SWC track stars put state on notice with top spring marks
Published 4:44 am Friday, May 23, 2025
Grant Pass senior Benjamin Antley churns out a state-best mark of 47.49 seconds in the boys 400 meters during Thursday's Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Grants Pass senior Callie Brandes celebrates with her coach after winning the girls high jump with a state-best mark of 5 feet, 6 inches Thursday in Medford. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford senior Paije Carpenter leaps to a school record on her second attempt in the girls triple jump Thursday at 37 feet, 9 inches during the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford's Paije Carpenter celebrates with coach Jeremiah Griffin after recording a school record in the girls triple jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford junior Joey Clevenger clears the bar at a personal-best 6 feet, 6 inches in winning the boys high jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford freshman Kaia-Marie Price eyes the finish line in winning the girls 300-meter hurdles Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
North Medford's Olivia Boger lands an attempt during the girls triple jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Paige Schiffer clears the bar during the girls high jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships at Bowerman Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford's Cade Siewert braces for his landing during the boys triple jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships at Bowerman Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Grants Pass senior Callie Brandes clears the bar to win the girls high jump Thursday with a state-best mark of 5 feet, 6 inches at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
South Medford senior Adah McCracken strides through the girls triple jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships at Bowerman Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Antley, Brandes of Grants Pass set top state marks; North’s Carpenter, Crater’s Lindbloom crush school records
Pushed to the limit in order to reach the Class 6A track and field state championships, several local athletes rose to the occasion in a big way Thursday to wrap up the Southwest Conference championships at Bowerman Field.
Two state-best marks and a host of personal records capped off Day 2 of the meet at North Medford High, with Grants Pass seniors Benjamin Antley and Callie Brandes seizing the spotlight while North Medford and South Medford enjoyed prime performances as well.
Antley served notice to the rest of the state with a blistering showing in the boys 400-meter finals, clocking in at 47.49 seconds to win with the best time this spring at any classification.
Grants Pass senior Callie Brandes celebrates with her coach after winning the girls high jump with a state-best mark of 5 feet, 6 inches Thursday in Medford. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Antley also won the 200-meter title, joining South Eugene sophomore Yosuke Shibata as the lone individuals to post multiple boys wins Thursday. Shibata won SWC titles in the 800 (1:56.05) and 1,500 (3:58.38).
Both wins by Antley established new school records for the Cavemen.
Brandes also pushed into the lead for all classifications in the girls high jump, soaring to victory at 5 feet, 6 inches to top South Medford runner-up Paige Schiffer, who reached 5-3 before bowing out, and set a school record of her own.
Brandes also won the girls 100-meter title in 12.18 seconds for another PR — second in GP history — to keep Willamette sophomore Jordyn Johnson from sweeping the races limited to one lap or less. Johnson won the 200 and 400 and was second in the 100, all with personal-best marks.
Nine of the 10 individual girls events contested Thursday resulted in PRs, with North Medford enjoying a pair of those marks.
Paije Carpenter skipped past senior teammate Olivia Boger for the girls triple jump title with an effort well beyond her previous best mark of 36 feet, 10.25 inches set at last year’s 6A state meet when she placed fifth overall.
With optimum conditions, Carpenter not only reached the 37-foot mark, she breezed right by it to finish with a winning jump of 37-9 and best Boger (35-5) by more than two feet.
Carpenter’s jump also set a school record for North Medford, surpassing the 36-11 mark reached by Ashley Chambers in 2007. Boger moved up to the No. 3 spot with Thursday’s showing.
North Medford senior Paije Carpenter leaps to a school record on her second attempt in the girls triple jump Thursday at 37 feet, 9 inches during the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Freshman Kaia-Marie Price hasn’t been at it quite as long as Carpenter, but still dialed it up a notch to secure her own PR of 47.66 seconds in winning the girls 300-meter hurdles.
Six of the 10 boys individual events resulted in PRs, and South Medford junior Joey Clevenger came close to equaling a SWC championship record with his winning mark of 6-6 in the boys high jump.
Clevenger’s outing was one inch shy of the record of 6-7 shared by Houston Klug of North Medford (2023) and Dusty Harrah (2015) of Grants Pass. He’s among a group tied for seventh among all classifications for the top boys high jump this spring.
Clevenger placed third at last year’s state meet at 6-4.25, and had hovered at the 6-4 mark this season before breaking through Thursday to win the SWC title by six inches.
Also among the state qualifiers to come out of Medford were South Medford’s Cade Siewert, who placed second in the boys triple jump (44-8.25), and Kristelin Spears, who was runner-up in the 100 hurdles (16.21).
North Medford’s boys 4×400 relay team of Elijah Zavala, Owen Neely, Vernon Lomedico and Jacob Casale also clinched their spot at the state meet with a second-place time of 3:23.47.
Sheldon won the SWC boys team title with 154.5 points, while the Grants Pass girls totaled 175.5 points to earn the SWC girls title. North Medford placed third in the girls meet (86) and fourth in the boys meet (93.5), while the South Medford girls placed fifth (63) and the boys were sixth (62).
South Medford junior Joey Clevenger clears the bar at a personal-best 6 feet, 6 inches in winning the boys high jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
The top two placers in each individual and relay event automatically qualify for the 6A state championships, with other provisions for two wild cards as well as those who meet the qualifying standard. Standards are based on the fourth-place average of the last four state championships for individual events, and the third-place average of the last three state championships for relays.
BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Sheldon 154.5, South Eugene 119.5, Grants Pass 118, North Medford 93.5, Roseburg 75.5, South Medford 62, Willamette 34.
100 — 1, Kai McCormack, She, 10.74; 2, Joyce Jones, She, 10.86; 3, Kainoa Hamilton, She, 10.91.
200 — 1, Benjamin Antley, GP, 22.03; 2, Kai McCormack, She, 22.26; 3, David Schmid, Ros, 22.33.
400 — 1, Benjamin Antley, GP, 47.49; 2, Daelyn Cervantes, Wil, 49.78; 3, McLane Stedman, Ros, 49.97.
800 — 1, Yosuke Shibata, SE, 1:56.05; 2, Jacob Leveless, SE, 1:56.67; 3, Logan Simmons, SE, 1:56.72.
1,500 — 1, Yosuke Shibata, SE, 3:58.38; 2, Malachi Schoenherr, She, 4:02.31; 3, Elijah Zavala, NM, 4:05.50.
110 HURDLES — 1, Cole Zumwalt, Wil, 15.27; 2, Bronx Ely, GP, 15.39; 3, Andrew Jenson, GP, 15.84.
300 HURDLES — 1, Bronx Ely, GP, 39.81; 2, Michael Vance, SE, 41.23; 3, Zev Wacks, SE, 43.34.
4×100 RELAY — 1, Sheldon (Kainoa Hamilton, Joyce Jones, Eli Forsha, Kai McCormack), 42.00; 2, Grants Pass, 42.96; 3, Roseburg, 43.31.
South Medford’s Cade Siewert braces for his landing during the boys triple jump Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships at Bowerman Field. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
4×400 RELAY — 1, Roseburg (David Schmid, McLane Stedman, Joseph Latham, Caden Moon), 3:22.25; 2, North Medford, 3:23.47; 3, Sheldon, 3:24.80.
DISCUS — 1, Brycen McIntosh, GP, 140-10; 2, Kaden Luther, Ros, 139-7; 3, Everett Cam, NM, 136-6.
HIGH JUMP — 1, Joey Clevenger, SM, 6-6; 2, Emery Hurtienne, Ros, 6-0; 3, Dirk Ely, GP, 5-10.
TRIPLE JUMP — 1, Eli Forsha, She, 48-3; 2, Cade Siewert, SM, 44-8.25; 3, Dirk Ely, GP, 42-4.75.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Grants Pass 175.5, South Eugene 143.67, North Medford 86, Roseburg 77.5, South Medford 63, Willamette 62, Sheldon 53.33.
100 — 1, Calllie Brandes, GP, 12.18; 2, Jordyn Johnson, Wil, 12.35; 3, Amara Brooks, SE, 12.54.
200 — 1, Jordyn Johnson, Wil, 25.15; 2, Capri Betenson, SE, 25.37; 3, Amara Brooks, SE, 25.87.
400 — 1, Jordyn Johnson, Wil, 58.04; 2, Hannah McGovern, GP, 1:01.14; 3, Stella Peck, She, 1:01.75.
800 — 1, Madison Zemper-Prill, SE, 2:24.89; 2, Sylvia Eckman, Ros, 2:26.86; 3, Alaya Drummond, SE, 2:27.12.
1,500 — 1, Elizabeth McCart, SE, 4:47.56; 2, Nettle Grey, GP, 4:48.34; 3, Madison Zemper-Prill, SE, 4:50.73.
100 HURDLES — 1, Renee Watkins, SE, 15.67; 2, Kristelin Spears, SM, 16.21; 3, Kaitlynn Bayard, GP, 16.31.
North Medford freshman Kaia-Marie Price eyes the finish line in winning the girls 300-meter hurdles Thursday at the Southwest Conference championships. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
300 HURDLES — 1, Kaia-Marie Price, NM, 47.66; 2, Renee Watkins, SE, 48.42; 3, Kaitlynn Bayard, GP, 49.56.
4×100 RELAY — 1, Grants Pass (Zanai Vainuku-Johnson, Angela Hobson, Eden Bolen, Callie Brandes), 48.74; 2, South Eugene, 49.11; North Medford, 50.57.
4×400 RELAY — 1, Grants Pass (Eden Bolen, Mia Thompson, Hannah McGovern, Callie Brandes), 4:09.21; 2, Willamette, 4:09.66; 3, Roseburg, 4:13.43.
DISCUS — 1, Shaeli Sikes, Ros, 107-7; 2, Lucia Berwind Hoffmann, SE, 106-0; 3, Edna Moala, SM, 100-3.
HIGH JUMP — 1, Callie Brandes, GP, 5-6; 2, Paige Schiffer, SM, 5-3; 3, Angela Hobson, GP, 4-11.75.
TRIPLE JUMP — 1, Paije Carpenter, NM, 37-9; 2, Olivia Boger, NM, 35-5; 3, Adah McCracken, SM, 34-7.75.
MWL CHAMPIONSHIPS: At Springfield, Crater earned five of the nine Midwestern League championships awarded on Day 1 of the Class 5A state-qualifying meet, highlighted by a school-record showing by junior Nathan Lindbloom.
Lindbloom, the reigning 5A boys javelin champion, upped his own record with a throw of 182 feet — winning the MWL title by more than 22 feet over Eagle Point sophomore Devin Stewart (160-2).
Crater junior Grace Mattos made it a clean sweep in the javelin with the top girls throw of 111-5.
Senior distance star Tayvon Kitchen cruised to the boys 3,000-meter title in 8 minutes, 25.11 seconds, with teammate Ivar Hokanson placing second (8:36.40).
In the girls 3,000, Crater sophomore Brynn Davenport fended off a challenge by Ashland freshman Natalie Kupka to earn the MWL crown with a winning time of 10:04.24. Kupka set a personal record at 10:06.67 to finish second.
Crater junior Dakota Lynch set a PR in winning the boys long jump at 21-9.5 — two inches ahead of Eagle Point sophomore Corbin Farquhar in second place (21-7.5).
Eagle point senior Thianna Deng-Gomez won the girls shot put (38-11), while junior Kadin Anthony was second in the boys shot put for the Eagles at 47-1.75.
Crater sophomore Eloise Spires set a PR in finishing runner-up to Churchill star Addison Kleinke in the girls pole vault at 8-8.25.
BOYS
TEAM SCORES: Crater 55, Eagle Point 33, Springfield 23, Thurston 23, North Eugene 17, Churchill 4, Ashland 1.
3,000 — 1, Tayvon Kitchen, Cra, 8:25.11; 2, Ivar Hokanson, Cra, 8:36.40; 3, Ashenafi McKinnis, NE, 8:38.01.
SHOT PUT — 1, Noah Solo, Spr, 48-0.75; 2, Kadin Anthony, EP, 47-1.75; 3, Kai Peters, EP, 45-0.5.
JAVELIN — 1, Nathan Lindbloom, Cra, 182-0; 2, Devin Stewart, EP, 160-2; 3, Lucas Wadley, Thu, 148-11.
LONG JUMP — 1, Dakota Lynch, Cra, 21-9.5; 2, Corbin Farquhar, EP, 21-7.5; 3, Tyler Raven, Thu, 21-4.75.
GIRLS
TEAM SCORES: Crater 46, Thurston 42, Churchill 38.5, Ashland 27, Springfield 25.5, Eagle Point 14, North Eugene 2.
3,000 — 1, Brynn Davenport, Cra, 10:04.24; 2, Natalie Kupka, Ash, 10:06.67; 3, Mari Dunlap, Cra, 10:35.67.
SHOT PUT — 1, Thianna Deng-Gomez, EP, 38-11; 2, Sailor Hall, Spr, 36-11.5; 3, Scotlyn Curtis, Thu, 31-10.25.
JAVELIN — 1, Grace Mattos, Cra, 111-5, 2, Violet Moran, Spr, 105-5; 3, Alexis Bakke, Ash, 104-0.
POLE VAULT — 1, Addison Kleinke, Chu, 12-11.75; 2, Eloise Spires, Cra, 8-8.25; 3, Madeleine Bell, Thu, 7-8.5.
LONG JUMP — 1, Addison Kleinke, Chu, 18-9.75; 2, Brooklyn Anderson, Thu, 18-3.25; 3, Addison Nelson, Thu, 17-4.25.
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035
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