Lady Mustangs relay teams rewrite the record books

By Debbie Raney and Randy Parks
Burns Times-Herald

Not only did the Crane Mustang girls relay teams win state championships in both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays at the 2009 state meet last weekend, they did it with flare, setting new state tournament records in both races.

The 4×100 relay team members, Lindy Steeves, Emilee O’Toole, September O’Crowley and Alex Borelli, had set a time of 50.69 in the preliminaries on Friday. This in itself was a new record, but when it counted in the final race on Saturday, the Mustang team finished with a time of 51.15, still a new state meet record.

The 4×400 relay team members, Steeves, Borelli, O’Crowley and Beth Milburn, ran Friday’s race in 4:03.62. The time surpassed the state meet record by over six seconds. In the finals on Saturday the team, with Natalie Bentz running the third leg, finished the race with a new state meet record of 4:04.96.

With the points accumulated from the relay teams, as well as individual event points, the Mustang girls earned the second-place trophy for the OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires tournament. Crane had 64 points, behind Sherman with 107.5.

Bentz picked up valuable points for the team, as she won the state championship in the high jump and placed sixth in the 800-meter run. In the high jump, Bentz took the gold medal with a jump of 5 feet, 2 inches. She ran the 800-meter in 2:34.64.

In addition to running on both relay teams, O’Crowley brought home two silver medals, placing second in the pole vault and the 400-meter run. She cleared 8 feet, 9 inches in the pole vault and ran the 400-meter in 58.69.

Steeves picked up an individual event medal, placing third in the 200-meter run. Her time for the race was 26.92.

With a time of 51.63, Milburn medaled in the 300-meter hurdles. Her time garnered her fourth place at the state meet.

O’Toole grabbed a sixth- and an eighth-place in individual events. She placed sixth in the 100-meter run with a time of 13.28, and eighth in the 200-meter with a time of 27.87.

Also competing at the state meet for the Mustang girls was Delilas Korth. Korth ran the 3,000-meter, finishing in 12th place with a time of 12:15.05.

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Burns girls place fourth

The Burns girls track team earned a fourth-place finish in the 3A division of the OSAA State 3A/2A/1A  Track Meet held May 15-16 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

Catlin Gabel ran away with the girls meet, scoring 105 points to easily out-distance Grant Union who finished second with 45 points. Westside Christian placed third with 43 points, Burns was fourth with 40 points and Bandon fifth with 36 points.

Burns High School freshman Maddye Dinsmore placed second in both the 100 (12.84) and 200 (26.22) meter dashes.

Jamie Higle, a junior, picked up six team points for the Hilanders with a third place finish in the 800 meters in a time of 2:23.67.

Sophomore Chelsea Siegner’s discus throw of 100 feet 7 inches earned her a seventh-place finish.

Burns’ 4×100 relay team of Brea Ribeiro, Dinsmore, Ja. Higle and Jen Higle finished second with a time of 51.42. Catlin Gabel finished just ahead of the Hilanders with a time of 51.23.

Anna Clemens, Je. Higle, Dinsmore and Ja. Higle raced to a second-place finish in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:07.93. Again, it was Catlin Gabel placing first with a time of 4:06.37.

Carraig Colahan was the only member of the Burns boys track team to qualify for the state meet, and he placed second in the discus with a throw of 141 feet 3 inches, picking up eight team points.

Westside Christian won the boys meet with 66 points, followed by Creswell with 59, Nyssa 52, Cascade Christian 46 and Rogue River 44 in the top five.

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Crane boys finish eighth

The Crane Mustang boys 4×100 relay team qualified for the OSAA/U.S. Bank/Les Schwab Tires state 1A track meet with a time of 46.63. That time was the seventh fastest among the qualifying teams. During the preliminary races on Friday, the Mustang team — Dallen Davies, Blake Steeves, Raymond Thompson and Jordan Conaway — ran the course in 45.61, the fastest among the qualifying times. On Saturday, the Crane team kicked it up one notch further and ran the race in a time of 45.51, earning the gold medal for the state meet.

Individually, the Mustangs had four members place in the top eight of their events.

Steeves competed in the triple jump and the long jump, placing in both. He came in third in the triple jump with a distance of 42 feet, 10.25 inches, and eighth in the long jump recording a jump of 19 feet, 5 inches.

Jeran Conaway placed fourth in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, 6 inches.

Jordan Conaway also picked up a fourth place, jumping 19 feet, 11 inches in the long jump.

Davies medaled in two events, the 100- and 200-meter runs. His time of 11.72 in the 100-meter earned Davies a fifth place, and the 200-meter, he ran in 23.84, for sixth.

Also competing for the Crane boys’ team were Gus Titus and Lewis Whiting, both running in the 3,000-meters. Titus finished ninth with a time of 9:49.81, and Whiting was 10th with a time of 9:51.78.

As a team, the Mustangs placed eighth, with 34 points. Portland Lutheran was the top 1A boys team with 62 points.