CMS eighth graders Kellen Cranmer (left) and Sophia Goyen qualified to compete in the Oregon Middle School Meet of Champions. Photo provided/Stacy Hartman
After qualifying with some of the best marks in the state, two eighth graders on Creswell Middle School’s track and field team competed in the Oregon Middle School Meet of Champions on May 23 at Corvallis High School.
Sophia Goyen competed in the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump.
She did not qualify for the MOC finals in the 100m hurdles after placing 22nd in the preliminaries with a time of 17.50a. Only those athletes with the eight best times in the preliminaries advanced to the finals.
”Sophia was third in her heat to finish 22nd overall out of 64 athletes,” said Kara Freske, former CMS track coach who is now a team volunteer.
Although the regular-season CMS track coaches were Didier Hemelsoet and David Niess, Freske coached the pair at the Meet of Champions.
Goyen fouled on all three of her attempts in the long jump preliminaries and did not advance to the finals.
She went into the MOC as the eighth seed in the long jump, with a qualifying distance of 15-06, and as the 21st seed in the 100m hurdles with a qualifying time of 17.34.
Kellen Cranmer competed in the 3000 meters at the Meet of Champions, placing 20th with a time of 10:29.17a. There are no preliminary heats at the longer distances.
He went into the MOC as the 23rd seed in the 3000m with a qualifying time of 10:27.56.
”Kellen ran a strong race – not a personal best, but his second-fastest all season,” Freske said.
To qualify for the Oregon MOC, athletes needed to have times or distances in their events that were among the top in the state.
”For the 100-meter hurdles, Sophia had to have a time in the top 64 in the state, and in the long jump she had to have a jumping distance in the top 32 in the state,” Freske said. ”For Kellen in the 3000 meters, he had to have a time in the top 25 runners in the state.”
Goyen and Cranmer are both in their third year on the CMS track team.
”Kellen and Sophia both had really good seasons and strong state results,” Freske said. ”We are all really proud of their hard work and dedication this season.”