PENDLETON — While the Pendleton boys ran away with the team title Friday, May 9, at the Buck Track Classic, La Grande, Pendleton and Heppner battled to the very end before the Tigers came out on top.
La Grande won with 90 points, while Pendleton was second with 83 and Heppner third with 82.
“It was pretty wild,” Heppner coach Russ Nichols said. “They definitely came to compete today. There are so many good Eastern Oregon girls right now and that makes for good competition.”
Heppner, a 2A school, held its own against the bigger schools, as did several of the small schools.
Lily Nichols won the 800 with a PR of 2:22.76, breaking the Heppner school record. The old record of 2:24.52 was set in 2022 by Hannah Finch.
“Lily ran really well in the 800,” Russ Nichols said. “She ran smart. She likes to get out fast.”
Nichols also was second in the 1,500, breaking her own school record with a PR of 4:48.68. Nichols led the race most of the way until Pine Eagle’s Lindsey Brown passed her at the finish line with a time of 4:48.23. Joseph’s Lilly Weer was third at 4:49.85, with the fourth-place runner 24 second behind.
“The girls 1,500 was probably the most entertaining of the year,” Russ Nichols said. “Lily led it, but Lindsay Brown snuck by her at the tape.
All three broke their school’s records in the event. The La Grande distance girls (Cecilia Villagomez Edvalson and Brooke Perry) were not there today, they were at state choir (La Grande won the 4A state title). It would have been nice to have them there. They would have been crazy races.”
Hallee Hisler also picked up a win for the Mustangs, edging Enterprise’s Owyhee Harguess in the 200 with a PR of 26.05. Hilser also was third in the 100 (13.00) and finished to Harguess in the 400 with a PR of 58.40, breaking her own school record.
Hisler and Nichols also ran on the Mustangs’ 4x400 relay team with Riley Archer and Healy Hisler that placed second with a second-best 4:1370. Enterprise won the race (4:09.59), with Joseph third (4:26.02).
“That’s five seconds better than any time this year,” Nichols said of his relay team. “It’s three seconds away from the school record.”
Lily Nichols also was third in the 300 hurdles (50.02), while Archer (11:46.82) and Brooklyn Hendricks (12:31.55) were third and fourth in the 3,000.
Archer also was fifth in the 800 (2:39.44), Hendricks was seventh in the 1,500 (5:43.51), and Healy Hisler was third in the 400 (1:02.64) and sixth in the 200 (27.35).
La Grande’s Kayle Collman won the 100 (12.77), with teammate Kylie Brown second with a PR of 12.82. Brown turned in a third- place finish in the 200 (26.40), while Collman was fifth (27.29).
Brown and Collman ran the first and last legs of the 4x100 relay for the Tigers, posting a time of 50.30 with teammates Alexace Milner and Mattie Wolcott.
Taryn McIlmoil was second in the high jump for the Tigers with a PR of 5-0.25, second in the 100 hurdles with a PR of 15.61, and second in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 47.78.
La Grande’s Lainey Wolfe was second in the discus with a PR of 98-11, Lyla Davis was fourth in the high jump (4-8.25), and Ariana Fields was sixth in the pole vault (6-6).
Kayle Smith picked up the only win for Pendleton, going 8-6 to win the pole vault, but the Bucks had several athletes in the top eight.
Hazel Case finished second in the long jump for the Bucks with a leap of 16-6.75. She also was fourth in the 100 hurdles (17.39), and teamed with McKenzie Sheldon, Landrie Davis and Shakiya Mulalley on the 4x100 relay team that finished fourth with a time of 52.51.
Lexie Willman added a third-place finish in the triple jump (33-7.5) for the Bucks, while Kaitlyn Edmonds was second in the shot put with a PR of 34-3, Gabrielle Kennedy was sixth in the shot put (31-11), Nicole Somnis was fifth in the javelin (103-6) and Ellery Flerchinger was seventh in the discus (90-0).
On the track, Davis was seventh in the 100 (13.63) and the 200 with a PR of 27.59, while Ella Pozar was fifth in the 1,500 (5:24.75), and Evelyn Hays was eighth in the 3,000 (13:27.28).
Weston-McEwen, which was fourth in the team race with 76 points, dominated the hurdles as Addy Hall won the 100s in a time of 16.52, and the 300s with a PR of 47.77, beating McIlmoil by a nose. Kelsey Graham was third in the 100s (16.91) for the TigerScots, and fourth in the 300s (51.10).
Hailey Monroe won the discus for W-M with a PR of 99-7, and was third in the javelin with a PR of 105-1. Brynn
Brownie was fourth in the shot put (33-4), with teammate Mylie Garrett eighth with a PR of 30-7, and Sydney Carey was eighth in the discus with a PR of 89-3.
Hall, who was fourth in the 100 (13.31), joined forces with Brownie, Graham and Charlotte Hansell to place third in the 4x100 relay with a time of 51.61.
Brownie, Hansell, Graham and Brooklyn Parker were fifth in the 4x400 for the TigerScots with a time of 4:29.93.
Imbler was the top 1A team at the meet, getting wins from freshman Olivia Haddock in the javelin (112-10), and Jeytt Cant in the long jump (16-9.25).
Whitney Haddock was fourth in the triple jump at 32-6.5, with Josephine Bingaman sixth (31-11.25) and Olivia Haddock eighth (31-2). In the shot put, Jayda Cant was seventh (31-4.5).
On the track, Whitney Haddock was fifth in the 100 hurdles with a PR of 17.41 and seventh in the 300s (51.76). Isla Howard was sixth in the 400 (1:04.75), Kaylee Walsh was eighth in the 800 (3:01.27), Helen Gordon was sixth in the 3,000 (12:55.60) and eighth in the 1,500 (5:49.47).
Rylee Sanchez led Umatilla with a third-place finish in the shot put (34-2) and a sixth-place showing in the discus (90-3), while EveLynn Campos was eighth in the long jump (15-2).
Abigail Bensel of Pilot Rock was third in the discus with a PR of 96-2.
For Griswold, Saige Jensen was fourth in the long jump with a PR of 16-1, with teammate Amy Weidert sixth (15-3.25). Weidert also was eighth in the 100 (13.66), while Ellie Morris was seventh in the triple jump (31-7.25).
Morris, Jensen, Kaylee Rand and Weidert teamed up to place seventh in the 4x100 relay with a time of 54.20.
The Pendleton boys won seven events and rolled up 146 points in capturing the team title. Weston-McEwen was a distant second (77.5), followed by Joseph (64), Umatilla (57.5) and La Grande (55).
Riverside (31) was seventh, Imbler (30) eighth, Heppner (29) ninth, Pilot Rock (24) 10th, Griswold (16) 13th, McLoughlin (14) 14th and Nixyaawii (5) 18th.
John Thatcher was a double winner in the sprints for the Bucks, besting the field in the 200 with a PR of 22.92. He also won the 400 with a PR of 50.45.
Thatcher then teamed up with Quinn Kennedy, Kael Kennedy and Carter Cary to win the 4x100 relay in a time of 44.01, their best of the year.
Pendleton’s 4x400 relay team of Cary, Jaydon Hoffert, Kael Kennedy and Thatcher were second (3:34.68) to Umatilla’s team of Tanner Prindle, Jayden Perches, Mason Munoz and Atticus Tesch, which turned in a time of 3:32.88 — its best of the season, which ranks fifth in the state at the 3A level.
Cary also won the 300 hurdles with a PR of 41.28, and was third in the 400 with a PR of 52.32. Kael Kennedy was third in the 200 (23.49).
In the distance races, Pendleton’s Jack Reynolds was second in the 3,000 with a PR of 9:38.65, and third in the 1,500 with a PR of 4:18.52.
In the field events, Hoffert won the high jump with a PR of 6 feet, and the triple jump with a leap of 41-0.5. William Michael won the pole vault with a PR of 13-6
Also in the triple jump, Quinn Kennedy was second (40-0.75), while Alonzo Corona-Rodriguez was fourth with a PR of 38-11.5. Kael Kennedy was third in the long jump (19-2.5).
In the throw, Deacon Pace was third in the shot put with a PR of 49-11, and seventh in the discus (117-9). Jubal Hoisington was fifth in the javelin with a PR of 149-1.
Weston-McEwen’s Wyatt Parsons on the 100 with a time of 11.04. He owns the best 2A time in the state at 10.94, which he ran on May 2.
Parsons also was second in the 200 (23.12), and joined Tristan Weseman, Logan Ray and Easton Berry to finish second in the 4x100 relay with a time 44.69. Weseman also was second in the long jump (19-3.25), third in the high jump (5-10) and fifth in the triple jump (38-10.25).
In the 1,500, Arden Shaul won with a PR of 4:14.15 for the TigerScots, while Jace Dunlap was fifth in the shot put (44-3) and fifth in the discus with a PR of 120-5.
Berry was seventh in the javelin (140-0), while teammate Dylan Monaco was eighth (138-6). Dayton Monaco was fourth in the high jump (5-8), and Lokaa Tso was fifth in the long jump (18-6).
La Grande flexed its muscles in the throwing events, with Bekham Hibbert winning the shot put with a PR of 54-2, and placing eighth in the discus (116-11). Teammate Brogan Hedgepeth won the discus with a toss of 160-3, and was second in the shot put (52-7).
Also for the Tigers, Mathias Fields was third in the javelin with a PR of 164-0, while Ethan Swigert was fourth with a PR of 149-5. Larsen Wright was third in the 110 hurdles (17.01), and Kaleb Crites was sixth in the high jump with a PR of 5-6.
Riverside had a pair of wins, with Nathen Hammon winning the 3,000 with a PR of 9:21.38, and Osmin Barrara winning the 110 hurdles with a PR of 16.52.
Eric Pullen was fourth in the 3,000 for the Pirates with a time of 10:04.76. Jaime Calvillo was sixth in the 3,000 with a PR of 10:30.45, and, while Jeremias Calvillo was eighth in the long jump (18-3) and eighth in the triple jump (37-3.75).
In addition to the win in the 4x400 relay, Umatilla saw Munoz win the long jump with a leap of 19-6.25, and Perches was second in the 300 hurdles (42.76) and eighth in the 110 hurdles (17.58).
Umatilla’s Prindle (53.63) and Tesch (53.88) also finished seventh and eighth in the 400, and Munoz was eighth in the 200 (24.45).
Isaac Cortes, Perches, Munoz and Tesch put together a time of 45.76 to place third in the 4x100 relay.
In the throws, the Vikings’ Miguel Gutierrez was second in the discus with a PR of 128-11, and was fourth in the shot put with a PR of 44-8.
The Heppner boys team is small, but Chris Humphreys makes people take notice. He placed second in the javelin with a PR of 177-3, which ranked him second in the 2A ranks, and was seventh in the shot put with a PR of 39-6.
Also for the Mustangs, Joseph Albitre was second in the high jump (5-10), Hayden McMahon was fifth in the 100 (11.97) and seventh in the 200 (24.33), Marty Medina was sixth in the 800 with a PR of 2:08.56, and seventh in the 1,500 with a PR of 4:30.47.
Pilot Rock’s Carter Ford finished second in the 400 with a PR of 51.90, which ranked him second in the state at the 1A level. Ford also was second in the 100 (11.65) and fourth in the 200 (23.55). Lewis Hansen added a sixth-place finish in the discus with a PR of 119-0.
Griswold’s Noah Walker finished second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.87, and was fourth in the 400 hurdles (43.81).
For Nixyaawii, Marcellus Scott was fourth in the long jump with a PR of 19-2.
Imbler’s Adam Gordon ran a season best 2:02.08 to place second in the 800, and placed fourth in the 1,500 (4:19.80). Carson Yancey was third in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 43.04, and fourth in the 110 hurdles with a PR of 17.10, while Gabe Herron was eighth in the shot put with a PR of 38-8.
For Mac-Hi, Dayne Knifong was fourth in the pole vault (10-6), while Dakota Smith was fifth in the long jump (18-10.5). The team of Alexis Ibarra, Smith, Roger Bennett and Tristen Sewell was fifth in the 4x100 relay with a time of 46.91.
Photos by Kathy Aney.
Pendleton's John Thatcher leads the fast heat of the 400 on May 9, 2025, at the Buck Track Classic in Pendleton. Thatcher took first with a time of 50.45 seconds.
Umatilla's Mason Munoz long jumps on May 9, 2025, at the Buck Track Classic in Pendleton. Munoz won the event with a jump of 19 feet, 6.25 inches.