COTTONWOOD - The best birthday gift Kelly Koehnen could ask for was three new pieces of shiny hardware. Friday, she got her wish. The senior runner from Hamilton High celebrated her 18th birthday by sweeping the three distance races, the 800-meter, 1600 and 3200 events, in the Northern Section track and field championships held at West Valley High. Friday marked Koehnen's second-straight year of winning the three section distance titles repeating the same daunting task she completed last year. "It's so satisfying, just to go all out on my birthday," Koehnen said. "This will be my most memorable birthday." After she took the top position on the podium for the 800 event, the crowd broke out in song to wish her a happy birthday. "It's so exciting," Koehnen said. "It doesn't feel like real life."

Koehnen was also named the Bob Russell award winner for most outstanding female track athlete of the meet. She won the 800 in 2 minutes, 19.15 seconds, the 1600 in 5:07.74 and the 3200 in 11:11.35. Her biggest test came in the 3200 as Koehnen was gapped by Shasta freshman Hanna Hall halfway through the third leg her racing triple. However she stayed patient and struck with a vengence with 2 laps remaining, transforming a five second deficit into a seven second lead. Once she crossed the finish line and won by about 12 seconds, she collapsed to the ground and raised two thumbs up in the air. "My thought was, I need to lay down now," Koehnen said. "I can't scare my coach so I put my thumbs up. It looked ridiculous I'm sure."

Koehnen set a Northern Section record for being the first athlete to win three events in back-to-back years. (TC note - Not true, Macklin Harris of Enterprise did it 1997-98 in the 100,200 & LJ and almost did it as a sophomore winning 100, LJ but a close second in the 200m. No, what Koehnen did is only unprecedented in the realm of section distance running. Few attempt and fewer still suceed in winning all three. The only one to do so successfully was Suzanne Ritcher/Chico back in 1978. Koehnen's triple two years ago and Orland's Trixie Robbins in 1990, are so far the only unsuccessful attempts I've found.)

She also competed for the Braves 1600 relay team, which finished seventh in 4:21.71. But Koehnen's big day at the section finals was almost in doubt earlier this season after she was sick with mono for a few weeks. "I thought it would end my season. It burned out of me in two weeks," Koehnen said. "I'm so thankful to be back. I felt very good today."

She was one of three area athletes to earn three Northern Section titles on Friday as Pleasant Valley High's Courtney Kermen and Gridley High's Stephanie Cardenas also medaled three times. The Vikings 400 relay team, made up of Kermen, Jayla Singleton, Mariah McCreedy and Emily McLaughlin, took first in 50.06 seconds. Kermen, the senior anchor for the relay team, also took first in the 200, clocking in at 26.02 and the 100 at 12.69. "I have a great team. I think they came in more ready than I was," Kermen said about the relay victory. "We've been together all four years. We know each other so well." This will be the Viking's second-straight year they'll be heading to the CIF state championships held June 2-3 at Buchanan High School in Clovis. "We saw a lot of fast girls last year and we're ready to compete and get better this time," Singleton said.

Gridley's Cardenas swept both hurdle events, winning the 100 hurdles in 15.18 and the 300 hurdles in 45 seconds. "I was nervous because my quad was tightening up. I stayed relaxed during the race and it didn't tighten up," Cardenas said. "I remember coming here as a sophomore and I got second and third in the hurdles. And I really wanted that section title. All the hard work paid off, I got it and I feel amazing." Cardenas also ran a leg of the girls 1600 relay team, which was victorious in 4:09.22. The Bulldogs' relay team of Whitney Sannar, Willow Sturdivant, Cardenas and anchor Michael Curry embraced in a group hug at the finish line after beating out Yreka by three seconds. Curry, the anchor, didn't let up on the final straightaway and took the win for Gridley. "It was worth all the pain," Curry said. "My thought was do not let anyone pass you and do not slow down." Curry also took second in the triple jump with a mark of 34-09 1/2 and third in the long jump with a leap of 15-10 1/2.

Another one not shying away from competition was Sutter's Savanah Bailey. The Huskies junior finished second in the 100, 200 and 400 a difficult triple in an invitational with JV's competing but the turnaround at sections is brutally short (14 min between 400 & 100 with the 200 45 min later). Yet she managed to run PRs in her first and last race on the day

Another iron horse at sections was Wheatland's Erica Grotegeer who completed in four individual events and won two. One as the prohibitive favorite, the discus in 147-06 and the other was the long jump in 17-06 1/2 an effort aided when section leader and defending section champion Las Plumas' Chava Rivers failed to show up for the meet. Then she ended her busy meet finishing third in the 100 in a season best effort (12.98), all after starting the day failing to get legal throw as the section leader in the shot.

Chico High freshman Nahkia Clements was runnerup to Koehnen in the 1600 in a personal best 5:17.48 and then took fourth in the 800 clocking in at 2:24.35, an effort only tenth of a second off her best. Another Panther with multiple high top finishes was freshman Hailey Fune, who took second in the 100 hurdles at 15.65, third in the triple jump 34-05 3/4 and fourth in the high jump at 5-0. Durham High's Lindsey Bryant finishes second in the high jump at 5-4 and second in the 300 hurdles in 46.83. Bryant also placed sixth in the long jump at 15-01 1/4. Chico's Jessalyn Ayars took fourth in the 3200 in 12:03.93. CORE Butte's Janna Glaspie took third in the 300 hurdles finishing in 46.94.



Here are top girls from the NSCIF track and field championships:

GIRLS TRACK EVENTS
100: Pleasant Valley's Courtney Kermen (12.69), Sutter's Savanah Bailey (12.95), Wheatland's Grotegeer (12.89).

200: Kerman(26.02), Bailey (26.17), Harper (26.50).

400: Trinity's Lauren Harper (57.35), Bailey (59.45), Bigg's Jamie McEntire (59.91).

800: Hamilton City's Kelley Koehnen (2:19.15), Yreka's Meri Krier (2:21.74), McEntire (2:22.32). Second one is a litte closer

1,600: Koehnen (5:07.74), Chico's Nahkia Clements (5:17.48), Red Bluff's Naomi Renfroe (5:21.02). One race down

3,200: Second times a charm. Koehnen (11:11.35), Shasta's Hanna Hall (11:23.52), Renfroe (11:31.24). Completes the triple, 2nd year in a row.

100 hurdles: Gridley's Stephanie Cardenas (14.97), Hamilton's Mariana Gonzalez (15.86).

300 hurdles: Cardenas (45.00), Durham's Lindsey Bryant (46.83), Core Butte Janna Glaspie (46.94).

4x100 relay: PV's team Mariah McCready, Emily McLaughlin, Jayla Singleton, Courtney Kermen (50.06), Yreka (50.54), Paradise (51.17).

4x400 relay:Gridley's team of Whitney Sannar, Willow Sturdivant, Cardenas and Curry (4:09.22), Yreka (4:12.89), Oroville (4:14.84).

GIRLS FIELD EVENTS
High Jump: Kira Porzio, Foothill, 5-4; Lindsey Bryant, Durham (5-04);Teagan Ford, Etna (5-02).

Shot Put: Natalie Rogers, West Valley (37-09 1/4); Kaitlyn Jarrett, Foothill (34-03 1/4); Michelle Flint, Pleasant Valley (33-10 1/2).

Triple Jump: Alyssa Burke, Enterprise, (35-01 3/4); Michael Curry, Gridley (34-09 1/2); Hailey Fune, Chico (34-05 3/4).

Discus: Erica Grotegeer, Wheatland (147-06); Natalie Rogers, West Valley (131-01); Marisah Wehunt, Anderson (117-07).

Long Jump: Grotegeer (17-06 1/2); Burke (16-00 1/4); Curry (15-10 1/2).

Pole Vault: Matteya Ruiz, Foothill (10-06); Katelyn Benner, West Valley (10-00), Solee Meidus, Shasta 9-06.






   COTTOWOOD - Sometimes, dreams do come true. They did for a foursome of area winners among the boys' events at the Northern Section Track and Field Championships held Friday at West Valley High. Chico High's Jack Emanuel, Las Plumas' Brian Hastings and a pair from Pleasant Valley in Ryan Keables and Jamarquez Abrams all won their respective events, earning both section titles and state berths in the process. "This is a dream come true honestly," Emanuel said shortly after he won the 3,200 meters. "This is what I've been dreaming about since sophomore year when I set my foot out here."

It's been even longer for Hastings, the Thunderbirds' junior. "It's been a dream to go to state since I was in seventh grade when I came up here to watch this meet with my dad, and I saw this," said Hastings, looking out from the middle of the infield as events continued after he won the 1,600 in a personal-best 4 minutes, 21.61 seconds. While Hastings has been to state before as a spectator, he'll now be a competitor. "Every year, it's like, 'Man, I want to be there so bad,'" Hastings said of sitting in the stands, "It might as well be an Olympic gold to me."

Abrams was the favorite in the 110 hurdles last year before a false start at the Division I meet ended his chances. (TC note: How is this possible? He didn't run 110 hurdles at 2016 EAL, so did not qualify to run at Division I meet) The Viking found redemption on Friday in a personal-best 15.25 as the lone senior in a race otherwise packed with challenging underclassmen. "Good start," said Abrams, not missing the importance of it by any means, "good finish."

But Abrams, a two-sport standout who starred as a cornerback for the PV football team that won a state title, already has set his sights higher. "I have to get better in the in between, and I think I'll be good," Abrams added as he turns his attention to the 99th annual state track and field championships, which are June 2-3 at Buchanan High's Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.


Other winners included Enterprise's Clinton Spellman, who was named the recipient of the Bob Russell Award for the most outstanding athlete of the meet. Spellman won the 100 in 10.95, the 200 in 21.85, and ran legs of the winning relays as the Hornets won the 400 relay in a stadium-record 42.75 and the 1,600 relay in 3:23.79. Hamilton's Kelly Koehnen won the Russell award as the top athlete among the girls after she successfully defended her titles in all three distance races - the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Spellman and his twin brother, Calvin Spellman, who won the 400 in 49.36 and also ran in the two relays, shared the Norm MacKenzie Sportsmanship Award for the boys. Yreka's Meri Krier was named the MacKenzie winner for the girls. Mount Shasta's Steve Nesheim was named the section's honor coach.

In the other track events, Foothill's Thurman Knowles won the 800 in 1:57.11, and Enterprise's Leslie Cummings won the 300 hurdles in 38.93. Keables, a fellow Viking like Abrams, was the lone winner from the area in a field event as he took the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet, 5 inches, easily outdistancing the 43-6 ¾ of second-place Wilson Presleigh of Shasta. Keables surprised himself by winning the triple jump with his penultimate attempt, even though he came in with the best mark among the eight entries. "I thought I was pretty good, but I didn't know if I was good enough to go to state," he said. "I wasn't expecting to. I just started triple jump like two weeks ago so I wasn't really sure how well I'd do." How well he did was plenty good. It was the best.

The same could be said for Emanuel in the 3,200. The Chico State commit lowered his personal record by 5 seconds with his winning time of 9:28.13, and the senior needed most of it as Shasta's Andrew Skoy nearly chased him down before finishing in 9:28.81. Emanuel had led from the start in hopes to create enough of a buffer between him and Skoy, two seniors who have dueled against one another between cross-country and track. Last year, Skoy caught Trinity's Ben Harper at the end to win in 9:41.02 to Harper's 9:42.51 with Emanuel witnessing the comeback as he finished third in 10:00.35. "I knew he'd be coming for me on the last lap, but I held him off," Emanuel said. "He has another gear. Honestly, it's crazy. He's an animal the last lap." Emanuel's margin was about 40 or 50 meters before Skoy drew within a step or two. "You know he's coming when the crowd starts cheering hard. Someone's coming for you," Emanuel said. "So I just gave it all I had." And that was enough for the victory. "Incredible," Emanuel said. "I couldn't imagine it honestly until doing it."

The other field events went to Foothill's Brandon Gentles in the high jump at 6-4; Shasta's Max Richmond in the pole vault at 15-0; Shasta's Presleigh in the long jump for the second year in a row, this time with a 21-10 on his final attempt; Anderson's Jarrett Kingston in the discus at 156-1 and another Shasta standout in Kari Kutch in the shot put with a throw of 50-5.

Here are top boys from the NSCIF track and field championships:

BOYS TRACK EVENTS
100: Enterprise's Clinton Spellman (10.95), Chico's Jaden Castellanos (11.11), Sutter's Jonathon Adams (11.30).

200: Clinton Spellman (21.85), Castellanos (22.23), Adams (22.70).

400: Enterprise's Calvin Spellman (49.36), Paradise's Riley Potthast (49.68), Winter's Kohner Butts (51.17).

800: Foothills Thurman Knowles (1:57.11), Wheatland's CJ Duncan (1:57.63), Paradise's Gabe Price (1:58.59).

1,600: Las Plumas' Brian Hastings (4:21.61), Mt Shasta's Jaden Anderson (4:29.17), Pleasant Valley's Kyle Johnson (4:29.87).

3,200: Chico's Jack Emanuel (9:28.13), Shasta's Andrew Skoy (9:28.81), Chico's Charlie Giannini (9:38.74).

110 hurdles: Pleasant Valley's Jamarquez Abrams (15.25), Enterprise's Brock Fisher (15.37), Chico's Trevor Trento (15.56).

300 hurdles: Enterprise's Leslie Cummings (38.93), Mt Shasta's Johnny Barton (40.60), Willows' Alan Hunter(40.91).

4x100 relay:Enterprise's team of Fischer, Calvin Spellman, Cummings & Clinton Spellman (42.75), Pleasant Valley (43.25), Sutter (43.85).

4x400 relay: Enterprise's team of Fischer, Calvin Spellman, Cummings & Clinton Spellman (3:23.79), Paradise (3:27.69), Pleasant Valley (3:29.72).

BOYS FIELD EVENTS
Discus: Jarrett Kingston, Anderson (156-01), Kari Kutch, Anderson (149-09), Cole Parker, Corning (147-04).

Long Jump: Wilson Presleigh, Shasta (21-10), Damien Trunkey, Trinity (21-09), Ryan Keables, Pleasant Valley (21-07 3/4).

Pole Vault: Max Richmond, Shasta (15-00), Deven Hernandez, West Valley, 14-09; Noah Poblano, Durham (14-00).

High Jump: Brandon Gentles, Foothill (6-04), Kyle Cox, University Prep (6-02), Jacob Halderman, Hayfork (6-02).

Shot Put: Kutch (50-05), Brenden Coffey, Paradise (50-01 1/2), Kegan Richards, Red Bluff (47-10 1/4).

Triple Jump: Keables (44-05), Presleigh (43-06 3/4), Christian Valles, Chico (42-07 1/2).





COTTONWOOD -- Shasta High's Max Richmond had been stuck at an unlucky number the past two years in the pole vault at the section championships: 13 feet. He jumped 13 feet his sophomore year. He jumped 13 feet again last year too. So Richmond used a bigger pole Friday at West Valley High, and also changed his grip. The result was a total obliteration of his previous personal record (14 feet, 6 inches), and a ticket to the state meet this week for the first time. He cleared 14-foot-6 easily to big cheers from his teammates gathered along the side of the track. Richmond then cleared 14-foot-9 and sprung up from the landing pad with visible excitement. "As you get to higher and higher heights, it gets harder to make big PR's like that. I was on the biggest pole I've ever used, I was holding higher than I've ever had today," he said. The roar the crowd made a few minutes later when he cleared 15 feet was the loudest of the day by far. Richmond said he was thankful for the support.

The performance was more amazing given that Richmond came into the meet with a qualifying jump height of 14 feet. "The greatest part is when you're falling and look back up and see the bar still there. Sometimes when you're falling you don't know if you made it or not, it happens so fast," Richmond said. Richmond had to duel West Valley's Deven Hernandez, the section leader, and the only other section vaulter to clear 15-0 feet. Hernandez appeared to clear 15-0 feet on his third attempt, but the bar wobbled and fell on him as he was lying on the pad. There's a healthy number of area student-athletes heading down to the state meet in Clovis. After vaulting his way there, Richmond hopes his high-wire performance reaches another height.

At any given high jump competition this year, Foothill sophomore Kira Porzio has been either on or near the top. The reason is not only her nimble athleticism, but also a good-luck charm. It's a four-leaf clover necklace she wears around her neck. "It's my lucky necklace that I wear at every track meet," Porzio said. Her mother bought it for her earlier this year after Porzio developed a knack for finding four-leaf clovers hidden among the grass patches at the high school. Porzio accomplished a personal record of 5 feet, 6 inches in the high jump earlier this season. She didn't find the magic touch to match her personal best at the Northern Section Track and Field Championships, but Porzio is still heading to the California Interscholastic Federation state track meet after edging Durham's Lindsey Bryant on the basis of fewer misses, after both couldn't clear anything higher than 5-foot-4. And maybe she got a little unlucky in one of her three jumps when she seemingly cleared 5-foot-5, but clipped enough of the bar with the top of her foot for it to wobble then fall to the ground. leaving Porzio looking exasperated looking up from the high jump pit.

Porzio was nervous in the final round as she and Durham's Lindsey Bryant were the only remaining jumpers at 5-foot-5. "I've never jumped when someone else is jumping 5-5, because everyone else always gets out before that height," Porzio said. It came down to Porzio and Bryant, who had to sit and wait for sometimes 10 minutes as officials struggled to correctly adjust the height of the high jump bar. As a freshman Porzio went to the state meet last season despite finishing in second at 5-foot-2. She called it an interesting experience. The starting height was 5-foot-3, an inch above her then personal best. Needless to say, she didn't make it out of the prelims. "There's going to be a lot of girls left at state, they're not all going to get out at low heights," she said. Porzio hopes the state meet starting height isn't above her personal record this year and that she can make it out of the first round. And with a little bit of glittery luck bouncing around her neck, she just might.

Full results of this year's and previous years section finals can be found on this web site.