Five make podium at state meet

Clatskanie High School's track and field sent 12 athletes to last weekend's state meet at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. When all was said and done, five of the 12 made the podium. On the boys' side, Aidan Bailey took seventh in the Men's 400M with a time of 53.95. Though not making the podium, the team of Bailey, Ryder Gorley, Ayden Blackshire, and Daylon Gutierrez took ninth in the Men's 4X400 Relay with a time of 3:37.45. Competing for the boys in the field were Braydon Top in the Men's High Jump and Quin May and Gorley in the Men's Pole Vault.

On the girls' side, Natalie Baker made the podium with her time of 27.52 in the Women's 200M, good enough for eighth place. The team of Baker, Paytan Ward, Lacey Willis, and Mya Jensen also made the podium with their time of 51.68 in the Women's 4X100 Relay, good enough for sixth place. The team of Jensen, Willis, Baker, and Rainey Palm just missed the podium and took ninth in the Women's 4X400 Relay with a time of 4:23.20. Willis qualified for the podium in one more event with her third-place worthy height of 1.51 meters in the Women's High Jump. Palm and Julianna Erickson also competed in the event, but came up short of the podium.

"I thought the state track meet was a success," said Coach Tim Van Voorst. "Our goal was to finish out the season with a new PR (personal record) or SB (season best). Secondary was our goal to place in the top eight and make the podium. Most of our athletes and relay teams were able to accomplish at least one of those two goals, if not both. Competing at the state meet is always an exciting experience, and our team competed well."