by Scott Sacry
Corvallis is once again on top of the Class A track world. Both the Corvallis boys and girls teams won the Class A State title in Laurel at the Class A State track & field meet on May 24-26.
This is the second year in a row that both the boys and girls teams have won the crown. Both teams won the title in the same year in 2012, 2015, 2023, and now 2024.
“Winning state is our ultimate goal every year,” said longtime Corvallis head coach Spencer Huls. “We want to peak at divisionals and state. We try to have the kids at their best by divisionals, and we don’t really care how the team scores in the meets leading up to those two events. It’s all about managing our team to be its best when it matters the most.”
Winning back to back state championships for both the girls and boys is a first for the Corvallis program. This is Corvallis’ 9th girls state title and it’s the 8th boys state title.
“All year our mantra has been ‘prepare and compete’,” said Huls. “Then ‘do what you can do’. And sometimes, what you can actually do is greater than you ever dreamed you could.”
In the girls team standings, Corvallis outscored 2nd place Whitefish 92.5 to 77.5. The boys race was a bit closer as Corvallis edged 2nd place Columbia Falls 68.8 to 67.
“We had so many of our kids get personal bests at state,” said Huls. “Everyone really stepped up as a team.”
Huls said that every state championship is different and each year has its own set of challenges.
“This one was a little different from last year,” said Huls. “We weren’t expected to win last year, so there wasn’t all the pressure. This year we were the favorite, we were the ones with a target on our back. Our kids felt this pressure and had fun with it. When we finally won, of course there was great joy, but there was also a sense of relief that we did it. They were warriors all year. They are tough kids who love to compete, and when your kids love to compete, that’s all a coach can ask for.”
Corvallis individual state champions
Wyatt Miles won the shot put by setting a Class A state record with a massive throw of 60-9.5. The old record was 58-5.5.
Derek Criddle won the 400m with a blazing time of 49.23, a personal best. Criddle also took 2nd in the 200m with a personal best time of 22.21, and 4th in the high jump (5-10).
Ella Varner had an exceptional state meet, winning both the long jump (17-6.25) and the triple jump (36-10.75) with personal best jumps.
Levi Reynoso won the javelin with a personal best throw of 187-06. Reynoso just barely edged out his teammate Hunter Loesch, who took 2nd with a throw of 186-08.
Olivia Lewis won the 400m, 100m hurdles and 300m hurdles. She took 4th in the 200m and 6th in the high jump.
The following Corvallis athletes placed in state.
Laurie Davidson finished in 2nd place in the 3200m (11:31.05) and 4th in the 1600m (5:15.59).
Alanna Auch took 2nd in the discus (122-09) and 4th in the shot put (37-04.50).
Hunter Loesch took 2nd in the javelin (186-08).
Meredith Buhler took 2nd in the shot put (39-09.50).
Isaac Stoker took 3rd in the discus (160-02).
Jack Davidson took 4th in the 3200m (9:51.25).
Stuart Brennan took 4th in the 110m hurdles (15.12).
The boys 4×100 relay team (Logan Avery, Ayden Spencer, Derek Criddle, Solomon Morgan) took 3rd (43.16).
The girls 4×100 relay team (Ella Varner, Olivia Lewis, Jillian Huls, Shaylee Weidow) took 3rd (49.19).