Challengers star lands two individual titles and two runner-up showings overall as Cascade boys place fourth in team race

Cascade Christian junior Deryk Farmer continued to flex his role as one of the state’s top male athletes at the Class 3A level during his run at Hayward Field, scoring two individual titles and another runner-up solo finish to help the Challengers place fourth as a boys team in the 3A track and field state championships in Eugene.

For good measure, Farmer also ran a leg on Cascade Christian’s 4×100 relay team that finished with a silver medal.

Echoing results at the district meet, the three-sport star for the Challengers swept the sprint titles Friday night, and broke his own school records set last week in the process.

Farmer turned on the jets to win the 100-meter boys championship in 10.94 seconds — he went 10.96 last weekend — and then really cranked it up out of necessity in the 200 with a time of 21.88 seconds that was well ahead of his previous record showing and just a blink ahead of Valley Catholic runner-up Andrew Klopcic (21.91).

Competing in the long jump, Farmer sailed to 21 feet, 10.25 inches to finish second overall, slightly out of first place after Tyson Ballard of Burns went 21-11.

Another potential state championship just slipped out of Farmer’s hands when he teamed with Alex Fiannaca, Jacob Beamish and Caleb Scaglione to essentially duplicate the team’s district-winning time but still fall shy of Burns. The Challengers posted a time of 43.36 seconds — it was 43.37 at the district to show the group’s consistency — but Burns placed first at 43.16 to set a new 3A meet record.

Fiannaca placed second in the boys javelin (179-3), and the boys 4×400 relay of Jevin Roberson, Tayen Landers, Beamish and Scaglione scored a fourth-place mark at 3 minutes, 26.64 seconds.

Sebastian Hehn finished seventh in the boys 3,000-meter run for the Challengers (8:54.18) and eighth in the 1,500 (4:07.83) after posting a personal record.

Cascade Christian’s boys team totaled 54 points to finish behind Siuslaw (89), Burns (88) and Valley Catholic (62).

In another prime outing for Cascade Christian, freshman Kinlee Davis placed second in the girls shot put (38-4.75) with a PR and was sixth in the girls discus (110-1).

Morgan Samhammer finished sixth in the girls 400 (1:00.00), while Kyla Kleinsasser was ninth in the girls high jump with a PR of 4-9 and Raena Crisp ended 12th in the girls 3,000 (11:26.55).

Rogue River sophomore Reagan Alden placed third with a PR in the girls pole vault (10-0.75) and 11th in the girls long jump (15-8.75) to pace the effort for the Chieftains.

St. Mary’s received a pair of eighth-place times from freshman Adley Damon in the girls 1,500 (4:59.43) and girls 3,000 (10:59.36), as well as Elizabeth McGill in the girls high jump (4-9).

Bella Fortino was ninth in the girls 3,000 (11:00.77) to round out the Crusaders’ top-10 marks, while the girls 4×400 relay was just outside that realm after finishing 11th (4:18.62) behind the efforts of Meno Kubo, McGill, Grace Weymouth and Alia Newman.

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035