Bandon’s girls scored in event after event over two days at the state track meet, claiming their second straight Class 2A title at Hayward Field.
Marley Petrey led the way, just as she had a year earlier. She repeated as athlete of the meet for scoring the most points of any individual, winning three of her four events and placing second in the other.
But she had a bunch of help from her teammates as the Tigers scored in all but one of the running events and four of the seven field events and amassed 97 points, far more than Enterprise-Wallowa (68) and East Linn Christian (64).
“I’m so thrilled with how everybody stepped up,” Bandon coach Brent Hutton said, noting that eight of the nine girls he brought to Eugene placed in at least one event.
Petrey, who overcame a muscle injury late in the season, repeated as champion in the 100 (12.82 seconds) and long jump (16 feet, 2 ½ inches) and added the 300-meter hurdles title that just eluded her last year (46.07). She was just edged out for the triple jump title for the second year in a row, leaping 34-4 ¾.
“It went better than I expected for sure,” said Petrey, who was questionable to recover in time for state after suffering the injury a month before the district meet (she credited Hutton and trainer Henry Delaney for helping her to her quick recovery). “My main goal was to top last year, when I got two firsts and two seconds.”
Petrey was thrilled by the successes of her teammates.
“Every girl has done so well,” she said. “Oh my gosh! The amount of try this group has is amazing — the willingness to work their hardest.
“It’s made me try so much harder.”
Bandon got a big start to the meet in the javelin, where Caitlin Michalek was second and Katelyn Senn third in the first final of the two-day competition.
The team race was on their mind, they said.
“First and second was our goal,” Senn said. “It didn’t matter who was first or second.”
As it turned out, it was Michalek, who led for several rounds and had a new best of 131 feet on her final attempt.
“I’ve been wanting a PR for a while,” she said, noting that she hadn’t improved since the first meet of the season.
Senn, whose best mark was 123-8, was happy to finish on the podium with Michalek for the second straight year. Michalek was third and Senn fifth a year ago.
“Track is kind of my third sport,” she said, referring to volleyball and basketball, the sport she will play for Eastern Oregon University in college. “I’m happy I got here and improved every year.”
Analise Miller, with Senn the only seniors of the group, had a big weekend as well.
Miller was sixth in the 3,000 on Thursday with a new personal best (11:17.98) despite throwing up just before crossing the finish with a new personal best, gave credit to a different sport for her success at state. She tried wrestling for the first year, narrowly missing advancing to state in that emerging sport.
“Wrestling was so fun,” she said. “It taught me a lot for running — it taught me how to really dig deep. You really can’t let down in wrestling. You’ll get pinned.”
She showed that fight in the 3,000 and again in the 800, where she was second with a new best 2:23.77, pulling away from a group in the final stretch.
Miller also dug deep as anchor leg for both Bandon’s placing relay teams.
She combined with Giada Moore, Michalek and Makiah Vierck to place sixth in the 4x100 relay in 52.36 seconds despite running in the first, slower heat.
“It was crazy,” Miller said. “I was trying to hype up our girls. We made it to state in the 4x100. We hadn’t done that before.”
Miller passed another runner in the 4x100 relay and then out-raced an East Linn Christian opponent in the home stretch of the 4x400 as the Tigers placed fourth in 4:17.02 with a group that also included Safaa Dimitruk and sisters Makiah and Makenna Vierck.
Makiah Vierck also placed third in the 100 hurdles (16.79) while Makenna Vierck was eighth in the 100 (13.22) and 400 (1:04.87) and seventh in the 200 (27.21). Moore, a freshman, placed third in the 300 hurdles (48.15).
Michalek placed fourth (4-9 ½) and Makiah Vierck seventh (4-7 ½) in the high jump.
Bandon was the only girls team from the South Coast to score in the Class 2A meet.
The highlight for the area’s boys was Reedsport junior Clayton Wilson, who swept the distance races.
On Thursday, he pulled away over the final laps to win the 3,000 meters in 8:59.58.
He was the first Reedsport boy to win a state title in the event and now has his eyes set on the school record, which is 8:48. But Thursday, he was more than happy to celebrate his first state crown.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” he said. “It feels good.”
He hit his time goal Thursday.
“I’ve been really trying to break 9 minutes for a long time,” he said.
On Friday, he easily bested the field in the 1,500 in a time of 4:10.23, taking command early.
He also was Reedsport’s first champion in that event, though brothers Lynn and Gene Faircloth each won the mile (no longer contested) twice in the early 1960s.
“It means a lot to me,” Wilson said of winning both events, adding that his success makes him excited for his senior season.
“It’s given me a lot to look at for next year,” he said.
also got a sixth-place finish in the discus by Myles Morgan (124-5).
Gold Beach, meanwhile, got titles in both the throwing events contested Friday.
Korben Storns won the discus with a throw of 149-4 and Nelson Wilstead took the javelin with a heave of 172-2.
Storns had finished fourth in the shot put on Thursday (42-0 ¾). and the Panthers finished 10th, one spot in front of Reedsport, in the team race.
Bandon had a single boys placer. Freshman Noah Brown was third in the pole vault (12-0 ¾).
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