For the first time this decade, Class 4A may crown a new state champion in girls track and field. Philomath High won the title four straight years from 2022-25 and official state meets were not held in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic.
Of course, Joe Fulton has seen a lot over the years. During an interview on Tuesday afternoon at Clemens Field, the longtime Philomath High coach mentioned Baker as an early favorite. But you never know — could the Warriors pull off another state title season?
“It’s not likely, but you know, the one thing about Philomath track and field is that it surprises me every year,” Fulton said. “Right now, we’re a mystery on both teams because nobody’s competed yet this year and we have a lot of new kids. They all look fairly athletic but I haven’t seen them compete yet so I can’t really project what kind of a team we’re going to have. I would hope that both our boys and girls will be in contention for a top-four trophy at state.”
The athletes that led the program to those state titles have moved on through graduation — a group that included Janice Hellesto, Natalie Dunn, Anneka Steen, Adele Beckstead, Aspen Russell, Hannah McDaniel, Petra Hernandez and others.
“Nobody took a bigger hit than Philomath — that was an incredible group,” Fulton said.
The season starts for this edition of the Warriors on Friday with an appearance in the Elmira Relays.
This year’s squad for the girls begins with Cassidy Smart, a sophomore fresh off a state title last fall in cross-country.
“When you have the best distance runner in the state, that’s a good start,” Fulton said.
Smart will run the 1,500 and 3,000 at districts and state, Fulton said, because those are two-day meets. In regular-season meets, she’ll focus on only one of those distances. She placed among the top eight last year as a freshman.
“She could win state in both — she’s that good,” Fulton said.
Junior Libby Kramer, who the coach described as being in great shape, will back up Smart in the distance events.
The team looks good in many of the other running events as well. Sophomore Reagan Nuño will move down to the 400-meter dash this season with freshman Sienna Bushnell taking over the top spot in the 800. Nuño placed seventh at state in the 800 last year. All of the team’s middle- to long-distance runners will move around during the season, Fulton added, such as Smart and Nuño in the 800 and Bushnell in the 1,500.
In the sprints, sophomore Kya Bolton appears to be in a good position to score points.
“All of the other best sprinters graduated, so she finds herself as the preseason favorite in the 100,” Fulton said.
Fulton’s not sure about other prospects in the sprints, although freshman Ava Oster shows promise.
The 4-by-100 relay is set with Smart, Nuño, Bushnell and Bolton. The 4-by-400 will likely feature Smart, Nuño, Bushnell and Kramer.
In the hurdles, junior Annaleise Brown returns and junior Jordyn Hood will focus more on the event in addition to her field events. A freshman, Adilee Stewart, will also be in the hurdles.
Junior Hailey Eckhold returns as a top athlete for PHS in the field events. Eckhold qualified for state last season in the triple jump and in addition to that event, is also penciled in for the shot put and pole vault. Hood returns to the discus and Bolton will give the long jump and triple jump a try this season, although Fulton said the team is deep in the latter event with Nuño and Brown.
All but two athletes on the girls’ roster are underclassmen with Syd Cothern and Abby Phelps being the only seniors.
Fulton said he won’t know a lot about this year’s teams probably until an April 11 meet at Blue River. The team’s first two appearances will be at a relays event Friday at Elmira and in a smaller meet April 8 at Cascade.
Deep roster for boys
The boys return a deep roster, although Warwick Bushnell, the top performer from a year ago, graduated.
“The boys should be quite good, you know, if they all stay healthy,” Fulton said. “I see no reason why they shouldn’t be able to go to state and get a trophy.”
Senior CD Nuño returns in the sprints — he finished seventh at state last year in the 200 and also qualified in the 100.
“He’s good in all three sprints but he won’t run all three, of course, because he’s going to run the two relays,” Fulton said.
Senior Rocco De La Rosa, who will be playing football at Oregon State, was a surprise addition to the team this spring. Fulton said he will be competing in the sprints.
The team’s relays look strong, Fulton said. In addition to Nuño and De La Rosa, others expected to contribute include sophomore Dreyton Nuño, junior Kaden Howard and junior Bryce Hruska.
“Our sprint relay and our long relay should be pretty good because we actually won’t have to rely completely on distance runners for the long relay like we do with the girls most of the time,” Fulton said.
The team appears to have an emerging star in the hurdles.
“Bryce Hruska has worked out really hard all winter in the hurdles, so he’ll be one of the best hurdlers in the league, if not the state, in both hurdle races,” Fulton said.
The team runs deep in the distance events with seniors Leo Pausch and Lukas Hernandez, and junior Galen Murch. Pausch and Hernandez both competed at state last season in the 1,500 and 3,000.
“At least in the 1,500 and 3,000, we’re pretty solid,” Fulton said. “The 800 is another thing — it’s so hard to get sprinters to be willing to do it and the distance runners, it’s too short for them.”
Fulton mentioned junior Esias Sapp as a prospect in the event. Freshman Braeden Colvin could be in the mix although the coach said he prefers the 400. Dreyton Nuño will also run the 400.
In the hurdles, senior Tiernan Bovbjerg returns in both the 110 and 300.
Philomath has a strong 1-2 combination in the high jump with Dreyton Nuño and sophomore Sammy Hernandez. Nuño won the event last year at districts and placed sixth at state. Hernandez also went to state last season to give the team two athletes capable of clearing 6 feet.
The Warriors appear strong in several other field events. Senior Josiah Peters was the state runner-up last year in the javelin and senior Blake Hauck returns as a state-qualifying pole vaulter. And Fulton calls Howard one of the better long and triple jumpers in the state — he qualified for state in both events last season.
“Josiah Peters is the top returning javelin thrower in the state,” Fulton said. “He’s the one with the best chance of being a state champion.”
Junior Jamin Peters returns in the discus — he qualified for state last year in the event. He and Bovbjerg are both back in the shot put for more point possibilities.
Philomath’s boys will have strong competition from teams like Henley, Scappoose and Pendleton.
“We just have to see these guys compete to know — are we in the mix?” Fulton said. “Two months from now, we should be if the kids stay healthy and the coaches are able to keep moving them along.”
Fulton’s assistant coaching staff returns intact, a group that includes Diana Bushnell, Laura Coen, Brian Lucas, Scott Radetich, Tyler Thomas, Alanna Volk and Whitney Smart.
Overall, the program has 62 students in the track and field program — 37 boys and 25 girls.
The varsity will not host a meet this season. The Oregon West Conference Junior Varsity Championships will be at Philomath on May 14.
Fulton said there are a lot of competitive meets on the schedule.
“There are so many good invitationals to go to,” he said. “I got us into the John Oliver meet, which is very good up in Monmouth, and we’re going to the Spartan Challenge at Corvallis, another good meet. We’re going to get good competition at Blue River. … We’re going to get a lot of competition this year — I’m not worried about that.”
