Wolfpack sweep: Caldera boys and girls track and field teams win school’s first-ever state team titles
Published 10:00 pm Saturday, May 31, 2025
EUGENE – Both the boys and girls Class 5A state track and field titles are staying in Bend, but it is the new kids on the block who are bringing home the hardware this year.
The Caldera boys and girls both won the team titles after two days of competition at the state track and field championships at Hayward Field.
The two titles are the first team state championships in school history.
“This has been our goal since November,” said Caldera head coach Dirk Matthias. “I said to our coaches, ‘The truth of the matter is our goal is to win state, boys and girls.’ We have been projecting this.”
It has been a quick rise to the top of the track-and-field mountaintop for Caldera, which opened its doors in southeast Bend in 2021.
The Wolfpack girls – who ended Summit’s 5A title streak dating back to 2007 (the Storm competed in the 6A field from 2019-2022) – finished with 70 team points, ahead of South Albany’s 56, Crescent Valley’s 48 and Crater’s 47.
“It is a different feeling,” said Caldera’s Jaymi Dickinson, who anchored the winning 4×400-meter relay team (3 minutes, 53.62 seconds), took third in the 400 (56.61) and sixth in the 200 (25.48). “At practice you are looking around and it isn’t just a handful of people going to state, it’s a whole team.”
Sophomore James Heinly became Caldera’s first female track and field athlete to win a state title when she won the triple jump Saturday morning (36 feet, 8.5 inches). Dickinson, along with junior Ava Kailey and freshmen Zadie Boyd and Ayleen Buenrostro repeated as the 4×400 champions. Senior Sage Cramp scored big points with a second-place finish in the pole vault (11-9.25).
Caldera’s Maddie Carney finished third in both the 3,000 (9:55.21) and the 1,500 (4:35.2). And freshman Zadie Boyd rounded out the top-five finishers with a fourth-place finish in the 400 (57.70).
The boys finished with 80 team points, ahead of Corvallis’ 69, Crater’s 58 and Summit’s 41. The Wolfpack did not have an individual title, and instead used their depth in all events to win their first team state championship. Nine different athletes placed in the top five in at least one event.
Freshman Waylon Clarke was the high-point scorer with a second-place finish in the 100 (10.92), a fourth-place finish in the 200 (21.90) and was part of the fifth-place 4×100 relay team (43.16).
In the shot put, freshman Cooper Kanalos took second (49-10) and freshman Cooper Hanson took fifth (47-7). Senior Benjamin Sorenson placed third in the pole vault (14-5.5). Sophomore Justin Parsons took third in the long jump (21-7.25). Senior Kian Beaird took third in the javelin (176-8). The 4×100 relay team of Daniel Bradley, senior Cohen Montoya, Kaleb Lott and Clarke took fifth as did the 4×400 relay team of Ben Jackson, senior Dane Giessler, junior Mason Morical and Montoya (3:24.02).
Morical, who finished second in the 3,000 (8:20.42) and sixth in the 1,500 (3:54.72), said he thought the program would start winning titles decades into the future.
“I thought it was going to be possible in like 10, 20 years,” Morical said. “But winning it in our fourth year … I didn’t believe this. I’m so happy, all the hard work paid off. I’m so happy I get to celebrate this with my team.”
Giessler, who finished third in the 800 (1:53.77), saw it differently. He saw the titles coming years ago.
“I did think it was possible,” Giessler said. “We’ve been working at this for forever. I knew we had the potential in the future to go out and win it. We had some kids who were hurt but we came out here and performed. The scoreboard says it all.”
About Brian Rathbone
Brian Rathbone has been the sports reporter for the Bulletin since 2019. He likes playing basketball, running and spending time with his dog, Rodger.
He can be reached at 541-668-7538, brian.rathbone@bendbulletin.com, or on X/IG @ByBrianRathbone
More by Brian
Best of the Best of Bend 2025
-
-
-