On the boys side, beyond the two Crater kids it was looking like slightly "down" year for distance times but but the recent district meets performances (and decent weather for once?) raised the hype level. 6A boys 1500 looks like it could be a really fun race with several of the guys already proving they can close a 3:55 race in 55 as seen in the PIL meet.
Boys short sprints also seem really deep (26 entrants in the 6A 200!?).
While a bit overshadowed by some unreal performances on the national level, the top girls distance runners in Orgon are still putting up times that would blow any era from over ten years ago out of the water.
Comment, discus, share any juicy storylines as you please.
What we really need is a system like California where your season ends after week #2 in February because you failed to qualify for the sixteen rounds of CIF qualifying.
Oregon divisions are based on school enrollment size and tied to football. I agree that we could go to four divisions instead of six.
California is the outlier here compared to other states which just about all have multiple classification levels.
I do like how California can determine "one true state champion" in each event but I'm curious how much this dilutes the team scoring format. I bet schools routinely win the California state meet with just a couple of stud qualifiers rather than put up 50-70 points of team scoring.
6 levels for Oregon is probably too many for the state's overall population but I imagine the geographical locations of population centers for Oregon play a large part in how they carved up.
California is the outlier here compared to other states which just about all have multiple classification levels.
I do like how California can determine "one true state champion" in each event but I'm curious how much this dilutes the team scoring format. I bet schools routinely win the California state meet with just a couple of stud qualifiers rather than put up 50-70 points of team scoring.
6 levels for Oregon is probably too many for the state's overall population but I imagine the geographical locations of population centers for Oregon play a large part in how they carved up.
Smaller Idaho just felt the need to go from five to six.
I think we can generally just assume California is doing most things wrong.
Six divisions might be too many. It used to be four, I don’t know how long ago. The gauntlet of California meets is ridiculous. I do like the “meet of champions” concept so we see to talent go head to head. But in Oregon we have easy access to two great post season meets in Portland track festival and NON.
Kid goes from mid 11s last year to mid 10s this year in the 100 and 23 to 20 high in the 200. Doesn't seem like he was new to the sport given several years of experience per atheltic.net. I've never seen a short sprinter late in their high school career improve that much one year to the next.
More sprints
- No Gallagher
- Curious why Joseph Donnelly of CC opted out of the 200. Would have been a great battle between him and Valley.
California is the outlier here compared to other states which just about all have multiple classification levels.
I do like how California can determine "one true state champion" in each event but I'm curious how much this dilutes the team scoring format. I bet schools routinely win the California state meet with just a couple of stud qualifiers rather than put up 50-70 points of team scoring.
6 levels for Oregon is probably too many for the state's overall population but I imagine the geographical locations of population centers for Oregon play a large part in how they carved up.
Geographical locations don;t matter so much, the state meets are all in Eugene.
And no states have this many divisions for such a small population. PA is huge and has 2.
California is the outlier here compared to other states which just about all have multiple classification levels.
I do like how California can determine "one true state champion" in each event but I'm curious how much this dilutes the team scoring format. I bet schools routinely win the California state meet with just a couple of stud qualifiers rather than put up 50-70 points of team scoring.
6 levels for Oregon is probably too many for the state's overall population but I imagine the geographical locations of population centers for Oregon play a large part in how they carved up.
Geographical locations don;t matter so much, the state meets are all in Eugene.
And no states have this many divisions for such a small population. PA is huge and has 2.
I'm pretty sure what Observer meant is that Oregon has a metro area of 2+ million AND also a county larger than Massachusetts with 7500 people (and five counties less populated than that one.)
The HS I would have went to if my family had stayed there (Crane in Harney County) had 50 people total, from such a physically massive school district that it had to be a public boarding school because everyone lived so far away and there were no other schools. For any of those tiny schools in eastern OR there simply wouldn't be any chance at competing without a division for small schools... the need is a little less apparent in individual sports like track, but if you have 25 boys in the entire school to recruit your basketball team from and you play schools from Portland or even just like, Baker City , you're going to lose almost every game and never make the playoffs, year after year. Not a great experience for those kids.
(Although you are saying this is a stupid "lib reality" thing, I'd argue that if anything, having the 1A and 2A divisions for super small schools is mostly a way to equitably include very red very rural counties in the state championships, who would never make it competing against big blue towns)
Valley had a badly broken leg last year sustained from football was just recovering and not in any sort of shape. He also had an injury sophomore year from football from what I've heard. This is the 1st year he has been able to train before the season or race at full speed.
Odd that this meet doesn't get a bit more hype/interest. It is certainly the golden age of distance running in Oregon. Have the 6A girls's distances races ever been this deep? The top two 1500 meter times in the country are in the race and the second fasted 3k time nationally. Multiple athletes going to Hoka and Brooks PR. Same on the boy's side in 5A. How many states can say they have this level of elite distance on display? California? Utah? Can't think of any others but maybe I am missing some?
California has one. This seems like a league meet not a state meet.
Oregon should have 2 division for Track and Field, a lower division for 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and a higher division for 5A and 6A. And then slightly increase field sizes to make sure enough opportunity is allowed for kids to qualify.
The way California does it, would exclude 99% of the lower classification athletes from making it to state.
