 1500m

The Dalles won both sides of the long jump, with senior Jaxon Pullen beating Ridgeview by one quarter of an inch, at 20’1.25”. Zoe Dunn also improved her PR by a quarter inch, reaching an even 17’8”. She also qualified for state in the triple jump, coming in second to Pendleton’s Reilly Lovercheck at 36’5.5.”

All eyes were on the pole vault at the end of Friday afternoon, with the IMC records within striking distance on both sides. Senior Taylor Morehouse won handily with a new PR of 15 feet, mere inches from the school record, and 3rd in the entire state. “All of those years of gymnastics are coming in handy!” one parent commented. 

The tight pack in the boys 1500m: Finn Aspach, Elliot Hawley, and Juan Diego Contreras

Saturday morning dawned semi sunny and windy for the finals of the track events. Sophomore Anthony Jara, with spikes held together with glue and a prayer, made finals in the 100m, finishing at 7th in 11.9 seconds, while sophomores Amyrah Hill and Madeline Harrison took 3rd and 4th a tenth of a second apart- 13.46 and 13.56. Lilly Adams qualified for state on a wild card 3rd place in the 200m at 27.67, a nearly one second PR. Together- Adams, Hill, Harrison, and Dunn went on to win both relays: they’ll definitely be busy on the Hayward track in Eugene next weekend!

Podium for the boys 3k run.

Caitie Wring's 1500m finish

Light numbers in the 400m worked to The Dalles’ advantage, with Conor Blair placing 3rd at 54.48 and Maisie Bandel-Ramirez in 4th at 65 seconds and first-time runner Gabrielle Kahler coming in 7th overall. The 800m was similar, with senior Alex Nipko narrowly making finals, coming in 8th overall at a consistent 2:14, and fellow senior Caitie Wring placing 8th with a PR of 2:49, less than a half second ahead of newcomer Ruby Jaimes-Mora. In the comparatively stacked women’s 1500, no wild card spots and tough showings from the trio from Hood River placed Alaina Casady in a close fourth at 5:27, with teammates Fiona Dunlop and Jaimes-Mora in 7th and 8th. In an incredibly close contest, Ridgeview’s Finn Anspach outkicked Juan Diego Contreras and Hood River’s Elliot Hawley, who came in at 4:06, 4:07, and 4:08, respectively. All three qualified for state. Leo Lemman also made the podium in the 1500, finishing in 7th at 4:24.

At the end of the day, after a strong 3rd place finish from everyone’s favorite event- the thrower’s relay- The Dalles headed home 4th overall, on both sides. It was a fitting farewell to the 5A Intermountain Conference, although thankfully with next year’s Tri-Valley League we won’t have to say goodbye to Crook County. In true operatic fashion, though- the work is far from over for the athletes and alternates who will make their way to Eugene next weekend for the State Meet. Bravo- and go Hawks!

The thrower's relay! Andrew Wring, Carter Randall, River McClure, and Amy Hernandez for TD

You can buy tickets for the 5A state meet on the OSAA website, and view the Riverhawks’ season records on Athletic.net.