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After their light past couple weeks, the Canby track and field team returned to action by competing in two invitationals, the Elden Kellar Invitational in Hillsboro and the Oregon Relays at the historic Hayward Field.
Hundreds of high schools ranging from British Columbia to Colorado took part in the Oregon relays at Tracktown USA. For many, it was their first time seeing the newly renovated Hayward Field — one of the largest and most expensive track-only stadiums in the United States.
Omar Villanueva was one of the Cougars invited to the event. Villanueva placed 38th in the 100, and 21st in the 200. Tommy O’Neil, fresh off of placing second all-time in the Cougar record books two weeks prior, placed 44th in the 800.
The Canby 4×100 relay team, consisting of Cameron Lee, Treyson Wakefield, Cohen Hall and Koby Kessler, placed 13th in the event out of 50 competing teams. The 4×200 team of Villanueva, Wakefield, Hall and Drew Pierson placed ninth.
The team of Aiden Lucas, Rhett Smith, Andrew Dewar and Maddox Oliver finished out the relay teams by placing 29th in the 4×800.
Kessler went straight from the 4×100 to his signature high jump; the senior placed fifth out of 35 competitors with a mark of 1.83 meters. Pierson’s long jump mark of 6.20 meters was good enough for 10th place, while Wakefield finished 30th in the triple jump.
Star freshman Kenzie Bigej was one of several girls to compete in the event for Canby, placing eighth in the 800 meter with a PR of 2:19.90. Bigej also won the freshman-only 3,000 competition with a time of 10:25:47, a PR for Bigej.
Ashley Peterson was the other Cougar runner on the girls’ side. Peterson placed 31st in the 300 before taking home ninth in the 2k Steeplechase with a mark of 8:36.25.
RayAnne Schedler led the way in the field events for the Cougs, placing 21st in shot put and 22nd in javelin, respectively. Kali Kessler was the final Cougar to compete, as the freshman finished 23rd in the high jump.
In total, 15 Cougars — 11 boys and four girls — competed at Hayward Field among the thousands of competitors at the Oregon Relays. The event lasted two both Friday and Saturday. One week after the event in Eugene, the Elden Kellar Invitational was underway at Hare Field in Hillsboro.
O’Neil was the lone victorious Cougar athlete on the day, winning both the 800 and 1500. Villanueva came close, finishing second in both the 100 and 200. On the girls side, Schedler was the highest finishing Cougar with a fourth-place finish in shot put and a fifth-place finish in discus.
The final Cougar to finish in the top five was Benjamin Young, who placed fifth with a throw in javelin.
The final event of the week was the Nike/Jesuit Twilight relays at Jesuit High School. Like Hayward, teams from all over the area swarmed in to compete. The Cougars sent five athletes — Cohen Hall, Lucas Soles, Drew Pierson, Kenzie Bigej, and Kali Kessler — competed at the event.
Bigej and Pierson both finished third in their events; Bigej with a time of 4:38.76 in the 1500, and Pierson with a mark of 21-05.00 in the long jump.
As TRL championships near, the Cougars will face Lake Oswego, Tigard, and Oregon City in Oregon City this Wednesday.
