More than 200 children aged 6-18 and their parents converged on Summit High School Wednesday evening (6/18) for the Open Track and Field meet in celebration of Olympic Day presented by the Central Oregon Track Club.
The featured guest was U.S. Olympian Paula Berry, a two time Pac 10 Champion (1990, 1991) and NCAA Champion (1991) in the javelin.
Berry competed at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, in the same event.
Upon her retirement in 2003, Berry was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame for her athletic achievements.
Since her retirement in 2003, Berry has been involved with the homeless, primarily working with St. Vincent de Paul in Eugene, Oregon. “I really appreciate my role in the community,” says Berry.
“Being able to as an Olympian come and talk to kids where-ever it might be, to encourage and inspire them; You don’t know if they’ve got something going on at home. Whether you’re homeless, or an athlete, everyone needs inspiration.”
Berry felt as if offering that encouragement and inspiration was her duty as an Olympian. “You’re a representative of the United States, of your community, of the sport. Track & field gave me a lot and this is my way of giving back.”
Berry spoke for 20 minutes before a crowd of eager on-lookers, and a youth track and field competition followed with multiple track events.
Kids aged 9 and older competed in the running events, kids aged 6-8 ran the 50 meter dash.
Young athletes 11-and-up competed in the hurdles, and all kids 6 and up were able to participate in other field events like the shot put, discus, softball throw and javelin.
Berry was positioned at the javelin station and helped several kids with their footwork and throwing techniques.
Berry’s reminder to the kids that it’s important to share your goals and dreams resonated with even the youngest athletes present at the meet; seven-year old Sloane Miller said listening to Berry made her feel inspired to “Do what my dreams are!”
There are two more COTC meet events scheduled this summer on July 16th, and August 6th at Summit HS in Bend. Contact centraloregoncheetahs@gmail.com for more information.
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RESULTS FROM COTC ‘OLYMPIC DAY’
50M
8U
1- Bridget Sortor 8U 7.2
2- Ian Kendall 8U 7.7
3- Kainoa Pyle 8U 8.2
100m
8U AGE TIME
| Sawyer Campbell | 8U | 17.61 |
| Seth Mikalson | 8U | 20.18 |
| Neila Hopwood | 8U | 29.94 |
9-10
| Jeremiah Schwartz | 9-10 | 15.81 |
| Cooper Seguin | 9-10 | 15.99 |
| Jackson Henry | 9-10 | 16.34 |
11-12
| Maya Hopwood | 11-12 | 13.05 |
| Bailey Dickerson | 11-12 | 14.93 |
| Bella Fassett | 11-12 | 14.97 |
13-14
| Clare DeMent | 13-14 | 13.59 |
| Flore Elliott | 13-14 | 14.59 |
| Lucas Henry | 13-14 | 14.98 |
200m
9-10
| Jeremiah Schwartz | 9-10 | 33.12 |
| Emma Whitehead | 9-10 | 38.25 |
11-12
| Maya Hopwood | 11-12 | 26.76 |
| Jack Fassett | 11-12 | 33.24 |
| Bella Fassett | 11-12 | 34.16 |
13-14
| Clare DeMent | 13-14 | 27.51 |
| Flore Elliott | 13-14 | 29.86 |
| Lucas Henry | 13-14 | 31.35 |
17-18
| Beth Leavitt | 17-18 | 30.10 |
400m
8U
| Lia Cooper | 8U | 1:30.89 |
| Dayuma Allison | 8U | 1:34.01 |
| Taylor Vierra | 8U | 1:34.73 |
9-10
| Cooper Seguin | 9-10 | 1:12.54 |
| Cody Crain | 9-10 | 1:12.64 |
| Elijah Pyle | 9-10 | 1:16.19 |
11-12
| Asha Turnbull | 11-12 | 1:09.33 |
| Joe Sortor | 11-12 | 1:11.87 |
| Jesse Vandenborn | 11-12 | 1:12.04 |
13-14
| Isaac Kowrek-Orr | 13-14 | 1:01.40 |
| Nathaniel Cannon | 13-14 | 1:05.71 |
| Dagny Donohue | 13-14 | 1:08.35 |
800m
9-10
| Elliot Henson | 9-10 | 2:48.5 |
| Ben Strang | 9-10 | 2:54.8 |
| Charlie McCabe | 9-10 | 2:55.3 |
11-12
| Jack Strang | 11-12 | 2:36.4 |
| Chase Schermer | 11-12 | 2:49.3 |
| Joe Sortor | 11-12 | 2:49.6 |
13-14
| Jett Ballantyne | 13-14 | 2:29.4 |
| Isaac Kocurek-Orr | 13-14 | 2:30.9 |
| James Verheyden | 13-14 | 2:53.9 |
1500m
9-10
| Charile McCabe | 9-10 | 5:54.3 |
| Braden Williams | 9-10 | 6:35.0 |
11-12
| Sam Timms | 11-12 | 5:48.0 |
13-14
| Jett Ballantyne | 13-14 | 4:57.5 |
| Anna Timms | 13-14 | 5:54.6 |
3000m
13-14
| Taylor Vandenborn | 13-14 | 12:31.9 |
| Dagny Donohue | 13-14 | 12:32.3 |
50M Hurdles
1- Caleb Dickerson 9-10 10.11
2- Elliot Henson 9-10 10.59
3- Jackson Henry 9-10 10.97
80M Hurdles
11-12 – Girls
1- Elizabeth Verheyden 11-12 17.41
2- Izzy Armstrong 11-12 17.46
3- Bailey Dickerson 11-12 17.92
11-12 Boys
1- Nathan Shaw 11-12 17.47
2- Noah Campbell 11-12 19.20
3- Eliot Whitehead 11-12 19.77
100M Hurdles
1- Beth Leavitt 17-18 18.85
2- Alycen Reinhart 13-14 19.90
3- Nichole Johnson 13-14 28.87
Turbo Javelin
Boys 9-10
1- Soren Orr 69’10”
2- Ben Strang 68’7 ¾”
Girls 11-12
1- Bella Fassett 70’4”
2- Taylor Berry 54’ 6 ½ “
Boys 11-12
1- Dylan Malendowski 74’6 ½ “
2- Jessee Vangenpern 70’4”
3- Jack Fassett 57’11 ½ “
Girls 13-14
Carson Miller 80’2 ½ “
Nichole Johnson 56’9 ½ “
Softball Throw
8U Boys
1- Seth Mikalson 68’3 ¾ “
8U Girls
1- Sloane Miller 40’2”
2- Lia Cooper 39’3 ½ “
3 – Mary Ellers 20’ 2 ¼”
9-10 Girls
1- Erika Anderson 53’ 5”
2- Simone Bidfeld-Garren 36’ 8 ½ “
9-10 Boys
1- Braden Williams 105’11 ½”
2- Geoffrey Furrow 90’ 1”
3- Kyle Swenson 85’6 ¾ “
High Jump
8U
1- Sawyer Campbell 3’
2- Ian Kendall 2’9”
9-10
1- Soren Orr 3’7”
2- Caleb Dickerson 3’4”
3- Micah Pietrowski 3’3”
11-12 Girls
1- Elizabeth Verhuden 4’0”
2- Ella Mikalson (m) 4’0”
3- Bailey Dickerson 3’10”
11-12 Boys
1- James King 4’10”
2- Dylan Malendoski 3’10”
3- Grant Lulich 3’8”
13-14 Girls
1- Carson Miller 4’6”
2- Bronwen Slechta 4’4”
3 (tie)- Brooklynn Anderson 4’2”
3 (tie) – Nichole Johnson 4’2”
13-14 Boys
1- Jett Ballantyne 4’10”
Long Jump
8U – Girls
1- Bridget Sortor 8’5 ¼ “
2- Emma Williams 5’10 ¼ “
3- Sloane Miller 5’0”
8U Boys
1- Ian Kendall 7’7”
2- Kianoa Pyle 6’3 ½ “
9-10 Girls
1- Hannah Kendall 9’10”
2 – Erica Anderson 8’4 ¼ “
3- Samone Belafeltgaren 7’6 ¼ “
9-10 Boys
1- Jeremiah Schwartz 11’11”
2- Elijah Pyle 10’10”
3- Tyler Herauf 10’2 ½ “
11-12 Girls
1- Maya Hopwood 16’1”
2- Bailey Dickerson 12’3 ½ “
3- Nichole Johnson 11’11”
11-12 Boys
1- Jack Facet 11’6”
2- Chase Sherman 10’7”
3- Joe Sorter 9’7 ¾ “
13-14 Girls
1- Claire Dement 15’4 ¼ “
2- Dagney Donohue 12’4 ¾ “
13-14 Boys
1- Lucas Henry 12’10”
Shot Put
11-12 Girls
1- Taylor Berry 28’9”
13-14 Girls
1- Carson Miller 31’11 ½ “
2- Nichole Johnson 24’7”
3- Taylor Vandenborn 22’0”
Discus
11-12 Girls
1- Taylor Berry 60’3”
2- Izzy Armstrong 34’5”
11-12 Boys
1- Dylan Malendoski 78’0”
2- Doug Shaw 56’8”
3- Nathan Shaw 48’7”
13-14
1- Cooper Hagner 91’0”
2- Carson Miller 49’8”
4 x 100 Relay
1- B. Dickerson, F. Elliot, U. McPherson, M. Hopwood – 58.96
2- M. Pietrowski, T. Herauf, C. Dickerson, J. Pietrowski – 1:13.21
3- T. Vierra, L. Cooper, H. Kendall, S. Ditman – 1:17.45
4 x 400 (do not have names of entire team at this time)
1- 5:13.4
2- 5:45.7
3- 6:12.5
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