The Culver Bulldogs’ 4x100 relay team came home from the 2A state track meet as state champions.
The Bulldog foursome – Kaydon Haro, Trent Reese, Keegan Haro and Dustin Noy – clocked a 44.36 to win the event, edging out Weston-McEwen, which finished in 44.63.
"I knew and the 4x100 team knew that they could win it. Hand offs were an issue earlier in the season with them failing three times in a row to get it around the track. I knew that they just had to get the baton around the track and they would have a really good shot at the title," said Culver head coach Cooper Shaw. "For them to show up on the day that it mattered most really paid off for them, claiming the title and beating their previous school record in the process."
The victory in the 4x100 was the highlight for Culver at the meet, held Thursday and Friday, May 16-17, at Hayward Field in Eugene, on the campus of the University of Oregon. But it was far from the lone success story.
Reese, Culver’s lead sprinter, finished second in the 100 meters and second again in the 200, finishing behind Austin Snyder of Mannahouse-Portland in both races. In the 100, Reese lost by a closest of margins. Snyder cross in 11.00 and Reese in 11.05. Lowell’s Rowan Files was third at 11.33. In the 200, Reese ran a 22.48 but Snyder won it with a 22.19.
"Trent has been battling a hamstring injury for a few weeks so for him to go out there and compete like he did under as much pain as he was, I am very proud of him. Trent has been working for this every single day since November, I was so happy to see it pay off for him," said Shaw.
Culver’s Kaydon Haro, the lone sophomore against a field of juniors and seniors, finished a surprising third in the 200, crossing in 23.05. Haro had finished fourth at district the week before but qualified to compete at state. Once in Eugene, he made the most of it, cutting about a second off his district time.
"Kaydon was a big surprise in the 200 meters," said Shaw. "I knew that he had it in him but to PR by half a second from districts to take third at state isn't something I was expecting and I am extremely proud of him and am looking forward to building on this success in the future."
Sophomore Tyler Rahi also had a great state meet, pole vaulting 3.61 meters (11-10.00 feet), earning him sixth place. The mark was over a foot higher than he went to win district the week before.
"Tyler getting 6th in the pole vault was also a pleasant surprise getting over a foot PR in the process. This is his first year pole vaulting so I am excited to see his progress moving forward," said Shaw.
As a team, the Bulldogs finished seventh among 30 teams, tallying 35 points. Delphian won the meet with 68, just edging Weston-McEwen, which finished with 65.
Johnson’s ends prep career
Culver senior Renee Johnson competed in four events at state: the 100 meters, the 100 hurdles, the 300 hurdles and the long jump, and came into all three as the district runner-up.
At Hayward, Johnson’s best finish was in the 100 hurdles where she placed fourth. Nevaeh James, the Enterprise/Wallowa athlete who beat Johnson at district the week before, won state going away. She finished in 15.89. Johnson was one of three girls who ran sub-17 seconds, but Addy Hall, of Weston-McEwen surprised to take second in 16.77 and Bandon’s Makiah Vierck was third in 16.79. Johnson crossed in 16.84.
In the 300, Johnson was fifth with a 49.34. Bandon’s Marley Petrey won by nearly a second with a 46.07. James was second at 46.95.
Johnson’s long jump registered 4.36 meters (14-03.75 feet). Bandon’s Petrey, a sophomore, took the long jump with a 4.94 meters mark (16-02.50 feet).
Johnson did not qualify for the finals in the 100, running a 13.32 in the preliminary, and improvement over her 13.39 at district, but 10th best in the preliminary. Only the top eight advanced to the finals.
"Renee is one of the best track athletes to ever come through Culver High School. If you ask her, she wanted different results at the state meet but I couldn't be more proud of her," said Shaw. "She had a large workload going into the meet with four events and she handled that workload very well. It has been a pleasure to work with her these past few years and I am looking forward to tracking her success as she competes at the college level."
Johnson’s effort scored 8 points for Culver, good enough for 21st place out of 24 teams with entrants. Bandon was the class of the girls 2A meet, totaling 97 points. Enterprise-Wallowa was second with 58, and East Linn Christian third with 64.
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