Colton Corner: Things don't always go as planned

Colton High School senior Levi Beach had his senior project planned. He would design and build a shot put return for the track and field program at the school.

At an away meet during the 2023 season, Beach noticed the efficiency of the system used by the opposing team and thought Colton High School could use one for meets and practice. A shot put return is a ramp that allows a shot to be returned from the landing sector to the athlete in the throwing area without someone having to walk it back. You just place the shot on one end and it rolls to its destination.

A senior project has to be pre-approved by the school’s senior class adviser/teacher and the project has to be detailed in research paperwork, styling, photos or drawings and followed with a presentation to a board of educators for final grading.

Beach’s senior project had been approved at the beginning of the year and the last class period of each day was scheduled for him to work on the build in the school’s shop building.

He had purchased, with his own money, 16 feet of angle iron and 10 feet of square steel that was needed for the project.

He had measurements, the length, height, and the necessary slant angle of the ramp. He had begun cutting the angle iron to size and was getting ready for welding when the news dropped that Colton High School would not have a track and field team this spring.

The CHS track athletes were, however, allowed to compete for the Molalla High School team. Here is where the predicament came in. Although Beach is a standout athlete, Colton High School’s very different school hours from Molalla High were going to be hard to overcome.

Colton team members were allowed to make up their last period classes with online courses, but this would not work for Beach whose scheduled last period was shop time to work on his hands-on senior project.

Beach, who had previously participated on the CHS track and field team, had to make a tough decision. Beach knew his priority had to be to finish his senior project, to add to his GPA, for graduation. So, a final season of track and field was set aside.

The shot put ramp is finished as a two-piece design to make it easier to take apart for storage. But since the high school does not have a track program, where would the return be used?

Colton Middle School has a track and field program with strong participation numbers. CMS coach Veronica Bouck said the ramp will be stored in the sports equipment storage shed and her team will use it each year and she hopes that soon high school athletes will be using it, too.

Beach has been busy completing high school requirements and plans to enter an electricians’ apprenticeship program following high school graduation.