COTTONWOOD - Lily Brose has no time for pain. The Red Bluff junior, who tore her ACL twice in her freshman and sophomore seasons of playing basketball, won the 100- and 200-meter runs, and was a part of the Spartans' 4x400 relay win at the NSCIF track and field championships Friday evening at West Valley High. Brose won the Bob Russell award for outstanding female athlete of the meet, and was just thankful to be competing after her personal struggles with intense injury. "I never thought that I would be able to come back and do this," Brose said, after her 100 win. "It feels great - I have no pain or anything." She took the 100 in 12.55 seconds, and then the 200 in 25.93, and is headed to Buchanan High in Clovis June 1-2 for the state track and field championships with the rest of the section's winners. "It's fun," Brose said. "It's a whole new experience for me, and I can't wait."

The Bob Russell male athlete of the meet went to Foothill's Tyler Halverson, who won both a track event (200, in 22.67) and a field event (long jump, 22 feet, 1.5 inches). "It's kind of like a dream come true," Halverson said. "I've worked my butt off to get here, and it's really good to see the fruits of my labor pay off." After his pair of section titles, Halverson was relentless in egging on his teammates - like Tony Meredith, who trailed for most of the 3,200 run before a surge down the homestretch got him a win in 9:27.47, over Etna's John Whelan, who finished in 9:28.20. Halverson sprinted to and fro just to get close to Meredith and holler on his behalf. "Tony is incredible," Halverson said. "What I do - sprinting - I feel like it's not even work compared to what he does." Here's how the local champions and placers fared in the track events:

BOYS 100: Orland's Jordan Butterfield eked out a win in a white-knuckle sprint in 11.12 over CV's Kawan Gaidowsky, who finished in 11.13, and Mount Shasta's Eli Chapman, who registered a time of 11.16.

200: Halverson (22.67) beat out Orland's Jordan Butterfield, at 22.78, and the top seed coming in, Mount Shasta's Chapman, who finished in 22.90.

400: Top-seeded Brad Cox of Pleasant Valley won at 50.46, over Quincy's Josh Hanna at 50.81, and Red Bluff's Zach Iverson at 50.82.

800: Paradise's Dylan Chamberlen (1:56.04) cruised over Chico's Nimai Buroz (2:00.80) and Yreka's Christian Wichmann (2:01.73).

1,600: Yreka's Eric Neill (4:21.05), winner of the Norm MacKenzie sportsmanship award for senior male athletes at the meet, was tops over teammate Timmy Williams (4:25.82) and Chico's Buroz (4:28.93).

3,200: Meredith was behind Whelan for nearly the entirety of the race, before a final sprint down to the wire won it. He collapsed to his knees shortly after - an exhausted section champion. "I heard some of my teammates and my coach, and it just kind of sparked a little extra in me," Meredith said. "I was able to push it."

110 Hurdles: West Valley's Luke Wright edged Enterprise's Andrew Fitzhugh, winning at 15.08 over Fitzhugh's 15.16. Red Bluff's Cody Lehman (15.67) finished third. "I've been working for it all year," Wright said. "I didn't do good last year, and I just wanted to make up for it this year."

300 Hurdles: Fitzhugh got redemption in the 300-meter hurdles, in 39.25, over West Valley's Nick Putman (39.67) and Wright (41.70). The junior Fitzhugh finished placed a year ago, but didn't win, and was finally able to take first and make his way to state this go-round. "It's just redemption from last year," Fitzhugh said. "It was huge motivation."

4x100 Relay: Orland won at 43.18, over Foothill's 43.72 and West Valley's 44.07.

4x400 Relay: PV's 3:27.97 was best, followed by Yreka (3:28.27) and Red Bluff (3:29.41).

GIRLS 100: Brose's 12.55 bested PV's Gabrielle Finley-Vaquera, at 12.59, and Foothill's Anna Stone, at 12.81.

200: Brose was best again, beating Winters' Sofia Evanoff (26.41) and Foothill's Hailey Jackson (26.93). 400: Winters' Evanoff was section champion at 58.99, over Red Bluff's Adrienne Hinkston (59.50) and Foothill's Jackson (1:00.53).

800: Chico's Kody Atkins (2:16.43), the female winner of the MacKenzie award, won easily over West Valley's Jenna Hinkle (2:21.44) and Corinne Hinkle (2:26.41).

1,600: West Valley's Corinne Hinkle was tops at 5:22.18, followed by teammate Jenna Storms at 5:27.22 and Chico's Amanda Costa at 5:41.27. Hinkle "paced" Storms for most of the race, before creating her distance the last lap and a half or so. "I'm happy with my finish," Hinkle said.

3,200: The Eagles' Hannah Dorman won her first section championship, in 11:21.38, ahead of Oroville's Julie Finn at 11:33.42 and Storms at 11:37.84. "I've never gone to state before, and I really wanted to go this year," Dorman said. "I was so surprised. I'm really happy, like extremely happy."

100 Hurdles: Yreka's Jenavieve Turner took home the section win at 16.10, beating out Foothill's Alexis Zanotelli, at 16.51, and West Valley's Julieanna Weiler, at 16.67. 300 Hurdles: Orland's Bailey Moss was best, just barely, at 46.97, followed by Yreka's Turner (47.05) and West Valley's Kristina Freitas (48.40). 4x100 Relay: PV's 50.49 beat Red Bluff's 50.62 and Orland's 51.13. 4x400 Relay: Red Bluff, the D-I champion a week ago, won again, in 4:06.29, over West Valley's 4:07.87 and Chico's 4:09.97. Foothill (4:16.78) finished fourth.

The section champions in each event move on to state, although some senior champions will not participate because the meet conflicts with graduation. As the lights came down at a chilly West Valley High track on Friday night, so did they, too, on the 2012 Northern Section track season. More stories like Brose's and Halverson's await on the horizon next season and beyond. Until then, it's more of the same for the top track athletes around - sweat, grit and focus.







COTTONWOOD - Chris Collins never gave up. The Shasta High School senior used each of his first five jumps to pull within reach of the triple jump leader until exploding for his final jump in his prep career, marking a personal record of 43 feet, 5.5 inches to become the Northern Section triple jump champion at the NSCIF track and field championships Friday at West Valley High School.

"It's exhilarating," Collins said. "It's all about being in the moment. I kept thinking today how this is the last time I'm going to ever put on a Shasta uniform and I sat back and realized how much I really wanted it. Not just for me but to give back to the school for giving me so much." Collins trailed before all six of his jumps with Orland's Javone Bradford hitting 43-2 to begin the event.

Top-seeded Marcus Simmons of West Valley scratched on his first three attempts before he turned in a 43-5.25 - up from his seeded mark of 43-1.25. But Collins was consistently gaining ground on his counterparts while embodying an optimistic attitude that anything was possible. Collins knew his final jump of his prep career was going to have to be his best.

But he had a decision to make. He was being called for the 4x100 relay race, where he ran anchor. He chose to skip ahead and jump two spots after his fifth jump before he ran. It turned out to be the better choice as he lunged himself in the air before dropping in at 43-5.5 - a quarter of an inch in the lead. "I was just thinking 'this is my last jump ever,' " Collins said. "I wanted to represent Shasta the best I could, and I did it."

Simmons, a sophomore, ended up second with his 43-5.25 jump while Bradford's first jump of 43-2 was his best, finishing third. Corning senior Ryan Holland jumped 42-4.5 for fourth and Yreka sophomore Kaden Culp was fifth at 41-0. Enterprise junior Travis Hall was sixth (40-0) and U-Prep's Matthew Ray was eighth (38-0.75). Although Collins is a champion, he, like many other senior event winners, are skipping out on the CIF state meet Friday in Clovis to attend graduation instead. "I'm going to walk instead," Collins said. "High school for me wasn't just a school, everyone has been family. All four years has meant so much to me that I can't pass that up."

Here are the other event results: Girls High Jump: Anderson senior Courtney Jones continued her impressive streak of holding the top spot all year long and finished as the Northern Section champion. Her and Foothill's Julia Miranda both hit jumps of 5-1, but Jones was awarded the tiebreaker for achieving the height on her first attempt while Miranda's was on her second. "It's definitely nice being from Anderson and representing the small schools," Jones said. "I was pretty nervous since I was first all year but I used that as motivation."

West Valley senior Marleigh Ostrom reached 5-0 for third, while Las Plumas' Caitlin Francis (4-10) was fourth, and Chico's Maddie Sullivan-Hames (4-10) was fifth. Anderson's Amanda Greene (4-8) was sixth while Foothill's Jill Bilodeaux and Laurent Duval tied for ninth at 4-6.

Girls Shot Put: Red Bluff's Megan Rector repeated as the section champion, tossing a 38-11.75. Enterprise freshman Dyemond Mitchell (36-11.5) edged Gridley freshman Marisela Cardenas (36-8.5) for second. Red Bluff's Kayla Thayer was seventh at 32-4.75 and Trinity's Taylor Steele was eighth at 31-4.

Boys Discus: Yreka's Ryan Kennedy threw 154-8 for the win, Gridley's Ryan Donnahoe (153-9) was second and Yreka's David Sellens III (145-7) was third. Red Bluff's Dominic Lightfoot (144-3) was fourth, Central Valley's Erik Scribner was fifth (143-4).

Girls Triple Jump: Pleasant Valley's Brooke Whitburn followed her section title last year with another this year, jumping 36-9. U-Prep's Lyndsey Brown and Foothill sophomore Christine Rhyne tied for second with 33-7.5 while 2011 finalist Dani Hayward of West Valley was fourth (33-0).

Boys Long Jump: Foothill's Tyler Halverson claimed his first ever individual title with a jump of 22-1.5. With the win in the long jump, and a win in the 200-meter dash, Halverson won the Bob Russell award as male athlete of the meet. Red Bluff's Lily Brose won the girls award. "It feels amazing," Halverson said, about his long jump victory. "Last year (Colin Dahlberg) was unbeatable but it felt great this year as a senior to take over the reins." Shasta's Collins was tied for second with Lassen's Marcus Emmert at 21-5, Enterprise's Sen Saelee was fourth at 20-10.25, and West Valley's Scott Ferris was seventh with 20-4.5.

Boys Pole Vault: Etna's Andy Nadig cleared 13-9 for the title while West Valley's Josh Clark and Enterprise senior Cameron Coats tied for second with marks of 13-0. Mount Shasta's Chris Cazneaux was tied for sixth with Foothill's Jake Boontjer at 11-6.

Boys High Jump: Yreka's Culp claimed the top spot with a jump of 6-5 while Eagles' Ferris matched his seeded mark of 6-2. Red Bluff sophomore Austin Torres tied for third with Enterprise's Domunique Stewart, Etna's Nadig and Foothill's Davis Kepon at 6-0. U-Prep's Ray was seventh at 5-10.

Girls Discus: Red Bluff's Rector was a double-champion after finishing sixth last year. Her throw of 111-9 won her the title. "The disc was unexpected," Rector said. "I thought my teammate (Kayla Thayer) was going to win but it's exciting and now the pressure is on me for state." Yreka's Eva Heintz (106-8) and Katie Brummett (105-1) were second and third, respectively, while Corning's Morgan Parker was fourth (104-9) and Thayer finished fifth (96-4).

Boys Shot Put: Gridley's Donnahoe turned in a top-five state throw of the year to win the shot put, with a mark of 60-8.75. Enterprise's Alex Henderson was second at 49-11.75, CV's Scribner was third (49-6.25), West Valley's Colt Roberts (45-11) was fifth, Shasta's Zane Ventimiglia (45-10) sixth and Dunsmuir's Jeff Rhoades was eighth (43-1.25).

Girls Long Jump: In addition to the triple jump, PV's Whitburn won the long jump with a mark of 18-0. PV's Gabrielle Finley-Vaquera was second at 16-9.5 and Foothill's Anna Stone was third at 16-9. West Valley's Julieanna Weiler was fourth (15-8.25) and Eagles' Aubrey Mendonca was seventh at 14-8.25.

Girls Pole Vault: West Valley's Kayla Vasquez was the lone competitor to clear at least 10-feet, marking at 10-6 for her first section championship after Enterprise graduate Kelsey Moynahan had won three of the past four. "It's exciting, I've been waiting four years for this, and pole vaulting is my favorite sport," said Vasquez, who hopes to walk-on at UC Davis next year. "I practiced hard all week, was ready, stayed warmed up and focused all week." A four-way tie for second followed as Foothill's Kristina Fish, Yreka's Angela Henson, Mount Shasta's Janelle Jaegal and Wheatland's Emma Willard each went 9-0. West Valley's Ostrom got sixth with 8-06. Foothill's Sarah Cerami was eighth with 8-0.




COTTONWOOD - The area's best was on full display Friday at the Northern Section Track and Field Finals. And the best of the best may have been Ryan Donnahoe in the shot put. The Gridley senior set a West Valley High stadium record with a throw of 60 feet, 8.75 inches, easily winning the event by 10 feet, 7 inches. That mark gave him the seventh-best throw in California and plenty of confidence heading into next week's state championships in Clovis. "I know if I hit it right I can win at state," he said after getting his medal, still thrilled with his day. "I had three throws today that would have been my P.R." Donnahoe's day earned a round of applause from the pit area as he tossed two throws of 59 feet and change in addition to the stadium record, which was previously 60-1.25 when Shasta's Josh Robb set it in 1999. Despite the impressive throw, Donnahoe said he knows it could have been better. "If I catch everything right, I can throw 63," said Donnahoe, who had throws of 59-8 and 59-3 as well in addition to a second-place finish in the discus at 153-9. But for now, Donnahoe was happy with finally breaking the 60-feet barrier, a distance the UC Davis-bound senior had gotten in practice and warm-ups but not in competition. Donnahoe, though, was hardly the lone athlete to be thinking big when it comes to the state meet.

A pair of seniors with a chance to place high at state merely took care of business here at the section meet as Chico's Kody Atkins and Paradise's Dylan Chamberlen dominated for the 800-meter titles. Atkins led the field of girls from the get-go and cruised, finishing in 2 minutes, 16.43 seconds. Atkins set the meet and stadium mark last year in 2:13.50, and her time of 2:10.37 set earlier this year at the Woody Wilson invite in Davis is the state's fourth-best performance. Atkins said the effects of graduation the night before and the lack of sleep that comes with the sober grad party didn't help, not that anyone could tell as she was more than 5 seconds faster to the finish line. The victory capped a stranglehold on the 800 as she has won it every single year of her high school career. The senior became the sixth athlete since 1980 to win the same section track and field event all four years, joining Chico's Kiara Reed in the 400 (2004-07), Enterprise's Lindsey Kirschman in the 800 (2002-06), Liberty Christian's Tim Nelson in the 3,200 (2000-03), Anderson's Kristin Brown in the shot and discus (1994-97) and East Nicolaus' Rosie Williams in the 200 (1984-87). Atkins later added another award as she was given the Norm MacKenzie sportsmanship award. Yreka's Eric Neill was the recipient for the boys. Atkins' mother Jean Murphy-Atkins also got an award. The longtime Durham athletic director and track and field coach was the section's honor coach this year.

In the 800 for the boys, Chamberlen, who is eighth in the state, dominated as well. The West Point-bound Paradise senior won his race by more than 4 seconds, finishing in 1:56.04. Chico junior Nimai Buroz was second at 2:00.80. Pleasant Valley's Brooke Whitburn, who won the Bob Russell award for outstanding athlete of the meet last year, came close to winning it again this year. Whitburn, the standout junior, won the triple jump (36-9) and the long jump (18-0) before running a leg of the winning 400 relay team. Whitburn, Natalie Makel, Michelle Guilbault and Gabrielle Finley-Vaquera won in 50.49. Whitburn, who also was fifth in the 100, was edged for the meet's overall individual award by Red Bluff's Lily Brose, who won the 100, 200 and was a member of the winning 4 X 400 relay, 4 X 100 relay team that finished second.

Foothill's Tyler Halverson was the winner among boys. The PV boys won the 1,600 relay event in 3:27.97. "Daniel Celis ran a great third leg," said PV anchor Bradley Cox, handing off some credit after taking the baton from Celis. Cox also won the 400 before teaming with Ryan Troudy, Koll Roberts and Celis for the relay triumph. The Orland boys team of Javone Bradford, Jordan Butterfield, Austin Schmeltzer and Andrew Hutchens won the 400 relay in 43.18. Butterfield had the closest of calls in the 100, winning by .01. His time of 11.12 edged Central Valley's Kawan Gaidowsky. Another Orland athlete pulled off a surprise. Senior Bailey Moss won the girls 300 hurdles despite being seeded second. Moss won in 46.97, beating Yreka's Janavieve Turner, who finished in 47.05. Turner had nearly a 1.5 second faster seed time than Moss, and had the lead but a clipped hurdle mid race gave the Trojan the opportunity to came out with the victory. "It was all about guts," Orland coach Larenzo Garths said. Event winners move on to the state meet, which is at Buchanan High in Clovis. The two-day meet begins next Friday.

To see additional section meet photos.