Estacada throwers win golds at 2024 Track and Field State Championships

Published 10:00 pm Saturday, May 18, 2024

All sorts of medals are coming home thanks to an amazing showing from local athletes across the region.

The OSAA State Track and Field Championships was held Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18, at Hayward Field in Eugene, and athletes from Barlow, Gresham, Reynolds, Sandy, Centennial, Estacada and Damascus Christian have plenty to smile about.

At the 1A level, a Damascus Christian sophomore should take a bow, if she can manage it with all that hardware around her neck. The springy Tayanah Balensifer erupted at state with two gold medals and two bronze medals.

Another Eagle, of the Centennial variety, also earned a gold medal, with junior hurdler Khen San getting gold in the 300 hurdles.

In 4A competition, a pair of Estacada throwers looked strong and stood atop the podium. The Rangers are a discus school, with senior Hayden Slaughter and junior Abby Behrman both winning their respective competitions.

When thinking about throws, you inevitably turn to the talented duo out of Gresham of senior Ava Hanson and junior Alithia Lam Tiang. Lam Tiang finished 3rd in the shot and 4th in the discus, and Hanson got 6th in the shot.

On the boys side it was Sandy senior Lander Marak who got 3rd in the discus and 6th in the shot put.

In the 6A boys long jump, all eyes were on Reynolds senior Salahedin Callier, who bettered his own personal record, last set during the Mt. Hood Conference District Meet, with another massive jump. He sprung 22-feet 8.5-inches — a gold medal attempt and a mark that ties the school record (set by Able Taylor in 2017).

The top-finishing local team came at the 1A classification, with the Damascus Christian girls getting 5th place (37 points). The Eagles boys placed 10th (23 points); the Estacada girls got 12th (18 points); the Centennial boys also got 12th (24 points); and the Gresham girls finished 14th (14 points).

Here are the local athletes across all classifications who earned spots on the podium (top-eight):

Class 6A

Boys

Giovanni Bogarin, Barlow sophomore, 4th in the 400 (49.30)

Lander Marak, Sandy senior, 3rd in the discus (45.34 meters); 6th in the shot put (14.66 meters PR)

Caleb Perry, Barlow sophomore, 4th in the javelin (54.66 meters PR)

Salahedin Callier, Reynolds senior, 1st in the long jump (6.92 meters PR)

Jasiah Cochran, Sandy sophomore, 5th in the triple jump (13.10 meters PR)

Girls

Alithia Lam Tiang, Gresham junior, 3rd in the shot put (11.15 meters PR); 4th in the discus (35.66 meters PR)

Ava Hanson, Gresham senior, 6th in the shot put (10.71 meters)

Maggie Zielinski, Barlow sophomore, 7th in the pole vault (3.20 meters)

Class 5A

Boys

Gabe Welch, Centennial senior, 6th in the 100 (11.16)

Khen San, Centennial junior, 1st in the 300 hurdles (39.74); 4th in the 110 hurdles (15.15)

Micah Castillo, Centennial senior, 3rd in the pole vault (4.27 meters PR)

Girls

Mia Baczko, Centennial senior, 8th in the 300 hurdles (47.77)

Grace Chienku, Centennial sophomore, 8th in the high jump (1.51 meters PR)

Elizabeth Lancaster, Centennial sophomore, 2nd in the pole vault (3.42 meters PR)

Class 4A

Boys

Hayden Slaughter, Estacada senior, 1st in the discus (53.45 meters); 8th in the shot put (14.16)

Girls

Abby Behrman, Estacada junior, 1st in the discus (38.56 meters); 2nd in the shot put (11.95 meters PR)

Class 1A

Boys

Elijah Davidson, Damascus freshman, 4th in the 110 hurdles (15.81 PR); 4th in the 300 hurdles (41.81 PR)

Elijah Argubright, Damascus senior, 4th in the pole vault (3.81 meters PR)

Damascus 4×100 relay finished 4th in 45.34 (Gavin Anderson, Levi Schell, Elijah Davidson, Elijah Argubright)

Damascus 4×400 relay finished 6th in 3:40.97 (Anderson, Hunter Rotrock, Davidson, Argubright)

Girls

Ayla Pontius, Damascus junior, 6th in the 400 (1:03.57); 7th in the 200 (27.96)

Tayanah Balensifer, Damascus sophomore, 1st in the high jump (1.56 meters); 1st in the pole vault (3.45 meters); 3rd in the 100 hurdles (16.40 PR); 3rd in the long jump (4.87 meters)