Barlow, Reynolds, Sandy youth shine during day two of Mt. Hood Track Districts

Published 10:49 pm Wednesday, May 8, 2024

The kids are all right, as youth competitors won medals during the second day of the Mt. Hood Conference District Track Meet.

Look no further than a Barlow sophomore superstar, who not only won golds, but etched his name into the record books along the way.

Giovanni Bogarin flew around the track in the 400, winning with a personal record of 48.93. That mark has all sorts of accolades attached: it is the fastest time in the 6A classification this season, is third overall in the state, and is the third-fastest finish all-time by a Bruin.

“It hurts a lot right now,” he said with a grimace. “But it helps having a finish like that.”

Bogarin had to use his back-end speed to make up for what he felt was a slow start out of the blocks.

“I had to kick it into gear on that final curve,” he said.

Reynolds Callier wins gold with third-best all-time school long jump at 2024 Districts

The Bruins youngster has lofty goals. His dream is to own his own business, a game design company, and he sees track and field as a way to further his education by competing at the next level.

But he has time, and before any college visits he had to get through a chaotic 200 finals.

The race couldn’t have gone worse. After the runners exploded out of the blocks, the event was called off midway through (via a series of starter pistol shots) due to technical issues. The initial starter gun wasn’t loud enough to trigger the automatic timer at the finish line.

That was the second time it had happened during the district meet, after a heat of the boys 100 had similar issues on day one. The problem during the 200 finals was the runners had made it nearly halfway through the event, meaning there were tired legs.

So a coaches summit was convened at the finish line. The decision — push the 200 back, and delay the boys 4×400 relay because so many were running in both. While that allowed the athletes to recover, it ended up having the final event held in the pitch dark, straining the limits of host Gresham’s lighting system.

But despite all that, Bogarin again flexed his speed, winning the second-take of the 200 with a time of 22.38.

Now his attention turns to the 2024 6A Track and Field State Championships, which will be held Friday-Saturday, May 17-18, in Eugene. The top-two finishers in each event at the Mt. Hood Districts automatically qualify for state. Then the two next-best finishers statewide get a wildcard slot.

“I have to train and keep my mind focused on state — the goal is to win,” Bogarin said. “But if I don’t do it this year, there is always the next.”

There was no rest for a Reynolds sophomore, as she packed in a full slate of events at districts. Just look around Alexus Hudson-Williams neck for the proof.

The Raiders speedster finished 3rd in the 100 (12.49 PR); 3rd in the 200 (25.65 PR); 3rd in the long jump (16-10 feet PR); and was the anchor for the Reynolds 4×100 relay, which got 6th (52.19).

“This meet has felt so good, last year the vibe was different,” Hudson-Williams said. “But this year has been something special.”

Her performance in the 200 was a standout. She got out to a strong start, and then closed the gap running on an inside lane.

“I started this season crossing the line in 27 seconds, so to shave two seconds off that feels great,” she said.

What helped her, and all the Raiders competitors, was a loud, supportive contingent of teammates in each event. When she ran the 200, a large group of Reynolds athletes roared for her in the stands.

“I think they were the loudest ones up there,” Hudson-Williams said with a laugh. “I could hear them, but I tried not to listen too much and stay locked in.”

In the girls 800 a Sandy freshman earned a spot at state. Claire Parks ran a PR of 2:19.11 to claim a silver medal. Her strategy was simple: stay focused on that jersey in front of her.

“I knew I had to stay in stride with (Ella McGillis from Central Catholic),” Parks said. “It was such a fast first lap, I just never took my eyes off her.”

Now she is looking forward to her second time competing at Hayward Field, one of the premiere track venues in the country.

“It can be overwhelming being there, but I am so excited to be going back,” she said.

Earlier in the day, during the field events, the Gresham throwers helped thrust the Gophers girls into a second-place team finish. It was a 1-2-3 sweep in the shot put and discus — senior Ava Hanson, junior Alithia Lam Tiang and senior Daymiah Miller were atop the standings in the shot; and Lam Tiang, Hanson and sophomore Paula Reis led in the discus.

Then in javelin Hanson and Lam Tiang got silver and bronze.

All of that spurred the Gresham girls to second overall with 88 points. Nelson won the girls team competition (212 points) with Central Catholic taking third (84 points).

For the boys, Central Catholic won (158 points), Barlow took second (99.83), and Clackamas placed third (88).

Here are the top-three finishers from the day two events at districts:

Girls

100: Nevayah Samuels, David Douglas junior, 12.28 PR; Kyra Aguon, Nelson sophomore, 12.40 PR; Lauren Puerta, Nelson freshman, 12.49 PR

200: Molly Harrison, Nelson sophomore, 25.33 PR; Ja’lan Abdullah, David Douglas sophomore, 25.65 PR; Alexus Hudson-Williams, Reynolds sophomore, 25.65 PR

400: Molly Harrison, Nelson sophomore, 57.47 PR; Ja’lan Abdullah, David Douglas sophomore, 58.35 PR; Marilyn Phelps, Central Catholic sophomore, 59.21 PR

800: Ella McGillis, Central senior, 2:17.19; Claire Parks, Sandy freshman, 2:19.11 PR; Genevieve Phelps, Central freshman, 2:22.12 PR

1500: Ella McGillis, Central senior, 4:54.01; Zoe Rector, Central senior, 4:58.39 SR; Alison Moe, Clackamas senior, 5:00.12 PR

100 hurdles: Rachel Hardy, Nelson senior, 14.59 PR; Simone Sideris, Nelson sophomore, 14.64 PR; Presley O’Malley, Barlow senior, 15.92 PR

300 hurdles: Simone Sideris, Nelson sophomore, 45.62 PR; Abigail Nesmith, Clackamas sophomore, 48.55 PR; Analise Estrada, Nelson sophomore, 48.57

4×100 relay: Nelson 48.66 (Kyra Aguon, Molly Harrison, Sophia Gradwahl, Lauren Puerta); David Douglas 48.88 (Naomi Coffee, Ja’lan Abdullah, Khloe Huskic, Nevayah Samuels); Central 50.74 (Gabby Warren, Aria Robison, Michaela Kriesien, Marilyn Phelps)

4×400 relay: Nelson 4:02.45 (Sophia Gradwahl, Grace Bach, Simone Sideris, Molly Harrison); Central 4:03.02 (Zoe Vanderwal, Ella McGillis, Aria Robison, Marilyn Phelps); Sandy 4:10.58 (Lilley Wedell, Brynn Fleming-Harris, Claire Parks, Susan Mcgaughey)

Discus: Alithia Lam Tiang, Gresham junior, 113-8 feet PR; Ava Hanson, Gresham senior, 105-10; Paula Reis, Gresham sophomore, 100-9 PR

Pole vault: Kinsley Juliano, Nelson sophomore, 3.50 meters; Maggie Zielinski, Barlow sophomore, 3.20; Itzel Umana, Nelson sophomore, 3.05 PR

Triple jump: Kinsley Juliano, Nelson sophomore, 36-7 feet PR; Addison Patton, Clackamas junior, 36-0.5 PR; Rachel Hardy, Nelson senior, 35-4

Boys

100: Joseph Donnelly, Central Catholic sophomore, 10.83 PR; Sentori Martino, Barlow senior, 10.99 PR; Clay Swift, Barlow junior, 11.07 PR

200: Giovanni Bogarin, Barlow sophomore, 22.38; Joseph Scardina, Central senior, 22.54; KK Sombe, Central sophomore, 22.65 PR

400: Giovanni Bogarin, Barlow sophomore, 48.93 PR; Armani Hays, David Douglas senior, 50.09 PR; Luke Baker, Clackamas junior, 51.12 PR

800: Kruz Mogel, Clackamas sophomore, 1:55.19 PR; Leo Bachulis, Central junior, 1:56.86 PR; Nathan Peters, Clackamas junior, 1:59.46 PR

1500: Finn Briscoe, Central junior, 4:07.44; Greer Shorr, Central sophomore, 4:12.07; Joe Yang, Nelson senior, 4:12.44 PR

110 hurdles: Aaron Busi, David Douglas senior, 15.21 PR; Jordan Dillard, Central freshman, 15.25 PR; Drew Miller, Barlow freshman, 15.88 PR

300 hurdles: Aaron Busi, David Douglas senior, 40.12; Jordan Dillard, Central freshman, 40.71; Nikolas Gibson, Sandy senior, 40.76 PR

4×100 relay: Central Catholic 42.98 (Tayton Promma-Harris, Joseph Scardina, Joseph Donnelly, Edrees Jackson); Barlow 43.26 (Jett Fay, Clay Swift, Giovanni Bogarin, Sentori Martino); Gresham 44.25 (Nick Williams, Skylar Landingin, Wilando Bell-Henderson, Christ Min)

4×400 relay: Barlow 3:28.45 (Giovanni Bogarin, Matthew Callison, Sentori Martino, Trevor Sippel); Central 3:28.65 (Cameron Giles, Joseph Scardina, Jordan Dillard, Leo Bachulis); Clackamas 3:31.07 (Luke Baker, Nathan Marcoe, Kruz Mogel, Nathan Peters)

Shot put: Devin Brooks, Clackamas senior, 47-7.5 feet; Lander Marak, Sandy senior, 47-2 SR; Grayson Brown, Sandy senior, 46-11.5

Javelin: Caleb Perry, Barlow sophomore, 177-2 feet PR; Isaac Ellis, Clackamas junior, 153-10 PR; Jayden Gray, Clackamas junior, 152-6

High jump: Topher Gabel, Sandy freshman, 1.85 meters; TJ Johnson, Nelson sophomore, 1.80; (tie for third) Salahedin Callier, Reynolds senior, 1.80, and Caleb Perry, Barlow sophomore, 1.80 PR

Triple jump: Joseph Donnelly, Central sophomore, 44-2 feet PR; Jasiah Cochran, Sandy sophomore, 42-3.5; Chace Braden, Sandy sophomore, 40-10.5 PR

For a full list of results, visit athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/521874/results