Stayton High’s girls distance runners are making their presence felt as the track and field season hits the midway pole, a pole, it should be said, that has been buffeted by breezes and pelted by rain.
Haley Butenschoen of the Eagles ranks first in Class 4A in the 800 with a time of 2:23.88, while teammate Hope Bridge is No. 2 in the 3,000 at 10:56.47.
The Cascade girls also have a top-ranked athlete, shot putter Kalina Saechao, who leads the rankings with a throw of 37-2.5.
Cascade also is showing its strength in the sprints. Julie Duncan of the Cougars is fourth in the 100 (13.07) and sixth in the 200 (27.19), while teammate Lillian Pickett is fourth in the 200 (26.75) and seventh in the 100 (13.19). As you might expect, Cascade also fields a speedy 4×100 relay squad. Pickett, Duncan, Allison Course and Livia Free have run 52.00, good for fifth in the 4A rankings.
On the boys side Ethan Newton of Cascade is ranked in both hurdles races. His 40.73 300 hurdles times ranks him second, while his 15.70 100 hurdles time is the third best mark.
The Stayton boys are led by sprinter Travis King, who is fourth in the 100 (11.29) and 200 (23.16).
Looking ahead Stayton and Cascade will participate in the OWC district meet May 19-20 at Sweet Home. The state meet is May 25-26 at Hayward Field in Eugene.
Baseball: Stayton is battling with North Marion for the lead in the Oregon West Conference. At Our Town’s presstime the No. 4 Eagles were 10-3 overall and 6-0 in league play. North Marion, ranked eighth, is 11-4 overall and 7-0 in the OWC. The two teams will settle things for the near term with a three-game series this week. Stayton hosts the Huskies, who are fielding a cooperative team with Gervais, on Monday, May 1 and Thursday, May 4, while visiting legendary Bob Brack Stadium in Aurora on Wednesday, May 3.
Regis, meanwhile, is 11-3 overall and 8-1 in Class 2A-1A’s Special District 3. The Rams are ranked eighth and chasing No. 2 Blanchet (17-1, 13-0) for the district lead. Regis lost to the Cavaliers 11-1 on April 25 and faced them two more times this on April 28 after Our Town’s presstime.
Softball: Stayton has rocketed to a great start under first-year coach Ryan Borde. The Eagles are 14-3 overall and 7-0 in the Oregon West, including a 10-6 win at defending 4A state champ Cascade, which is 4-2 in league. The two teams played the second game of the series Thursday at Jay Lamb Field in Stayton.
Regis, meanwhile, is 3-4 overall and 3-3 in Class 2A-1A’s Special District 2. The Rams currently sit in fifth place in the league and need to finish in the top 4 to earn an automatic playoff spot.
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