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Track and field team stays ‘strong’ in Oregon City
The Advocate
Men and women stomp back and forth across the red turf, raising their knees as they move along. They joke and laugh as they lift their legs like an army marching, touching their toes with each thrust.
As the bass reverberates across the metal bleachers Tuesday, the track and field athletes finish warm-ups and gather in a circle to chat.
It is this type of camaraderie that has played a hand in their success over the last few weeks, both as a team and as individuals.
On April 10, the Saints traveled to Oregon City to face the Clackamas, Southwestern Oregon, Central Oregon and a group of four-year colleges and universities.
This meet coincided with sophomore Terra Schumacher being named NWAACC Field Athlete of the Week. She was honored following her success at the J.D.
Shotwell Invite where she broke the MHCC school record in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 9.75 inches. Schumacher also excelled in the 100-meter hurdles, the 4x100-meter relay, and the 4x400-meter relay.
In Oregon City, she continued her success with a first place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, improving her mark from the prior invite by more than six-tenths of a second and finishing with a time of 15.14 seconds. She also took first place in the 4x100-meter relay and 800-meter sprint medley alongside fellow teammates Stephany Pitts, Crystal Sims, and Catherine Sims. She also took second place in the pole vault, improving her mark by an additional two-and-a-quarter inches and ending with a vault of 12 feet.
“Terra did good this weekend,” said fellow Saint, freshman Micah Strong. “She was killing it.”
With the women’s team finishing in first place and the men coming in second at the relay meet, the athletes experienced various successes on the track and in the field at Oregon City High School.
For the women, Catherine Sims took first place in the 200-meter dash in 26.07 seconds and Crystal Sims followed in third with a time of 26.54 seconds. Hannah Gustafson, Amanda Baker, Pitts, and Whitney Payment took second in the women’s distance medley, Pitts finished second in the high jump at 4 feet, 9.75 inches, Kelsey Strot finished second in the shot put with a throw measuring 40 feet, 10.5 inches and Chelsey Ramos followed in fourth with a throw of 37 feet, 6.75 inches. Lacy Kennedy also solidified a first place finish in the javelin throw, topping her nearest competitor by more than 15 feet with a throw of 141 feet, .08 inches.
The men’s team also basked in their own success with top finishes by Brian Howelton, who captured the second place spot in the 110-meter hurdles just one-hundredth of a second shy of the first place sprinter; and a second place showing by the 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Saints Brandon Faber, Strong, Travis Lindstrom, and Nathan Hope. The same group of runners also took first place in the 800-meter sprint medley with a time of 1 minute, 33.68 seconds. In the field, KC Vaughn managed to snag a first place tie in the pole vault, launching himself 14 feet above the ground.
Other successes included a third place finish in the triple jump by Howelton and a second place showing in the shot put by Jr. Velasquez.
Stacy Bird, who finished tenth in the women’s triple jump, reached a season personal record at the meet. The sophomore Saint believes the team is capable of excelling in everything at the moment. “We’re pretty strong,” Bird said. “We’re lacking number-wise, but we’re pretty strong as a team.”
Following the relay meet, the men and women encountered a heptathlon and decathlon meet at home Monday and Tuesday.
Playing host to Clark College, the Oregon Institute of Technology and Warner Pacific University, the Saints once again claimed top spots at the Mt. Hood Multi Meet.
Crystal and Catherine Sims finished in the top two spots in the women’s heptathlon with 3755 and 3619 points. Crystal Sims’ highlights included a second place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, a first place showing in the shot put, a second place ranking in the 200-meter dash, a first place mark in the javelin throw, and a second place finish in the 800-meter run.
Catherine Sims finished with first place in the 100-meter hurdles, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 800-meter run.
Howelton, who competed for the men, took home third place honors with top showings in the long jump (second), the shot put (first), the 400-meter dash (first), and the 110-meter hurdles (first).
Overall, the women took first place at the meet and the men finished third.
Strong, who did not compete at the multi meet due to course confliction said of the showings, “It just goes to show all of the hard work we’ve put into it. I’m excited to see what we can do at the end of the year.”
Today, the Saints head to Lewis and Clark College for the Pioneer Open. Following this weekend’s meet, the team will prepare for their next home meet of the season, the Saints/Cavaliers Open, where they will play host to Concordia University at Earl Klapstein Stadium.