Saturday was the culmination of all the hard work that the cross country athletes have put in over the last few weeks, months and years.  Not even a cold could keep Carter from defending his state title.  After the first mile there was little doubt that Carter was going to make it two in a row.  With the win Carter becomes the only CGHS runner to win two cross country state championships, and he will go down as one of the best 4A distance runners of all-time.  Carter is only the 6th male athlete in our classification to win multiple state titles in cross country.  What an honor it has been to have Carter as an athlete wearing the CG on his chest and as a teammate in our program.  Our time with Carter as a Lion is quickly running out, don't miss watching him race this spring on the track! 

Ella Cardwell became the first girl from CGHS to break into the top 10 since Patricia Guterrez did so in 2009.  Even more impressive, Ella's time of 19:33 for 9th place is the fastest ever for a CGHS runner on the state meet course.  Entering the race Ella was ranked 17th based on time, but the goal was to stand on the podium.  She ran a brilliant race getting out to 15th place at the 1K mark and then methodically moved up into the top 10 before hitting the track.  What a rise it has been for Ella as she has finished 50th, 23rd, and 9th at the state meet over the last three years.  

The boys team entered the meet ranked 6th based on season best times, but they knew they could be in the mix for a top four finish and a team trophy.  The depth of the boys team was the difference maker on Saturday which allowed for a less than perfect race in order to edge Molalla for 4th place.  Easton Hutchins punctuated his meteoric rise of the last two years with a 26th place finish and all-state honorable mention honors.  David Culbert held on for a top 40 finish and Micah Hanke stormed past 11 runners in the final 1k to capture a top 50 finish.  Micah moved up from the 6th team spot to the 4th spot in the last 500m, and that would be the difference for the boys as they finished ahead of Molalla by just two points.  Jackson Gifford ran strong as did Frank Garcia while he battled through some foot pain.  Jennings Albrecht was close behind in 58th and Cottage Grove trailed only the state champions from Newport in getting all seven runners to the line first.  The top four finish and team trophy is only the second for the CG boys squad since 1975.  However, it is the second time in the last four years (3rd in 2021).  

The girls showed courage once again as five of the seven runners stepping to the starting line were fighting illness.  Hailey Fergason ran one of her best races of the year for nearly a personal best on a course that was not very fast.  The rest of the girls fought valiantly to complete the 5k course.  Sometimes the outcome is less important than what we can learn from the journey, and this season was a seminar on how to keep fighting when things happen that are out of your control.  As if running isn't hard enough when you're feeling healthy.  What a tough group of young ladies that kept showing up for each other even when it was not fun.  It was also a good reminder of how far the girls program has come over the last four seasons and how much the bar has been raised.  

Some other notable stats for the season:

• This was the first year in school history that CGHS has had a boy and a girl finish in the top 10 at state in the same year.

• The boys team tied the school record for most consecutive top 10 finishes at state with four.  The last streak was 1956-1959.

• The girls team extended their school record streak of qualifying for the state meet by racing for the third year in a row.

• They boys and girls teams extended the school record streak (3) of qualifying both teams for state.

• Carter remains the fastest ever over the 5k distance at CGHS.  His time of 15:41 is the fastest ever by a Lion on the state meet course.

• Ella becomes the fastest ever from CGHS over the 5k distance on the state meet course with her time of 19:33.

• It is the third year in a row that CGHS has had three all-state cross country athletes (2024: Carter, Ella, Easton -  2023: Carter, Maddison, Ella - 2022: Jaden, Carter, Allison).

• For complete lists of CGHS all-time state qualifiers use the quick link above.

Details for the week:

Monday (11/11):  NO SCHOOL and NO OFFICIAL PRACTICE.  It was an intense weekend so we won't meet officially for practice, but athletes that are healthy and going with to NXR should get in a 30 minute steady run.

Tuesday (11/12) - Thursday (11/14): Regular practice should be done by 5pm.

Thursday (11/14):  5:30pm - Team awards night in the library.  Not ideal to host this the night before we leave for regionals, but there are activities happening on the other nights of the week.  The following week we start to have winter sport practice conflicts.  Thank you for being flexible.  

Friday (11/15):  Departure for Boise at 4:30am from CGHS.  Full details HERE.

End of season details:

• Athletes that are done racing should return washed uniforms to Coach Knutson.  

NXR Idaho Details: 

• We will have these parents on the list as official drivers: Dustin Bengtson, Ryan Gifford, Jared Hutchins, Sara Sallee, and Ricky Knutson.  We will be sending home a form that we will need on file for each driver and a transportation permission form that we will need for each athlete.  

• Thank you to those of you that have offered to provide food for our first dinner in Idaho.  Thanks for packaging the food so that it may be easily transported in a cooler with other food.  Even better if all we need to do is reheat the food and it is in a container that is disposable so that we don't have to bring dishes back.   THANK YOU so much!

• Last week we sent home a packet with travel details (also LINKED HERE).   

• The $150 fee may be paid in the CGHS webstore, in person, or on the phone with Lena Twyman.

The CGHS runners reminded the rest of the Sky-Em league last Thursday that the road to the state meet runs through Cottage Grove.  Personal best times were thrown out as the runners stepped to the line to attack the same course in the same conditions.  How fast someone ran was less important and where each runner placed made all the difference.  By the time the rain decided to really start falling, Cottage Grove was the only Sky-Em program sending both the boys and girls teams to the state championship.

Although the girls were not yet at full strength, the seven girls would not be denied their third consecutive trip to state.  Quite an accomplishment considering that prior to 2022 the girls team had only qualified a total of three times in school history.  Ella Cardwell put herself in the mix early and held on for third place while running 10 seconds faster than she did on the same course in September.  Only eight athletes in the entire race ran personal bests on the course, but two of those PRs came from Hailey Fergason and Carly Knutson.  Both girls also managed top ten finishes as Hailey took 8th and Carly placed 9th.  Allison Palluck ran her second fastest time of the season to finish 13th.  Maddison France, who has been dealing with illness and hasn't raced in a month fought through the 5k race for her teammates to hold on to 14th place.  It made all the difference as the girls placed second, and barely edged North Bend by two points for the last qualifying spot.  Despite fighting a cold, Lilly Dubbs made an impact by running a one minute PR and finished ahead of the fifth runner from North Bend.  Zoey Knutson pushed through the race just six days after her four week stint in a walking boot.  This tough group of young ladies is looking forward to another week of rest and recovery so they will be prepared for the state meet!

Entering the district championship as a heavy favorite never ensures success.  However, the boys were excited to make a statement and achieved their goal of placing all seven runners in the top 10 and scoring 27 points.  There have only been three Sky-Em teams (Marist 21 in 2007, Marist 23 in 2018, and Siuslaw 16 in 2020) in the last 18 years that have scored better than 27 points.  Carter Bengtson repeated as district champion as the rest of the team piled into the back half of the top 10.  Easton Hutchins (5th), David Culbert (6th), and Frank Garcia (7th) earned first team all-league honors and will have banners hanging in the gym next fall. Jackson Gifford (8th), Jennings Albrecht (9th), and Micha Hanke (10th) rounded out the final three spots for the Lions. It's the first time in school history that the boys cross country team has won three district titles in a row and it is the first time since 1957-1960 that the boys team has qualified for state four consecutive years.  

The JV runners put an exclamation point on the day!  The goal all season for the boys JV team was to achieve the perfect score (15) and they delivered even more.  Cottage Grove had the first eight runners across the line and five of those times were personal bests.  Braeden Bomar, Lucas O'Hara, Remington Sharkey, Desmond Corely and Braxton Robinson all ran times that would have earned all league honors in the varsity race.  Luke Fery, Tyler Smith, and Peyton Ellison were right behind the top five with personal bests.  Had the Cottage Grove boys been their own team in the varsity race they would have defeated the varsity teams from North Bend and Junction City!!  Gracee Kaleese and Jocelyn Pleitez also ended the season with personal bests in the JV race!

For the third year in a row Cottage Grove is sending both boys and girls teams to the state championship.  While most of the athletes in the program right now may see this as the norm, we are encouraging athletes to never take these moments for granted.  This is only trip number 17 for the CG boys over the last 70 years and trip number six for the girls in the same time frame.  However, it's four in a row for the boys and three in a row for the girls.  The first time both teams qualified in the same year was 2022.  The varsity and JV athletes that have been in the program over the last three to four years have been part of a culture shift that we hope to continue for years to come.  

Carter Bengtson will look to defend his state title this week against the other top 4A runners in the State.  The boys team will look to make it four years in a row with a top ten finish.  The last time this was accomplished was 1956-1957.  If things go well they will be in the mix for a top four finish and state trophy for the second time since 1975 (last was in 2021).  The girls are also looking to extend their streak of top ten team finishes at the state meet to three.  

Monday (11/4): This will be our main workout of the week.  We will end practice in the classroom finalizing registration for the NXR meet.

Tuesday (11/5): Practice will be done by 5pm

Wednesday (11/6):  State qualifier team dinner at Coach Knutson's house @ 6pm.  We will make sure athletes have directions and details.  Carpooling because of limited parking is encouraged.  

Thursday (11/7):  Practice done by 5pm.

Friday (11/8):  Practice will end with state prep in the classroom and should wrap up by 5pm.  

Saturday (11/9):  State Championship at LCC!  Departure time 9:45am.  Girls race at 11:45am and Boys race at 12:20pm.  For full details on tickets, schedule and apparel please use THIS LINK.  If you are planning on purchasing apparel we highly recommend using the preorder option to avoid long lines on the day of.  The preorder link for apparel may be accessed HERE. 

End of season details:

• Athletes that are done racing should return washed uniforms to Coach Knutson.  

• We anticipate that awards night will be the week of 11/11 - 11/15.  We will try to set the date and time early this week and get it posted here.

NXR Idaho Details: 

• We will be taking both our boys and girls varsity teams.

• Athletes must return THIS FORM on Monday so that we can finalize registration at practice.  Most athletes received a copy of this form at practice last week.  

• On Monday at practice we will send home a packet (also LINKED HERE) of information and a paper that needs to be returned by Wednesday.  We are trying to determine our driver situation.  We have had a couple people confirm and several maybes.  Please look over the information thoroughly and fill out the form to be returned to practice by Wednesday.  We will communicate with drivers and potential drivers once we have a count of who is willing to travel.  

• The $150 fee may be paid in the CGHS webstore, in person, or on the phone with Lena Twyman.

It was a quick trip to the coast on Thursday for a fast 3k tune up race.  The unique race format blended athletes from different schools to form teams that raced for a plate of brownies.  Carter took home the individual win against one of the top 3A runners in the state, and Ella "scooted" (a compliment from the Siuslaw Coach) to a fast time for second place in the girls race.  Athletes will be healthy and ready for the district meet this week!

The Lions enter this week looking to continue some important streaks.  The boys are looking to three-peat as district champions and qualify for the state meet for the fourth consecutive time.  The last time the CGHS boys qualified four years in a row was 1957-1960.  The girls are also defending district champions and are racing to qualify for state for the third consecutive time.  Prior to 2022, the CGHS girls had only qualified three times in school history and now they are looking to make it three times in a row!  The JV boys are also excited to establish CGHS as the deepest 4A team in the state and are hungry to finish the season with a clean sweep of the scoring spots (1-5) in the JV race. They will be running in a combined race with the another league, but the sweep is possible once the Sky-Em spots are separated.  Varsity teams must finish in the top two spots to qualify for state and the top 7 individuals also qualify.  It's going to be a great week!

Just a heads up that the boys lineup is subject to change based on what happens at the district meet.  It won't be purely based on times, but we want to put the strongest lineup on the starting line at the state championship.  We've been transparent with the boys all season and they have done a great job supporting one another. Typically we give varsity letters to the top seven runners, but any athlete that runs a time on Thursday that is equivalent to the 21st time (last all-league honorable mention spot) in the varsity race will also earn a varsity letter.   

Last Friday we wrapped up practice in the classroom and gave seniors an opportunity to share some advice or some thoughts on what they would do differently if they did it all over again.  Thank you to all the seniors that shared some heart-felt messages with the team.  It's clear that we have many athletes that are part of our program because of the positive support that teammates provide for one another.  Running is tough, and we are thankful for all of the athletes that have chosen to be part of our family.  

We've had a bit of an issue with punctuality at practice recently.  Athletes that are late to practice for the rest of the season will not practice at all.  It's the championship time of the season and we need to be focused on details.  We discussed this on Friday at practice and all athletes should be aware of this moving forward.

Monday (10/28): As usual, this will be our main workout of the week.

Tuesday and Wednesday (10/29 and 10/30): Practice will be done by 5pm.

Thursday (10/31): Districts.  Students will be dismissed at 9:25 and the bus will leave at 9:45.

Friday:  (11/1): We will meet as a team and celebrate the success from the district meet.  Only athletes moving forward to the state/regional meet will practice beyond Friday.

Upcoming Dates:

November 6th: Tentatively the state qualifier team dinner at Coach Knutson's house.  Details to be determined.

November 15 - 17th:  We will be attending the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Thank you to the Bengtson's for helping get a place to stay all booked.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  We are in need of a couple more drivers in order to take a full boys and girls team.  Please let Coach Knutson know if you are able to help transport athletes to the meet.

A HUGE thank you to everyone that helped out at the meet on Saturday!  It takes an enormous group effort to put on an event like that and we had the right people in the right places.  Thank you Dustin Bengtson for organizing the potluck and thank you to everyone that contributed.  Thank you to Gina Hutchins for being meticulous with collecting finish line tags and thank you to Carly Tucker for running the backup timer.  Thank you Clark Robinson for setting up and handing out free beverages as well as collecting donations for our new track surface.  The tip jar ended up with $181.40 toward the cause!  Thank you to Sarah Bickford for running the concession stand.  Thank you to Danny Fergason for loading up and moving all of the rubber mats after the race.  We can't list everyone and don't want to miss anyone, but thank you to all who helped monitor the finish line, helped to direct runners, and helped with clean up of the event.  It was a great event for CGHS and our community!

As far as the actual racing went, the CG boys showed off their depth once again to take the win at home!  Like many other teams at the meet on Saturday, the Lions were missing several "starters" on the varsity team.  It wasn't a problem for CG as Braeden and Remington shifted to the varsity team and the boys took care of business.  While the bigger schools are known for having depth, it was the Cottage Grove squad that bested four 5A schools for the victory!  Carter improved his own course record by 20 seconds while Easton, Micah, Jackson, and Braeden filled out the scoring five.  The JV boys were a little short handed after donating two runners to the varsity team, but they still ran well for a second place team finish behind 5A Churchill.  Lucas had a strong race for second place and the CG boys put seven runners in the top 19.  

Patience remained the story on the girls side again Saturday.  Hailey ran almost 40 seconds faster than last year on the same course and Carly returned to the lineup and felt healthy after the effort.  There are really only two meets that matter all season and the girls will be ready on October 31st at the district meet.  

Pictures aren't up yet as Coach Tucker had a long day between helping with the meet and also taking pictures at Homecoming on Saturday night.  

We are excited to shift our focus to district meet preparation.  The meet this week will be on a smaller scale and also a shorter distance (3k) to help sharpen up our racing and prepare us for our final meets.  It also has a unique format which is explained below.  As we shift to the championship part of the season please help encourage athletes to do the really important things outside of running such as sleep, hydrate, eat well and stretch.  It has been a grind so far and this is the time when we recover in order to race fast.  There are great things ahead!

Monday: "Challenging" workout of the week.  

Tuesday and Wednesday: Normal practice start, but we will be done around 5pm.

Thursday: Run for the Brownies. Athletes will be dismissed at 12:55 and the bus will leave at 1:15pm.  We are fortunate to be guests as part of this small event hosted at Sandpines Golf Links by Siuslaw coach Chris Johnson, one of the greatest coaches in Oregon high school cross country history.  It's meant to be a fun tune up for the district meet the following week.  While all of our athletes will be racing in a CGHS uniform, they will be part of small teams made up of runners from different schools as well.  Coed teams are designed to be even based on 5k times and runners from each team will be identified with a different team ribbon tied to the jersey.  There will be one coed race and it's scored in similar fashion to a cross country meet, but the runners are part of small mixed teams.  The winning small team gets the royal plate of brownies.   Due to the fact that it takes time to form teams ahead of time it is critical that athletes let Coach Knutson know as soon as possible if they will not be able to race.

Since there is only one race at the event we will not be bringing a team tent.  Please dress accordingly and bring a garbage bag to put your stuff in while you run.  We will not be there for a long time.  It is also a bit of a walk to the race course from the parking lot.  

Friday:  Normal practice time, but we will be done by 5pm again.

Saturday:  Athletes that are most likely competing at the state championship should be getting together to run.  We will talk more about this during the week.

Upcoming Dates:

November 15 - 17th:  We will be attending the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Thank you to the Bengtson's for helping get a place to stay all booked.  Last year we took the top six boys and top six girls on the trip, but the number of varsity athletes we take will depend on transportation. This message is a heads up that the trip will be happening in some way.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  Again, the number of athletes we take per team will depend on the amount of transportation/drivers we have.  Last year we had an opportunity to sell 50/50 tickets to raise some money, but we can't promise that this will happen this year.   We just want to make sure families have the chance to plan ahead.   More info to come as we get closer. 

Saturday was a big test for the #4 ranked CG boys team as they faced off with #3 ranked Philomath and the #2 ranked team from The Dalles.  The boys team lost to The Dalles by 39 earlier this season at the NW Classic, but after the dust settled on Saturday it was clear that a lot has changed since September.  The goal was to close the gaps between the CG runners and the runners from The Dalles; Easton, Frank, David, Micah, and Jennings did just that.  Despite missing Carter and Jackson from the lineup the Lions still managed a third place finish, but the final scores don't tell the whole story.  The boys may have finished 32 points behind The Dalles, but with a healthy Carter inserted back into the lineup the boys would have finished ahead of Philomath and they would have been only 7 points behind The Dalles.  Add Jackson into the scoring and things may have been even closer.  It is all going to come down to who performs best at the state championship on November 9th.  The boys will be in the mix for their second top four finish at state in the last four years, but for only the second time since 1975.

While the girls are closer to being healthy they were still short of having a scoring team on the starting line.  Ella ran a strong race to take 6th place while Hailey finished 15 spots better than where she was ranked going into the race.  Allison also ran well and finished 7 spots better than where she was seeded.  With a healthy Maddison and Carly in the lineup the girls would have most likely taken 3rd place.  Patience will continue to be the key with the girls team as the most important races are still ahead.

The JV boys continued to dominate by placing all five scoring runners in the top 11 and winning the team race by 43 points.  Ethan, Desmond, Lucas and Luke finished 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th to take home some individual hardware.

This is a busy week with our home meet on Saturday followed by our team potluck.  Thanks for taking a moment to read through the details. 

Monday (10/14): 3:45 practice

Tuesday (10/15): 3:45 practice.  This will be the main workout of the week since there are no soccer games on this day.

Wednesday (10/16): 3:45 practice

Thursday (10/17):  3:45 practice

Friday (10/18): We will be on a special school schedule for the homecoming parade.  Practice will still be at 3:45, but athletes should be done by 4:45pm.

Saturday (10/19):  THE CG BRAMBLE SCRAMBLE.  There are 16 middle school teams and 26 high school teams signed up, so it should be a great event again this year.  

• Athletes should be at the track by 9:45am to help with the middle school races.

• We will need help in several places during the meet including a few course monitors and lots of people working the finish line chute.  While the jobs are not difficult, they are critical for pulling off the event.  If you are able to help at the meet in any capacity please click this link and leave your name. Volunteers should meet in the north endzone near the finish line at 11am for instructions.  THANK YOU!

• Post meet potluck.  A huge thanks to Dustin Bengtson who has helped to organize this event over the last few years!  The Cottage Grove athletes and families will gather in the courtyard behind the school for a potluck after the meet.  We have a backup location at the school if weather becomes an issue.  Thank you to everyone that is able to contribute for this event.  If you are able to help out by bringing a potluck item please contact Dustin at 541-729-2155.  

Upcoming Dates:

November 15 - 17th:  We will be attending the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Thank you to the Bengtson's for helping get a place to stay all booked.  Last year we took the top six boys and top six girls on the trip, but the number of varsity athletes we take will depend on whether we have enough transportation for two full teams. This message is a heads up that the trip will be happening in some way.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  There are spots still up for grabs on each team, so the last spot on each team may not be in place until after the district meet happens.  Again, the number of athletes we take per team will depend on the amount of transportation/drivers we have.  Last year we had an opportunity to sell 50/50 tickets to raise some money, but we can't promise that this will happen this year.   We just want to make sure families have the chance to plan ahead.   More info to come as we get closer. 

The boys team captured second place by edging a Philomath team that is ranked third in the state! Carter ran away from one of the top 3A runners in the state to win by 57 seconds and he recorded the fastest time on the Woahink course in 13 years.  David posted a top 10 finish for the boys with Frank, Easton and Jennings close behind to round out the scoring five.  The girls team was missing four of the top seven runners this week due to illness and injuries, but Ella once again battled in the front of the pack for a second place finish.  Hailey placed 11th by running 29 seconds faster than she did on the same course last year.  The JV boys dominated the field and placed five runners in the top seven spots to beat second place Philomath by 52 points.  It would have been a CG sweep if two smaller schools had not entered a couple of their top kids in the JV race.  Remington ran a brilliant race for the JV boys and moved up several places in the last mile to take the win.  While Woahink isn't a course designed for personal bests, 13 of the 15 Cottage Grove runners that raced the Woahink course last season ran even faster this year!  Check out the improvement from our runners compared to last year!

Carter: 27 sec.

Easton: 2 min. 29 sec.

David: 9 sec.

Frank: 48 sec.

Jackson: 1 min. 45 sec.

Micah: 2 min. 4 sec.

Braxton: 2 min. 6 sec.

Luke: 53 sec.

Ben: 32 sec.

Dakota: 17 sec.

Ronin: 14 sec.

Ella: 27 sec.

Hailey: 29 sec.

Thank you to everyone that contributed to our informal potluck last week, these activities are awesome for developing a positive team culture.  Dustin Bengtson has generously offered to organize our team potluck for after our home meet on October 19th.  CGHS athletes and families traditionally meet in the courtyard behind the high school for food after the races conclude.  If you are able to contribute to the meal please contact Dustin at 541-729-2155.  We will have more details next week.  

This week will be huge for the boys team as they will face the top three 4A teams (Newport, The Dalles, Philomath) in the state and the top ranked 3A team (Siuslaw) in the state at the Paul Mariman Invitational in Philomath.  With 24 teams in the race it will be much  like the state championship.  We hope to have the girls closer to full strength by Saturday as well.  Once the 6th ranked girls are all healthy they will be a formidable force. 

Important info for the week:

Monday (10/7): Athletes should be prepared for a challenging workout.

Friday (10/11):  NO SCHOOL.  UPDATE:  Athletes decided that they would like to practice at 9am and then we will do a pancake breakfast after the run.

Saturday (10/12):  Paul Mariman Invitational.  Bus will depart at 10:30am.  Race times are all posted at athletic.net.  We will stop on the way home to get food.  

Upcoming Dates:

November 15 - 17th:  We would like to attend the Nike Cross Regionals again this year in Boise.  Last year we took the top six boys and top six girls on the trip, but the number of varsity athletes we take will depend on whether we have enough transportation for two full teams. This message is a heads up that the trip will be happening in some way.  Cost will most likely be around $150 plus money for some additional meals.  There are spots still up for grabs on each team, so the last spot on each team may not be in place until after the district meet happens.  Again, the number of athletes we take per team will depend on the amount of transportation/drivers we have.  Last year we had an opportunity to sell 50/50 tickets to raise some money, but we can't promise that this will happen this year.   We just want to make sure families have the chance to plan ahead.   More info to come as we get closer. 

The cross country team isn't interested in easy wins against smaller schools, so they traveled to Portland on Saturday to find the toughest competition.  Carter raced in the Danner Championship section improving his personal best by 16 seconds and placing 12th against some of the best runners in the west.  Don't blink or you may miss watching Carter have the best season in CGHS history.   The defending 4A State Champion's time of 15:09 ranks him 11th overall in Oregon (1A - 6A schools) and he defeated two runners ranked ahead of him on Saturday.  He is ranked #1 in 4A (ahead of 2nd by 34 seconds) and would be ranked 5th in 5A and 7th in 6A.  Without Carter in the lineup Easton and David led the rest of the boys to a 4th place finish in the D3 race against 22 other teams.  The Cottage Grove boys are ranked 4th in the state and are one of only two 4A teams in Oregon with seven athletes running under 18 minutes.

Ella once again paced the short handed girls to a 4th place finish against 17 other teams in the D3 race which included several 5A/6A teams.  Ella battled two other runners in the lead and took second with a time of 19:26 (a PR by 12 seconds).  Carly ran a lifetime best by 38 seconds and Allison had one of her strongest races in two years.  Despite not having everyone healthy for a few weeks the girls are still ranked 6th in the state and have a lot of room to improve over the next month.  They are looking forward to having everyone healthy!

The short handed JV boys squad fought their way to a third place finish against 19 teams in the D3/D4 JV race.  Braeden ran a 35 second lifetime best and broke 18 minutes for the first time while taking second place overall.  Remington ran a 24 second personal best and finished 11th.  Lilly was the top finisher for the JV girls.

The freshmen boys continue to impress with Jennings and Braeden leading the way and running under 18 minutes.  They are currently ranked 4th and 6th in the state among other 4A freshmen.  Remington (13th), Desmond (21st), and Tyler (23rd) are also all ranked in the top 25. 

We are currently heading into a four week training block that includes race courses not designed for fast times.  Our emphasis is going to be on getting stronger and focusing on learning how to race in the week to week matchups.  This week at the Woahink Lake invite the girls will face off against the two top ranked 4A teams (Philomath and Klamath Union) and one of the of the top ranked 3A teams (Siuslaw).   The boys will be contending against 3rd ranked Philomath (4A) and 2nd ranked Siuslaw (3A).    

Monday (9/30):  Long steady run

Wednesday (10/2): Medium/Hard workout

Thursday (10/3):  We are planning an informal tailgater for the cross country athletes after practice (5ish).  We are going to provide burgers and dogs for kids in the courtyard behind the school.  If anyone would like to contribute any other food items that would be great.  No need to communicate, we're just going informal potluck style.

Saturday (10/5):  Woahink Lake XC Invite.  Bus will leave at 8:15am.  Race times have been updated as of 10/3.  The girls will be a combined race at 12:30. This means that the awards will also be moved earlier (after the varsity boys).  The schedule will be:

JV Boys: 11:45am

JV AND Varsity Girls: 12:30pm

Varsity Boys: 1:15pm

Awards

The course is NOT spike friendly.  Please do not wait until Saturday to try and take spikes out.

Carter Bengtson rode a strong final mile to a 7 second PR and the win on Saturday.  His time of 15:25 is the new fastest ever time by a CGHS cross country runner.   The state meet will be held at the same location with a slightly different course (and most likely different conditions), but it is noteworthy that the all-time 4A record for the state meet course is 15:22.  Ella Cardwell fought for a strong position early and held on for a 17 second PR and an 8th place podium finish.  Easton Hutchins' 30 second improvement helped propel the boys team to a 3rd place finish out of 28 teams, and the CG boys are now the 3rd ranked 4A team in the state.  Illness hit the girls team pretty hard last week, but they still battled.  Despite being short handed the girls finished 10th out of 20 teams.  With a lot of potential for improvement the girls team still holds the 6th place ranking for 4A teams in the state.  The team also saw some massive improvements from some of our new 9th grade runners.  Tyler Smith (35 seconds), Desmond Corley (46 seconds), and Lilly Dubbs (44 seconds) dropped significant amounts of time as they continue to adjust to the 5k race distance.  Aiden Walker also had a huge day with a 57 second personal best!  Athletes are looking forward to getting healthy this week and bouncing back as a team in Portland this weekend!

Reminders:

• Use the 2024 XC Picture link above to view pictures from the meet.  The password is GoLions24.  Pictures from the NW Classic will not be available until at least Monday.

• Parents that were at the parent meeting will remember that we talked about progress not being linear.  Just a reminder that there are going to be some rough days, tough races, and challenging moments.  Multiple athletes really struggled on Saturday and while we'd love for every race to be a PR, it's all part of growing.  Many runners are experiencing a lot of change (school, socially and running) right now and adaptation can take time, patience, and a LOT of work.  Our primary training focus is being our best at the end of the season.  Last year 23 of our 27 athletes ran season bests at the district championship and we are working to have similar results again this year.  Thank you for the continued support and encouragement as we help these athletes grow.

• We have had a lot of sick athletes recently and we are far from being in the clear.  Please do your best to make choices that will help us all stay healthy (wash hands, don't share drinks, rest...).

• Please be sure to communicate with your athletes about practice end times.  We have been letting them know when we may end earlier and they are responsible for getting this information home.  Workouts and post workout ancillary decisions are adjusted based on how athletes are handling training as the week progresses which is why we aren't able to predict finish times for the entire week on Sundays.   The day before a meet will often be shorter unless we decide to add a classroom session.  This will always be communicated with athletes ahead of time.

Tuesday (9/24): This will be the big workout of the week with some harder running and shorter recovery.  Athletes should know what to do to be ready for this.

Saturday (9/28):  The Nike Portland XC meet will be a bit different than other meets.  We make an effort to build our schedule with meets that are closer, but the opportunity for great competition brings us up to Portland for this meet.  Carter will be competing in the Danner Championships section and the rest of the team has been registered in the Division 3 (JV and Varsity) sections.  Our race divisions have been confirmed for Saturday.  We will have athletes in the following events at the following times. We discussed entries at practice, but athletes may check with coaches at practice if they still have questions.  Please read the meet details below with spectator information:

The bus will depart from CGHS at 8:15am.

9:55am - Danner Championship (Carter Only - not riding bus)

12:30am - Girls 3,000m JV Novice (1 athlete)

1:10pm - Division 3 Varsity Girls

1:35pm - Division 3 Varsity Boys

2:50pm - JV Girls (D3/D4)

3:20pm - JV Boys (D3/D4)

We will stop for food somewhere along the way home.

INFO FROM MEET DIRECTOR:

FAQ’s:

*Blue Lake is part of the government agency called Metro and they will charge each vehicle $5 to enter off Blue Lake Road.  Please pass this information on to your families.  It will be faster to enter the park if they have $5 in cash, but Blue Lake does take credit cards.   

*Buses will also be entering on the spectator entrance.  Please be aware that there will be spectator traffic entering at the same spot so make plenty of time to get to your race.  The buses will only drop off at the park, exit the park and then the buses can park for free at Chinook Landing parking area.  Our volunteers will help direct the bus drivers.

*The course will be ready for preview on Friday and be aware that the park will charge $5 for cars and $7 for buses.  Race packets can be picked up as well. We will have our t-shirt for sale from 12-4 on Friday afternoon. Remember it is cash or check for t-shirts. The park closes at 6PM.  We will be selling shirts and hats on Saturday as well at the Shahala Picnic Shelter.  Cash only for t-shirts ($30 short sleeve, $40 long sleeve, $20 for hats, $10 for patches - BRING CASH) 

 *Blue Lake does not allow dogs in the park.

*When exiting the park, please make a right turn at Blue Lake Road.  This will make for a faster exit from the park for spectators and buses.  Please inform your families and bus driver to only make a right turn at Blue Lake Road when exiting.  Blue Lake Road will take vehicles to I-84. Buses and cars that make a left turn will slow down the exit.

Reminders:

• We will distribute apparel once the order is completed and delivered.

• Please make sure to be taking care of business in the classroom.  

• The little things this time of year can make a big difference with performance and health.  Please be sure to manage sleep, recovery and nutrition.

• Just a reminder that our attitudes are contagious, so please be sure yours is the type that we want to have spread.  How do you talk around teammates when things get challenging?  Are you saying and doing things to bring others up?  Great things are ahead for us if we keep supporting one another!

Monday (9/16): This will be our most challenging workout of the week.  Athletes, please make sure you are prepared for the workout by eating well, staying hydrated, and being mentally prepared.

Saturday (9/21): Northwest Classic.  The bus will depart at 9:25am.  This is an important meet as both the boys and girls teams will be facing some top competition that they don't normally get to see during the regular season such as The Dalles, Crook County , and Klamath Union.  More meet information such as the meet schedule can be found at athletic.net.  Our athletes will be running in the varsity 1A-4A and in the JV open races.

Some notes for the week:

• The apparel order was submitted last week and we will distribute items when they arrive.  We are hoping for about a two week turn around.

• Just a reminder that practices the day before meets will wrap up a little earlier. Two meets in five days is not ideal, so we will be adjusting to give athletes the best opportunity to be successful this week.  We will have 10 days after our Wednesday meet to prepare for the Northwest Classic on September 21st.  

• There continues to be a lot of shifting with the lineup for the varsity boys and there are still a lot of meets left.  One meet does not determine the final lineup.  We are watching to see who can consistently make good choices, follow directions, compete hard no matter how "fast" the course is, and ultimately help to put the team in the best position to be successful at the state championship.  Of the 54 boys from the Sky-Em league that have raced a 5k so far this season Cottage Grove holds 10 of the 19 top spots in the rankings.  The boys are doing a great job at all levels!

• If Coach Tucker is able to take pictures at our meets they will usually be uploaded within a day or two and can be accessed using the 2024 XC pictures link in the quick links section above.  The access code is GoLions24  Thank you for understanding that Coach Tucker is a coach first and he takes pictures as he is able to.  This means that there won't always be pictures of every race or every athlete.  We are fortunate to have him on staff!

Monday (9/9):  This is a quick turnaround for a Wednesday meet, so the workout on Monday will be moderate.  

Tuesday (9/10):  Practice will be shorter today and we will wrap up around 5pm.

Wednesday (9/11):  Country Fair Classic.  The bus will depart at 1:30pm, so athletes will not miss any class time.  It looks like it could be wet, so athletes and spectators should prepare adequately for the conditions.  Race details may be found at athlteic.net (linked above) in the Country Fair Classic meet info section.  We will not be stopping to eat on the way home, so athletes should plan to pack food.

Thursday/Friday (9/12-13):  Normal practices

Saturday (9/14):  No meet or practice, but athletes will be encouraged to meet up in groups and get in a long run.  The seven day training cycle doesn't always cater to a hard workout, long run, and a race.  Having 10 days between races allows us to get in a valuable long run on this day.  We will talk with athletes about what this should look like for them.

The Opener Recap:  It was a fantastic first meet for the team on Friday!  While our training isn't specific for the 3k, there were still 14 of our athletes that set personal bests at the distance.    Here are a few highlights from the meet:

PHOTOS ARE POSTED FROM THE MEET! Use the 2024 XC Pictures link above and use GoLions24 to access the albums.

• Carter placed third behind two of the top 5A runners in the state with a blistering time of 8:43, and Ella ran a personal best of 11:35 to finish 11th for the girls.

• The girls varsity team finished 5th and the boys took 6th. 

• For the first time in six years Cottage Grove fielded a JV girls team and the group placed 2nd.  The JV boys squad was 5th place, but they were the top 4A team in the meet.

Here is what we have coming up this week:

Due to the office being closed last Friday, the due date for apparel orders has been extended to Tuesday(9/3).  If you wish to order please make sure to have forms and money turned in by practice time.  You may access and print a copy HERE.  The completed form with payment should be returned to Mrs. Twyman in the main office by the order deadline.

Practice time is 3:45 to 5:30 unless otherwise specified.  

Monday (9/2): No practice, but athletes should get in a steady run on their own.

Tuesday (9/3): This will be our most challenging workout of the week, so athletes should be prepared.

Wednesday (9/4):  Pictures at 2pm (packets will be handed out on Tuesday).  We will practice immediately following pictures and will be finished by 4pm.  This is also the first day of school for 9th grade students.

Thursday (9/5):  First day of school for the entire student body.  This week is one of the "danger zone" weeks for student athletes as there is a lot of adjustment taking place.  Please be mindful of taking care of sleep, nutrition, and recovery as we all make this transition.  Workouts will be adjusted this week to help keep athletes safe and healthy.

Friday (9/6):  Just a reminder that this is the deadline to pay any unresolved sport fees.  There is a $25 late fee after this date.  Please contact Mrs. Twyman in the main office if you have questions about this.

Saturday (9/7):  The Ultimook Race  This is our longest trip and one of the favorites for the athletes.  The bus will depart at 5:15AM.  This is a unique event and logistics can be tricky, so some of the information from the meet info section on athletic.net has been pasted below.  

Parking:  Here is a parking  map.  Parking this year will be offsite, located about a ½ mile before The Hydrangea Ranch.  Please be aware of the signs indicating “Ultimook Parking.”  All spectators will need to park in the parking area.   Buses, though, can proceed past the parking area, drop off their athletes at The Hydrangea Ranch in the “drop off zone,” turn around, and then go back to the parking area.  Continual shuttle buses will be in motion shuttling people back and forth.  You will not be able to miss this parking area as there will be plenty of signs and the pink Volkswagen bug and yellow school bus in the middle of the cow pasture will give it away.  Please notify parents to look for parking signs.  Only handicapped marked vehicles will be able to part on The Hydrangea Ranch, all others will be turned back to the parking area.  The drop off zone is a short walk from the pavilion.  

Farm Admission:  It will cost $8.00 per adult to enter the farm and $4.00 for students.  Please inform your parents so they are not surprised when they try entering the farm.

Directions to The Hydrangea Ranch:  The Hydrangea Ranch is located at Oregon Coastal Flowers, 9455 Kilchis River Rd., Tillamook, OR 97141.  Take Alderbrook Road off of Hwy 101, ¾ of mile North of the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  Go one mile and you will come to a “T”.  Take a right onto Kilchis River Rd.  Go 2 miles and stop at “drop off zone.”   Follow signs for parking area and then take the shuttle or walk 650 meters to The Hydrangea Ranch.  Click Here to get directions online.

Important note when leaving The Hydrangea Ranch:  When heading home, the vast majority of busses will be heading South on Hwy 101.  With heavy weekend tourist traffic, it can be very difficult to pull out onto Hwy 101 from Alderbrook Rd using the same exit that you came in on.  In order to avoid traffic backup problems, we encourage some of you to consider staying straight at the “T” at the intersection of Alderbrook Rd. which would provide you with an easier access to Hwy 101, just about ½ North of the other entrance/exit.  Click here for Exit Map.

Race times for CG athletes:

10:45 AM JV Boys 5k, 1A – 4A

11:30 AM Varsity Girls, 1A – 4A

12:15 PM Varsity Boys 5k, 1A – 4A

1:00 PM Novice Race 3k (Boys & Girls), all divisions (1A-6A), 3k (Our JV girls will be running in this race).

UPDATE:  RACE TIMES FOR FRIDAY HAVE BEEN UPDATED AS OF 8/28 DUE TO CONERNS ABOUT HEAT.  PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ATHLETIC.NET DID NOT MATCH THE UPDATED RACE TIMES AT THE TIME THIS WAS POSTED, BUT BELOW IS THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WILL PUSH OUR DEPARTURE TIME TO 3PM:

3PM - DEPART FROM SCHOOL

6:30PM - JV GIRLS

6:50PM - JV BOYS

7:10PM - VARSITY GIRLS

7:30PM - VARSITY BOYS

Thanks to everyone that attended Meet the Lions last Friday.  Our team battled to come from behind and tie the football team for the win.  The football team may have taken this win with the tiebreaker, but we have more important trophies in our future this season.  Some of you were trying to be in several places at once during the evening, so I've linked the presentations slides HERE in case you missed the parent meeting portion.  We're excited for our first meet of the season.  Here are the important details for the week:

Monday (8/26) - Thursday (8/29):  Practice times switch to "normal" time this week (3:45pm - 5:30pm).  Monday will be our most challenging practice this week as we prepare for our first meet.  Athletes, please prepare accordingly.

Friday (8/30): The Opener at Western Oregon University.  The bus will depart at 3PM (UPDATED) from the front of the school.  Just a reminder that we always depart from the school ON TIME and will leave whether we have everyone or not.  Race times have been updated due to heat concerns as of 8/28, so times may not match on athletic.net.  Please see schedule above. and we will inform kids early this week which race they will be running in.  Our 9th graders will pick up where they left off as we race on the same WOU course that hosts the middle school championship.  This race distance will only be a 3k as opposed to the 5k distance that we will race most of the season.  The meet will feature both 4A defending state championship teams (Philomath girls and Newport boys) as well as top 4A and 5A individual talent (Ty Cirino of Central - 5th place in the 5A state championship race last year).  It will be an exciting way to kick off the season!

Also Friday (8/30): APPAREL FORMS DUE if you wish to order.  Printed copies are available at practice or you may access and print a copy HERE.  The completed form with payment should be returned to Mrs. Twyman in the main office by the order deadline.

Upcoming Dates:

(9/4): Team pictures at 2pm and we will practice immediately after with practice ending at 4pm.  This is also the first day of school for 9th graders.

(9/5): First full day of school for all students.

(9/7): Ultimook Race

It's go time and we are excited for another record setting season!  This is the first weekly update of the season, and new updates will be posted each Sunday evening for the upcoming week.  Remember, you may view the meet schedule by using the link above.  

• Monday, August 19th (9am - 11am):  First official day of practice!  Athletes must be registered with a current physical on file.  The summer training calendar (linked above) has the practice schedule through the first few weeks.  After that our practice schedule is standard (3:45 - 5:30).

• Friday, August 23rd:  Meet the Lions from 5pm - 7:30pm.  The evening starts with all athletes and parents meeting in the main gym, followed by individual team meetings with parents, and concludes with a free dinner and some competitions between teams.

• Apparel Order Form Due Friday, August 30th:  Athletes will be issued a uniform and warm ups for the season, but you have the option of purchasing additional CGXC gear.  Printed copies are available at practice or you may access and print a copy HERE.  The completed form with payment should be returned to Mrs. Twyman in the main office by the order deadline.

• Recruiting and Registration Deadline:  Please let others know that we are happy to welcome anyone that is interested in joining our program and putting in the work, even if they didn't run with us this summer.  However, the registration deadline for Fall sports is August 20th at midnight.  There has been an issue over the last few years with athletes wanting to join sports teams after teams have been established and cuts have been made in some sports.  Registration was opened and advertised starting last June in an effort to address this problem.  Please help spread the word that athletes in all sports need to be registered by August 20th at midnight.

• Team Handbook:  The team handbook has been linked in the quick link section above all summer, but please make sure you take a moment to look through it.  Athletes and parents will need to return the signed form (distributed at practice) indicating that they have read and understand the team policy and safety information.

• ARE YOU CONNECTED!?  If you have not received remind/text messages this summer specifically about cross country then you are not connected to our group.  PLEASE JOIN OUR CGHSXC REMIND GROUP by texting @cghsxc2024 to 81010!  This will be the main way we communicate critical information and last minute practice/meet changes due to unforeseen situations such as smoke.

The Lions were led by a trio of second place finishes over the weekend.  Carter finished second place in the 3000m, Makya finished second place in the javelin, and Hayes finished second place in the 110m hurdles.  The boys team amassed 35 points over the two days which was good enough for a sixth place team finish.  It is the third consecutive year that the boys team has finished in the top six at the state championship.  By the time the meet concluded six Cottage Grove athletes had earned all-state honors (top 8) in nine different events.  It was a fantastic weekend for the athletes in our program!  A huge thank you to Coach Tucker and Easton Hutchins for providing the photos and amazing graphics of our athletes.  More pictures from the meet will be available using the 2024 Track and Field Pictures link in the quick link section above once they are uploaded this week. Below is a list of our state placers.

Carter Bengtson: 2nd place (3000m), 4th place (1500m)

Hayes Valley: 2nd place (110m hurdles), 7th place (300m hurdles)

Makya Alsup: 2nd place (javelin)

Eli Williams: 4th place (shot), and 4th place (discus)

Terran Stewart: 8th place (300m hurdles)

Micah Hanke: 8th place (800m)

Ella Cardwell: 9th place (3000m), 9th place (800m)

Thank you to all of you that took a few minutes each week to read the updates.  We hope that the updates helped to keep you informed about our weekly operations, and that the updates were also helpful in learning about how the sport of track and field works.  Website design is not our area of expertise, but if you have suggestions about how we can adjust our updates to make them more efficient or informative please let us know.

Important Items and Upcoming Dates:

CGHS All-Time List:  Did you make the list!?  The all-time lists have been updated to include marks from 2024.  We had five new athletes move up or crack the top 10 this season and we will be updating our record boards, but many more athletes were added to the lists.  Why are some lists longer than others on the spreadsheet?  We started every list at 20 names and the lists grow as names are added.  Some events have had much more movement over the last ten years than others.  You may access the updated All-Time CGHS Track and Field Lists in the quick links section above.

Uniforms:  Fines will be issued for any uniform item not turned in by May 28th.  Filling out fine slips is a significant amount of extra work, so thank you for returning uniforms to Coach Knutson (room 109) before May 28th.  

Tuesday, May 21st: Equipment clean up at the track right after school.  Each person that shows up will get squad points!  The trophy is still up for grabs and the results will be announced at the awards night.

Tuesday, May 28th:  We will have our awards night at 6:15pm in the CGHS cafeteria.  We will hand out participation awards, varsity letter awards, as well as all-league and all-state awards.  Just a reminder that there should be no surprises with varsity letter awards.  The criteria for earning a letter is outlined in our team handbook (linked above) and each athlete should know before awards night if they earned a varsity letter.  Please see Coach Knutson if you have any questions about how this works.  

Tuesday, May 28th:  There will be a meeting at 3:30pm in room 109 for anyone interested in or planning to participate in cross country next fall.  We will discuss summer training, fundraising opportunities, and our summer camp.  The meeting will be focused on athletes, but parents are welcome to attend if they wish. 

Additional Opportunities to Compete:  While there is no official "summer track" there are opportunities if athletes wish to compete this summer on their own.  The Oregon Track Club offers all comers meets where athletes can just show up and compete.  All athletes need to do is show up and pay the $15 fee and pick the events they wish to compete in.  A link to all the details can be found HERE.

Nike Outdoor Nationals:  You may have noticed this meet added to the athletic.net schedule.  Carter will be competing in the 5,000m at the high school national championship event. 

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

Our trivia questions have come to an end this season.  The weekly winners will be put in a drawing and we will reveal the winner and prize at awards night.  

Last Week's Question:  Name the last CGHS girl to qualify in four events for the state meet in the same year.

Answer: Hannah Albrecht - 2017 (100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x400m relay)

Week 12 Winner: Congratulations to Micah Hanke!

What a weekend!  The boys captured their third straight district championship and eight Cottage Grove athletes qualified for the state championship in 12 different events.  Hayes won two events (both hurdles) and was the high point scorer of the meet with a massive 31 points, while Carter was also a two time district champion (1500m and 3000m).  The girls scored 14 more points than what was projected and finished ahead of Marshfield for fourth place.  Makya was the district champion in the javelin, while Ella captured two state qualifying spots in the 3000m and 800m.  Cottage Grove finished third behind North Bend and Marist in the coed standings.  Most importantly, the Lions fought hard and represented our school and community in such a positive way.  What a fantastic group of young people to be associated with!

DISTRICT MEET PICTURES:  Special thanks to Travis for coming to the meet both days and taking pictures.  Those will be posted to view and download soon.  Please use the 2024 Track and Field Pictures quick link above to view those.

Here is a full list of our state qualifiers:

• Makya Alsup - Javelin (1st place)

• Ella Cardwell - 800m (2nd place), 3000m (3rd place/wild card)

• Hayes Valley - 110m hurdles (1st place), 300m hurdles (1st place)

• Terran Stewart - 300m hurdles (2nd place)

• Carter Bengtson - 3000m (1st place), 1500m (1st place)

• Eli Williams - shot put (2nd place), discus (2nd place)

• Gavin Grogan - long jump (2nd place)

• Micah Hanke - 800m (1st place)

Monday:  We are asking athletes that competed at the district meet to show up for practice for a brief meeting.  We would like to recognize many of them for outstanding performances, and cover a few quick details about the end of the season.   We will have normal practice for our state qualifiers.  State qualifiers should bring their uniform to practice for a photo shoot so that we may get some pictures to create state championship graphics.  

Tuesday (Uniform Return Day):  Please bring all uniform items to the track after school.  We will award 5 squad points to every athlete that returns their full uniform by this time.  We will have our annual state qualifier team dinner at Coach Vogel's house.  We will give more information to those athletes at practice.

Friday and Saturday: STATE CHAMPIONSHIP at HAYWARD FIELD!  Bus leaves at 6:45am on Friday and 10:45am on Saturday. We will go over more meet details with the state qualifiers.  Spectator information may be found HERE and a full meet schedule is linked HERE.  The links include information about tickets, the meet schedule, and the stadium clear bag policy.  Let's get as many spectators as we can to Hayward to support these athletes! 

Awards Night:  We will try to get a date and time established as soon as possible after the state championship.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question:  Name the last CGHS girl to qualify in four events for the state meet in the same year.

Last Week's Question: Name the last CGHS male AND female athletes to score in both a throwing event and a jumping event at the state championship.

Answer:  Gracie Arnold 2022 (5th in the Javelin and 3rd in the high jump) and Alex Toureen (2nd in shot and 2nd in high jump)

Winner:  Congratulations to Micah Hanke!!

JV athletes wrapped up the season last week with a strong showing at the JV district meet in Junction City, while the rest of the team competed at our home invitational on Friday. Eli (Discus), Hayes (110m hurdles) and Carter (1500m) were all event winners enroute to helping the boys team finish third among some of the top teams in the state. Carter's time of 4:06 moves him into the #6 spot on the all-time top 10 list at CGHS for the 1500m.  Ella was the top finisher for the girls with a third place finish in the 800m.   A huge thank you to everyone that helped to make the meet a success.  Without all the volunteers it would be impossible to pull off such a large event.  Last week we communicated with athletes about who would be continuing with the season this week for the district championship, and athletes can already see live entries for the district meet on athletic.net (more details below).

Special notes for the week:

District Championship Info:  This is a two day championship meet that is unlike anything we have attended all season.  We will be covering a lot of information this week at practice, but some important details for athletes and families can be found below:

• Entries for the district meet were due on May 4th and league coaches met on Sunday at noon to iron out meet details.  At this point we are no longer allowed to add or move athletes, we may only scratch athletes from events.  There will be a handful of strategic scratches that we will be making on Friday, and we will discuss those with athletes this week.

• Friday/Saturday at North Bend High School.  A full event schedule can be found HERE.  The bus will depart at 7:15am on both days.  We want to get athletes home as soon as possible on Friday evening, so we will not be stopping to fill up on fast food.  Please pack food accordingly.

• The online version of heats and flights can be viewed HERE.  Note that a couple of heats still need to be adjusted.  Please be sure to note dates and times of listed events.

• Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students each day and will be cash only.

• How does the two day format work?  Field events will be spread out over the two days with prelims and finals of those events happening on the same day.  For all field events except pole vault and high jump there will be three attempts in the prelims with the top 9 athletes advancing to finals (on the same day) for three more attempts.  The 3000m final is on Friday, and all other running event finals are on Saturday.  All running events other than the 1500m and both relays will have prelims on Friday.  Athletes running in prelims will need to qualify to advance to the final on Saturday.  This means that in an event with two heats an athlete must finish in the top three or have one of the next two fastest times.  

• How does the team scoring work?  We are allowed three varsity entries per gender, per event, at the district championship.  We have only entered athletes that are capable of competing at a district meet level, which means there are a few cases where we left some spots vacant.  At the district and state championships the athletes that finish in the top 8 in each event score points for their respective teams as follows: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  The team with the most points wins the meet.  At the district meet the top 8 finishers will be recognized on the awards podium (medals to the top two places and ribbons for 3-8).  

• How do athletes advance to the state championship?  Track and field is one of the most challenging high school sports in terms of qualifying for state.  Unlike many other sports there are no "play-in" opportunities for average teams and athletes, and top athletes that are in tough leagues routinely find themselves on the outside looking in.   At the district championship the top two finishers in each event final automatically qualify for the state championship at Hayward Field.  There is one at-large bid that will go to the top third place finisher from all six district meets in each event.  Additionally, an athlete may qualify if they are not in the top two, but hit an auto qualifying mark, which is not too common.  Auto qualifying marks can be found HERE. 

• May athletes stay overnight with their family?  Yes, but please communicate with Coach Knutson about this early in the week as we have to plan transportation accordingly.  Also, we can't allow athletes to stay with other families unless both sets of guardians have cleared this with the office prior to Friday (not the day of the meet).  This is the district championship and not a vacation.  We hope that if athletes stay overnight with their family they will be doing so to maximize rest and minimize travel.  Our team is depending on each athlete to make good decisions around rest and recovery during this time.  Thank you for doing your part to be a good teammate. 

Varsity Lettering Criteria Reminder:  You may view the full criteria in our team handbook (linked above).  In short, athletes need to hit a certain mark or time during the season, or place in the top 8 in an individual event at the district meet.  Relays do not count toward varsity lettering requirements due to the fact that there are only five teams in the league and every team that makes it across the finish line scores.  Please note the requirement of attending both days of the district meet.

Practice this week:  Practices will continue to end earlier this week based on event groups.  Thursday's practice will start in Coach Knutson's room (109) at 3:45pm.

Upcoming Dates:

State Championship:  May 10 -11.  Full details about the state meet will be available on next Sunday, but until then you may view the spectator information at the OSAA website HERE.

Uniform Collection:  Please look for details next Sunday on how we will collect uniforms.  Squad points will be up for grabs for athletes that turn in uniforms on time.

Awards Night:  This is still TBD, but will take place sometime after the State Championship (May 17-18).  We will push info out as soon as we know the date, time, and location.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question:  Name the last CGHS male AND female athletes to score in both a throwing event and a jumping event at the state championship.

Last Week's Question: In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

Answer:  Girls Long Jump - We believe the last time was Ginger Loescher in 1999.  Between 2010 and 2024 CGHS has qualified one or more athlete for the state championship in every other track and field event.  The boys team has qualified at least one athlete in 14 of the 17 events since 2021.

Winner:  Congratulations to Rylie Reeder!!

It was another solid week for the Lions with multiple trips to the coast.  The varsity preview at North Bend and the Central Coast Invitational provided opportunities to compete and tune up for a couple of big weeks ahead.  Carter also had a strong showing at the Jesuit Twilight Relays.  There will be a lot of moving parts over the next two weeks, so thank you again for taking a moment to stay informed.

Athletes will find themselves falling into one of several categories this week, and we will do our best to communicate with each of them at practice.  After last week many athletes should already have a good idea of where they stand in each event area, but additional competition this week can make an athlete's status a bit fluid.  Below is a quick synopsis of each of our remaining meets.

JV Districts:  This will be the last meet of the season for many of our athletes.  We will communicate with those athletes at practice on Monday.  Some athletes might also compete in this meet due to the fact we won't know until Wednesday night if they qualified for the Wally Ciochetti Invitational.  We are trying to make sure kids get at least one meet this week.  As a result, there will be a few athletes that may have two meets this week.

Wally Ciochetti Invite:  Our home invitational hosts 16 teams and we cap event sizes with a maximum of three entries per team.  Our remaining athletes won't know who makes the cut in each event until Wednesday evening.  There will be some athletes where Friday will be their last meet, and others who won't qualify for Friday, but will still compete at districts the following week. 

Districts:  The focus of the district meet is to advance athletes to the state championship and maximize team points.  Since the meet is two days there are some athletes that will double up in events.  This means there aren't the same number of vacancies in events as usual, and some athletes that might have attended invitationals this season may not compete at districts.  We have been communicating this with athletes throughout the season, so this should not come as a surprise.  There will be much more information to come about this meet.  Entries for coaches are due at 12pm on Saturday, May 4th and there are no changes (other than scratches) allowed after that point.  It is critical that athletes share any potential scheduling conflicts with Coach Knutson NOW.  If an athlete scratches after the May 4th deadline we are not allowed another entry and the spot is lost. Please be sure to communicate with coaches ASAP if there may be any schedule conflicts.

Special notes for the week:

• Senior Recognition on Friday at 3:30pm:  Seniors will be given a form to fill out and return to Mrs. Tucker by Wednesday.  We will honor our seniors and family members that are present during our home invitational at 3:30pm.  Thank you for being in lane one at the 50 yard line at 3:30pm so that we may start the recognition on time.  Not all seniors will be competing in the meet, but we would still like to honor all of our graduates.

• Grade Checks:  There will be another round of grade checks at the end of this week and it is critical that athletes are taking care of business in the classroom.  Entries for the district meet are due on Saturday, but we won't know grade status until the following Monday.  This means if an athlete is ineligible as of Monday (May 6th) we can't replace them on the district meet roster.  PLEASE TAKE CARE OF GRADES!

• Help Needed:  We have one parent volunteer so far to help with concessions at our meet Friday.  We will have several athletes helping as well.  We could really use a few parents that wouldn't mind taking turns with some shifts so that we have additional adult supervision.  If  you are able to to help with this please contact Coach Knutson.

Monday (4/29):  Athletes that are competing on Tuesday will have a chance to confirm events.  Athletes will most likely be finishing up a little early depending on which event group they are in.

Tuesday (4/30):  JV District Meet.  Athletes will be dismissed at 12:55pm and the bus will depart at 1:15pm.  Athletes not attending the meet will still have practice at the normal time.  

Wednesday (5/1):  Even if athletes are done for the season we are asking everyone to at least attend our team meeting to start practice.  We will recognize athletes for performances that they had at the Tuesday meet.  We also need help from athletes for our Friday meet, and they will be signing up for job assignments.  After the team meeting athletes that are done competing for the season may either stay and practice or head home.  After Wednesday practice will be limited to just athletes that are still competing.  Our entries for Friday are due at 8pm and we will then know who has qualified for the Friday home invitational.  Athletes will be notified on Thursday at practice.

Thursday (5/2):  Short pre meet practice and set up for the meet.

Friday (5/3):  Wally Ciochetti Invitational at CGHS.  This has become the premier late season meet for 4A schools and we cap the number of schools at 16 to maximize entries for each team.  This is why teams travel from as far as Klamath Falls and Prineville to compete at our event.  The entire meet schedule may be viewed in the meet info section at athletic.net.  Athletes competing or helping will be dismissed at 12:30pm.  There may be some athletes that are competing later in the afternoon that choose to stay in class longer.  

Upcoming Dates:

Saturday, May 4th: Entries for the district meet are due for coaches at 12pm.  Athletes will be informed of all finalized entries at practice on Monday, May 6th.  

Friday, May 10th and Saturday, May 11th:  District Championship at North Bend High School.  We have yet to receive a formal version of this year's schedule, but from what we've been told we will be following the same time schedule from last year.  You may view a copy of LAST YEAR'S SCHEDULE HERE.  PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Uniform and end of season awards night:  Once we make it through this week we will share more information about the process for turning in uniforms and schedule our awards date.  Thanks for your patience.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (We have some athletes that are close to the answer.  This will be the week!): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

What a week for the Lions!  After hosting a league meet on Tuesday and working the middle school meet on Wednesday, the Lions headed for some big events over the weekend.  Carter represented Cottage Grove at the Oregon Relays, one of the premier high school events in the United States.  Carter entered the two mile event ranked 46th out of 107 runners.  During the last five laps of the race Carter held pace and passed over 20 runners to take 4th in his heat and 15th overall in the elite field of runners.  Carter ran a 10 second PR in the 3000m enroute to a 27 second personal best in the two mile.  His 3000m split time of of 8:43 moves him one spot away from the school record (8:35.39) set by Bruce Davidson in 1984.  The CGHS 3000m school record is once of the toughest in Oregon at the 4A level.  The boys followed up with the team victory at the 36 team Meet of Champions on Saturday  with many strong performances, including wins from Carter in the 1500m and Hayes in the 110m hurdles.  It is the third consecutive year the CG boys have won the meet.  Makya and Ella were top finishers for the girls on Saturday.  Makya started the week as an alternate to get into the meet and then took advantage of the opportunity by throwing a massive 14 foot personal best in the javelin to take third place. Her mark of 114-4 moves her into the #8 spot on the all-time CGHS javelin list. Ella ran a strong race in the 3000m to capture third place as well as an eight second PR.  Ella's time of 11:10 moves her to the #7 spot on the all-time CGHS list.  

THANK YOU to those of you taking the time to read the weekly update, there are a lot of layers each week as we navigate through the end of the season.

Common question this time of year:  Why is my athlete being moved around to different events so much?

Answer:  There are multiple reasons athletes don't compete in the same events at each meet and the simplest reason is recovery.  When there are multiple meets in a week for some athletes we typically prioritize one of the meets.  We want athletes to be healthy and ready when it matters most, and shifting events so athletes can still participate in two meets in a week allows us to accomplish this. The more complicated reason is the big picture.  As we approach the district championships we are focused on two primary performance goals.  How can we advance as many athletes as possible to the state championship and how can we score as many team points as possible?  Sometimes this requires reducing event loads for athletes or even removing some of our top athletes from relay teams.  Other times this means athletes are trying new events late in the season where our league may not have as much depth with the hopes of scoring points at districts.  Ultimately, it's all about maximizing success for our athletes and team.  The last two seasons our boys team has won the district championship by two points.  This means that two athletes finishing in 8th place (and each scoring a single point) at districts over the last two years made all the difference for our team.  Mistakes with entries can make or break our team success which is why we take athlete placement and entries very seriously. We always make a conscious effort to explain this to our athletes, but sometimes that message doesn't make it home.  If something doesn't seem like it's making sense and you'd like to know why, please ask.  Everything that we do is calculated and we are happy to explain our rationale when given the opportunity.  

Special notes for the week:

• With two meets during the week there will be some shorter practices.  Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are all days that are either before or after a meet, and we want to keep athletes rested and healthy for competition.  As always, there will be coaches on site until 6pm, but athletes will most likely be wrapping up earlier on those days this week depending on the event group they are part of.

• Some athletes will not have a meet this week and their last meet will be the JV district meet on April 30th. If you're curious where athletes rank among CGHS teammates in different events for this season remember that athletic.net has way more information than just the meet schedule.  You may view CGHS event rankings for the 2024 season HERE.  

Monday (4/22):  Athletes were notified at practice on Friday if they will be attending the Tuesday meet at North Bend. Entries for the meet will be posted at practice so that we may make adjustments to events.

Tuesday (4/23):  Sky-Em Varsity Meet at North Bend.  This meet is for athletes that might be competing at the district championships in May.  Those not attending the meet will not have practice on Tuesday.  Students will be dismissed at 11:25am and the bus will leave at 11:45am.  It is critical that athletes pack food for lunch and dinner.  North Bend is a long trip on a school night and we don't plan on stopping to eat on the way home.  We want kids home and in bed so that they will be rested and focused for school and recovered for our meet on Friday.

Wednesday (4/24):  Normal practice and we will inform athletes who will be attending the Friday meet.  We want to give athletes a fair opportunity to compete on Tuesday before finalizing the Friday entries.  Most athletes will have a good idea of where they stand prior to Wednesday.

Thursday (4/25):  Practice

Friday (4/26):  You may have noticed the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays on the athletic.net schedule.  Carter will be competing in this event on Friday evening (pending acceptance into the meet this week).  Like the Oregon Relays, there will be teams from several west coast states.  Another group of our athletes will travel to Florence for the Central Coast Invitational.  Athletes will be dismissed at 11:45am and the bus will leave at 12:15pm.  Again, this is during lunch time, so be sure to bring food.  We will stop on the way home for dinner.  Those not attending the meet will not have practice on Friday.

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, April 30th:  The JV District Meet.  This will be the last meet for some.  Others that compete in this meet might still continue on for one of the last few meets.  More details to come.   Athletes not attending the meet will have normal practice.

Friday, May 3rd:  The Wally Ciochetti Invitational at CGHS.  This has become one of the premier 4A meets late in the season.  We are excited to host another strong field of teams this year.  We will have more information about how parents might be able to help out at this meet.  

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (This is a tough one, still no correct answer yet.): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

The Lions capped off the week with a dominating win from the boys team at the Philomath Relays.  The girls battled to a second place finish behind the defending state champions from Philomath.  Many JV athletes saw some big improvements at the Marist meet last Monday as well.  It's another busy week with our home meet on Tuesday, Oregon Relays on Friday (for Carter), and the Meet of Champions on Saturday.

Upcoming Grade Checks: Updated grades will be available on Monday.  Those not passing five classes and/or below a 2.0 GPA won't be competing on Tuesday and in the future until they have improved grades to the minimum standard.

Pictures:  Pictures have arrived for those that ordered.  Please pick those up in Coach Knutson's classroom (room 109).  

Monday (4/15):  Athletes will have the opportunity to check event entries for Tuesday.  They were responsible for getting signed up at the end of last week.  Like many of our pre meet practices, athletes will be getting done with workouts earlier on this day.  We will also have athletes sign up for job assignments for the Wednesday middle school meet.  

Tuesday (4/16):  Athletes will be dismissed at 2:40 and should be in full uniform and at the starting line ready for warm ups at 3:10.  Field events start at 4pm and track events start at 4:30.  The order of events and full schedule can be found in the meet info section at athletic.net (linked above).  Just a reminder that we ask all athletes to stay to the end of the meet to support their teammates.  Entries for the Meet of Champions (Saturday) are due at 10pm and we will know by Wednesday who has been accepted for the Saturday meet.

Wednesday (4/17):  HOME MIDDLE SCHOOL MEET.  Athletes should be in the main gym dressed and ready for practice at 2:30pm.  We will go over job assignments for the middle school meet and then get in a team warm up.  Athletes should expect to be helping until 7pm.  Please be sure to bring layers of clothing as it cools off quickly in the evening.  Athletes will also find out at practice if they made the cut for the Meet of Champions.  Some may be on the alternate list and could potentially be added if athletes scratch prior to Saturday.  

Thursday (4/18):  Normal Practice.  We will be checking in with athletes about which events they will be competing in for the upcoming "Varsity Meet" in North Bend next week.  Not all athletes will be attending this meet.

Friday (4/19):  Carter Bengtson will be competing at The Oregon Relays and the rest of the team will have normal practice.  To meet the standards and qualify for the Oregon Relays in an individual event is extremely challenging.  Carter ran in the meet last season and will compete in the 2 mile event which starts at 11am.  It is online ticketing only for the event and you can find all the spectator information HERE.  

Saturday (4/20):  The team travels to Sweet Home for the Meet of Champions.  This is a 37 team invitational for 1A-4A schools and the event has been around for decades.  Athletes qualify individually (or as a relay team)  to compete.  Athletes will know on Wednesday if they are attending and the bus will leave at 7:00AM.  All the meet details can be found in the meet info section at athletic.net, but a schedule is also linked HERE.  We will stop for food on the way home.

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, April 23rd:  The Sky-Em Varsity Meet is a preview of the district championship meet that will be held at North Bend High School.  Because all five teams from the league will be attending it is called a "varsity" meet as a way to limit entries and keep the weekday meet manageable.  Please understand that the entries for this meet won't necessarily match the entries for the two day district championship meet that will happen on May 10-11.  Some athletes that compete at this meet might not compete at districts.  Also, as we approach the second half of the season, this is just a reminder that the varsity lettering standards can be found in the team handbook linked above.  

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (This is a tough one, still no correct answer yet.): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

It was a fantastic way to get back into competition last week with the JV meet at Marist and the 28 team invitational at Marshfield.  Congratulations to Gavin Grogan (long jump) and Hayes Valley (110m hurdles AND 300m hurdles) for earning the event wins on Saturday among large fields of quality competition.  Ella Cardwell (4th in the 3000m) and Makya Alsup (5th in the javelin) were our top finishers for the girls.  There were many other CG athletes that made the podium (top 8) as well.  While the team was at Marshfield we had a group of athletes here in Cottage Grove that volunteered to serve at the Family Relief Nursery Gala on Saturday night.  Thank you to all those athletes that volunteered and represented our program in such a positive way!

Upcoming Grade Checks:  Just a reminder that our next grade check will be this Friday, April 12th.  Any athlete that is not passing five classes and/or is below a 2.0 will be immediately ineligible until grades are improved to meet the standard.  Athletes, please make sure we are taking care of our priorities in the classroom.  

Monday (4/8):  JV Meet at Marist.  Monday meets are not common, but we have one this week.  Like last week, some athletes will be attending and others will have a normal practice.  Athletes with the option of attending the meet were given the opportunity to sign up for events last week and those entries can be viewed HERE.  If you happen to see a necessary change with the entries please contact Coach Knutson via email (ricky.knutson@slane.k12.or.us) ASAP.  However, there are no promises that the changes will be made prior to the Sunday afternoon deadline.  Those competing will be dismissed from class at 1:40pm and should be on the bus ready to roll at 2:00pm.  Everyone else should be at practice at the normal time.  

Tuesday (4/9), Wednesday (4/10) and Thursday (4/11):  Normal Practice.  We will also be ironing out entries for the unique relay meet on Saturday.  Most athletes will know by Tuesday or Wednesday (if they don't already know) if they will be attending the Saturday meet.  Due to the nature of the meet and event structure, there will be some athletes attending that may not normally attend invitationals.  

Friday (4/12):  Athletes will sign up for events on this day for our home meet the following Tuesday (4/16).

Saturday (4/13):  Philomath Relays.  Departure time is 8:15am.  This invitational is a unique meet where the track events are all relays and the field events are scored as a team (top three marks from each team in each event are added together to determine team place).  There aren't a lot of details listed at the meet info page at athletic.net, but if you select the schedule option (within the meet info page) you may view a list of events.  Field events start at 11am and track events start at noon.  Due to the nature of the meet there will be some athletes competing in events that they may not normally participate in.  This type of meet showcases a team's depth, and there may be spots that need to be filled that we don't usually have to fill.  Athletes that may not typically score for the team become very important in events like this, especially in field events, as marks for three athletes are required for a team score in each event.  It should be a fun day!

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, April 16th:  Our next home meet.

Wednesday, April 17th:  Middle school home meet at CGHS.  Our athletes help to put this meet on by running the field events.  Please plan on a later release time on this day.  We hope to be done by 7pm.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (SAME AS LAST WEEK SINCE THERE WAS NO CORRECT ANSWER): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m).

Spring break was a solid week of workouts for athletes that attended practice.  We ended the week with a frisbee croquet squad competition and squads were also awarded points for every member that had perfect spring break attendance.  Don't forget that you may access the latest squad scores in the quick link section above.  It's going to get busy from here on out and we're excited to get rolling with more meets!

Apparel:  The apparel order has arrived!  Apparel has been individually bagged and will be ready for distribution on Monday.  Athletes should confirm items are correct at the time of pickup and BEFORE walking away with apparel.  PLEASE LABEL YOUR ITEMS WITH YOUR NAME ON THE TAG.

Upcoming Grade Checks:  Just a reminder that our next grade check will be April 12th.  Any athlete that is not passing five classes and/or is below a 2.0 will be immediately ineligible until grades are improved to meet the standard.

Volunteers Needed:  We are in need of some volunteer athletes to help out with The Family Relief Nursery Gala on Saturday, April 6th.  It's a bit tricky this year since many athletes and our coaching staff will be at Marshfield for the meet.  If there are any athletes that are not attending the meet that would be interested in helping please let Coach Knutson know.  Jim and Joyce Settelmeyer will be helping to oversee the volunteers as they plate food, and assist the caterers. We will also award 10 squad points for each person that volunteers. Details below:

• Saturday, April 6th (Please know that alcohol is available for adults at the event, so please pass on this opportunity if you are uncomfortable with that.  Volunteers are primarily in the kitchen or helping to clear tables.)

• Location: Cottage Grove Armory

• 4:30 - 8:30pm (dinner is provided for volunteers).

• Attire should be all black.

This week:

Monday (4/1):  Athletes that missed practices over the last week will be taking time in practice to "spin the wheel" and participate in some conditioning activities.  They will do this as a group and we will spread spins out over the course of the week.  

Athletes that meet the spring break practice requirement (see updates for the last two weeks) and are attending the Tuesday JV meet will need to make sure to check posted entries at practice and confirm their event entries with Coach Knutson before leaving practice.  Entries for Tuesday are due by 6pm on Monday, so it is critical that those are in and accurate.  Most athletes already know if they are attending the Tuesday meet, but should follow up on Monday if they have questions.

Tuesday (4/2) JV Meet at Marist (Athletes not attending the meet will have practice as normal with a small coaching staff):  

Athletes will be dismissed at 1:40pm and should be in full uniform, with equipment loaded, and ready to roll at 2:00pm.  The track and field program always departs ON TIME.   Athletes are responsible for getting out of class on time and being ready to go on time. ANY ATHLETE NOT ON THE BUS WHEN IT IS TIME TO LEAVE WILL BE LEFT AT CGHS.   All information with regards to meet schedule can be found at athletic.net in the meet info section.  If you are not familiar with how to use athletic.net we have put together a quick tutorial that could be helpful. You may access that video HERE (It will also be available in the quick link section above for the rest of the season).  Just like with our home meets we ask that athletes stay until the end of the meet.  We won't be stopping for food on the way home, so please be sure to bring snacks.  ATHLETES WILL BE REMINDED TO CALL TO ARRANGE PICKUP FROM CGHS WHEN WE LEAVE EUGENE.  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR PICKING YOUR ATHLETE UP FROM THE SCHOOL WHEN WE RETURN SO THAT COACHES DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT. 

Wednesday (4/3):  We are allowed two entries per event for the Saturday meet at Marshfield, but not all entries will be accepted.  We should know by practice time on Wednesday who has been accepted to compete at the Marshfield meet on Saturday.  

Thursday/Friday (4/4 - 4/5):  Normal practices. On Thursday athletes will start the event sign up process for our meet on 4/8.  It is not very often that we have a Monday meet, so athletes will need to make sure to confirm their events prior to leaving practice on Friday.   Friday will end a bit early depending on the event area as practice will be light due to the Saturday meet.  

Saturday (4/6):  Bus leaves at 6:30am.  Again, we will leave ON TIME, so please be in uniform, equipment loaded, and ready to roll at 6:30am.  Meet details can be found at athletic.net.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question: In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m).

Last Week's Question: Who was the last male CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Answer:  Austin Place (2009 - 800m, 2010 - 800m/4x400m, 2011 - 800m, 2012 - 4x400m/800m)

Last Week's Winner: Congratulations to Eli Williams!

Our home icebreaker meet was a success and it was fantastic that the weather also cooperated.  Many athletes had their first high school track and field experience!  On Friday we had our annual team potluck and squad competitions.  An ENORMOUS thank you to everyone that contributed to the potluck, it was a fun evening of team bonding for the athletes.  The updated squad scores can be viewed in the quick link section above. Only 29 points separate fourth from first, the squad title is up for grabs! Thanks again to Coach Tucker and other yearbook photographers for taking pictures at our events.  Remember, pictures from the season can be accessed above using the 2024 Track and Field Pictures quick link.  On Saturday we had some of our throwers compete at the Harvey Lewellen Throws Invitational where our boys (Eli, Rogelio, and Clayton) took first in the shot put team competition.  They combined top throws for a score of 127 feet and .05 inches!  It was a great showing from our throwing crew!

Apparel Order Update:  We are hoping that the apparel order shows up shortly.  It usually arrives around spring break.

Pictures:  We took team pictures last week.  If you would still like to order please visit the website HERE. When the pictures are ready they will show up at the school to be distributed to athletes.

This Week:

Monday - Thursday (March 25th - 28th): Spring break practices from 9am to 11am.  Practices are required and absences will be treated the same way that we do with any other missed practice (two spins of the fitness wheel for each day missed).  We understand that some families may leave for spring break, but we maintain the same standard for all athletes.  There is no need to notify coaches of absences this week; athletes are either at practice or they aren't.  Athletes, please enter the facility through the gate at the track and you may then access the locker rooms through the gym door at the track.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THE APRIL 2ND MEET.

Friday (March 29th): NO PRACTICE

Upcoming Dates:

April 2nd: JV Meet at Marist.  This meet is designed for JV and/or newer athletes.  Athletes that competed at the varsity district meet last season will most likely not attend this meet.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THIS MEET.  Again, this is not a consequence, it is to protect athletes that will not be prepared to compete after missing a week of workouts.

April 6th: Prefontaine Rotary Invite.  We are only allowed two entries per event at this meet, and then we will be informed which entries make the cut.  Entries are due Tuesday evening and we've been told that we should know who was accepted by Wednesday.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question: Who was the last male CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Last Week's Question: Who was the last female CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Answer:  Hudson Weybright (2014 - 800m, 2015 - 800m/3000m, 2016 - 4x400/3000m, 2017 - 4x400m/800)

Last Week's Winner: Congratulations to Micah Hanke!

Our week culminated with a kick off of our season long squad competition.  Captains drafted squads on Tuesday, and on Friday the athletes competed in a modified version of a track meet.  It was a perfect afternoon of sunshine and fun competition!  Enjoy some of the pictures from the squad meet by using the track and field pictures link in the quick links section above.  Results of the squad meet will be shared at practice on Monday and squads will continue to compete throughout the season to have their squad name on the championship plaque.  It's going to be another busy week as we host our first official meet of the season.  There is a massive amount of information below, but we truly appreciate you taking a moment to make sure you're aware of what's happening this week.  It's always more fun when everyone is on the same page!

Academic Reminder:  Teachers issued trimester grades on Friday.  Fortunately, academic issues are not typically a problem with most of our track and field athletes, but we still want to make sure expectations are clear.  Athletes that have passed at least five classes and have above a 2.0 GPA will be clear to compete.  If an athlete did not pass five classes then they are deemed ineligible by the OSAA and will not be able to continue the season.  If an athlete passed five classes, but does NOT have the 2.0 GPA then they are still allowed to continue the season.  However, they will not be able to compete until they show they have above a 2.0 at the first grade check (approximately three weeks into the trimester).

Athletic Fee Reminder:  We still have athletes that need to take care of the athletic fee.  After March 20th there will be a $25 late fee added.  Please contact Mrs. Twyman in the main office if you need a waiver, would like to pay by card, or if you have questions.  Thanks for helping us wrap up this process.

Apparel Order Update:  For anyone that ordered apparel, the order was placed last Monday.  The apparel usually shows up during spring break at the latest.  We will distribute items once we receive them.

This Week:

Monday (3/18):  Athletes will be issued a team uniform that will consist of at least a jacket and jersey.  Athletes may choose to check out shorts and pants if they wish, or they may use their own if they have items that are solid black (no stripes or other decor).  Pants that have the CG logo such as the ones ordered through the program may also be used.   Team uniforms are for meets only and should not be worn to school, at practice, or in any other situations outside of competition.  Athletes will also be signing up for events that they will compete in on Wednesday.  It is the responsibility of each athlete to get signed up for events with the head coach.  If athletes don't check in to get signed up then they will not compete on Wednesday.  Team picture forms will also be available for athletes.

Tuesday (3/19):  Athletes that have not turned in their signed team handbook form by the end of practice on Tuesday will not be entered in the Wednesday meet.  All athletes that were missing this form were reminded last week.  Entries for the Wednesday meet will be posted for athletes to verify, and we can still make additions or corrections if necessary.  This is the last opportunity for corrections prior to the meet on Wednesday.

Wednesday (3/20:  Athletes should be in full uniform and at the starting line ready for warm ups at 3:10.  Field events start at 4pm and track events start at 4:30.  Just a reminder of one of our team policies that athletes must stay for the entire meet to support their teammates.  We know that this can make for a later evening, but thank you for understanding that this is a critical component of developing a positive team culture.  Here are a couple of reminders for spectators:

• Remember, athletic.net (linked above) is one of the best sources on meet day.  When you select the meet in the menu you can often access all sorts of information (such as meet schedules) by selecting the meet info option.

• In order for meets to run as efficiently as possible they most often run on a rolling schedule, which means that we can't tell you exactly what time athletes will compete.  While we understand this can be frustrating it becomes easier to predict as you get more practice.

• Our volunteer officials and workers may still be learning the event.  Thank you for your patience if there are some hiccups.

• Wednesday is about learning how meets work such as the warm up and cool down, checking in and out of events, learning the schedule, and dealing with nerves.  Even our veterans need the review.  Thank you for being positive with our athletes as they navigate this process.

• Learning is a process and our athletes will most likely never look like Olympians this season.  With all due respect to the track and field knowledge of our spectators, please let this process play out with the athletes and our coaches.  We will continue to build skills in practice and one of the biggest mistakes we can make in a competition setting is over coaching.  Athletes deal with a massive amount of stimuli during a meet and flooding them with information (even good information) in the moment is typically not a successful answer to "fixing" things long term.  We build each week and we won't get to everything at once.  Clap, cheer, and congratulate your athlete for having the courage to compete and do hard things.  Thank you for trusting this process as we all grow throughout the season.  

Thursday (3/21):  Team pictures during practice.  We know that this is a quick turnaround with potentially dirty uniforms.  Even if you don't have the opportunity to wash it, please be in full uniform at the start of practice.  Athletes should still bring clothing to practice in following team pictures.  Picture information may be found in the quick link section above.

Friday (3:22): Team potluck and squad competitions in the school cafeteria following practice.  We do not require team activities outside of practice or competition, but athletes usually like to attend these.  The potluck only works if we have a team effort and last year was amazing.  If you are able to bring something to the potluck please click THIS LINK and let us know what that might be.  We're just trying to avoid 20 crock pots of baked beans :)  The activities should conclude around 8pm.    

Saturday (3/23):  Harvey Lewellen Throws Invitational.  This event is only for some of our throwers.  Our throws coaches will communicate this week with the athletes that have an opportunity to attend this meet.  Throwing coaches will be arranging transportation to the event and there may be some simple paperwork involved.

Upcoming Dates:

March 25th - 28th: Spring break practices from 9am to 11am.  Practices are required and absences will be treated the same way that we do with any other missed practice (two spins of the fitness wheel for each day missed).  We understand that some families may leave for spring break, but we maintain the same standard for all athletes.  There is no need to notify coaches of absences this week; athletes are either at practice or they aren't.

March 29th: NO PRACTICE

April 2nd: JV Meet at Marist.  This meet is designed for JV and/or newer athletes.  Athletes that competed at the varsity district meet last season will most likely not attend this meet.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THIS MEET.  Again, this is not a consequence, it is to protect athletes that will not be prepared to compete after missing a week of workouts.

April 6th: Prefontaine Rotary Invite.  We are only allowed two entries per event at this meet, and then we will be informed which entries make the cut.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (Some good guesses last week, but no correct answer.  We are keeping the same question this week):  Who was the last female CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Hint:  Due to COVID there were several athletes that didn't get four track seasons.  The last CGHS female to achieve this graduated prior to 2020.

Last Week's Winner: No correct answer

Week two of practice concluded with some sunshine, and Saturday was an opportunity to watch some of our former athletes compete at the Lane Community College Open.  It was exciting to see six of our former Lions representing three different collegiate programs as they continue their education while also pursuing their love of track and field.  Thank you for taking a moment to check out what's coming up this week and beyond!

This Week:

Tuesday (3/12):  Captains only will meet in room 109 after practice to participate in the squad draft and pizza will be provided.  Captains were introduced on Friday at practice, but congratulations again to the following athletes who have been voted captains by their teammates:  Tayler Bentley,  Maddison France, Zoey Knutson, Allison Palluck, Carter Bengtson, Clayton Dewitt, Raf Fields, and Eli Williams.

Wednesday/Thursday (3/13 - 3/14):  Athletes will meet as squads during the last part of practice to organize and plan for the Friday squad meet.  Thursday is also the last day of the trimester, so please be sure school work has been taken care of.  Athletes that don't pass at least five classes will not be eligible to continue the season.  Athletes that pass at least five classes but do not have AT LEAST a 2.0 GPA will be ineligible until they show they have met the minimum 2.0 standard at the first grade check of trimester three (approximately three weeks into the trimester).

Friday (3/15): Squad Meet 3pm (NO SCHOOL).  The four squads will compete in multiple versions of track and field events in the first step toward earning the right to have their squad name on the coveted squad plaque at the end of the season.  The event is essentially a scrimmage with a few twists.  Spectators are welcome, but it is a pretty low key and fun event. Bring your sunscreen!

Upcoming Dates:

March 20th:  First home track meet.  Athletes must have the last sheet of team handbook signed and turned in prior to the entry deadline (March 19th). 

March 21st: Team pictures.  Please see quick link above for details.

March 22nd: Team potluck and squad competition night following practice.  Team events outside of practice or meets are never required, although athletes usually don't want to miss events like this.  Last year this event concluded about 8pm.  Please watch for a potluck sign up in next week's update.

March 25th - 28th: Spring break practices from 9am to 11am.  Practices are required and absences will be treated the same way that we do with any other missed practice (two spins of the fitness wheel for each day missed).  

March 29th: NO PRACTICE

April 2nd: JV Meet at Marist.  This meet is designed for JV and/or newer athletes.  Athletes that competed at the varsity district meet last season will most likely not attend this meet.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THIS MEET.  Again, this is not a consequence, it is to protect athletes that will not be prepared to compete after missing a week of workouts.

April 6th: Prefontaine Rotary Invite.  We are only allowed two entries per event at this meet, and then we will be informed which entries make the cut.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

Last Week's Question:  Who was the last CGHS track and field athlete to WIN multiple state championships in the same event?

Answer: Jordan Brunetti was the javelin state champion in 2007, 2009 and 2010 (injured in 2008, but still placed 14th).

Last Week's Winner: Congratulations to Terran Stewart!

This Week's Question:  Who was the last female CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

It was a fantastic first week as we worked to build the foundation for another successful season!  Thank you to everyone that showed up to the meeting on Friday.  If you were not able to make it please be sure to familiarize yourself with the information from our week 1 update below if you have not already.  Here are some reminders for the week as well as some upcoming dates to make note of.

• Athletes may give input for team captains (VOTING HAS CLOSED). You must be logged in using your school account.  The form will be closed by practice time on Thursday, so please have votes in before then.  

• A remind message was sent out the afternoon of March 3rd.  If you didn't receive the message you will want to make sure you're registered for our team Remind group.  Please text @cgtrack24 to 81010

• As discussed at the parent meeting, while practice is scheduled until 6pm some athletes do finish up earlier based on their event group.  There will always be a coach on site until 6pm.  Thank you for making sure your student athlete is picked up from the school so that coaches don't have to stay later than 6pm.

• A reminder for anyone interested in ordering apparel for the season that forms and money need to be turned in to Lena Twyman in the main office by Friday, March 8th.  If you prefer to pay with a card please call or see Mrs. Twyman to place your order.  A copy of the order form can be found using the quick link above.

• The last day of the trimester is March 14th.  Please remind student athletes to take care of business in the classroom.

• The last page of our team handbook (linked above) should be signed and turned in to Coach Knutson in order to compete at our first home meet on March 20th.  If you're new to track and field please be sure to read through the handbook as there is a lot of information that can help the first time athletes and families.  

• Team pictures will be on March 21st.  Information about ordering is in the quick links above.

• Our team potluck and squad competition night is on March 22nd following practice.  Team events outside of practice or meets are never required, although athletes usually don't want to miss events like this.  Last year this event concluded about 8pm.

• Reminder that we will have practice on Monday through Thursday of spring break from 9am to 11am.  No practice on Friday, March 29th.

• Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

Question:  Who was the last CGHS track and field athlete to WIN multiple state championships in the same event?

Thank you for all the support! GO LIONS!

Welcome to Cottage Grove Track and Field 2024

We are excited to get rolling with another season!  Last year was one of the best track and field seasons in school history and we can't wait to build on that success.  Our goal is to provide a positive experience while developing skills to become successful athletes, students and people.  Each year we have 80-100 student athletes with a wide range of experience and skills.  We do not cut any student athletes from the program and expect each athlete to show up every day ready to put in the work required to improve.  While many perceive track and field to be an individual sport, we place an enormous emphasis on the team aspect.  We are excited for what each individual will be bringing to our team this year!  Here is a bit of information that will get us started. 

Please be sure to share this information with other family members.  If you have additional questions after reading this please communicate with your student athlete first, and encourage them to talk with the coaches.  One of our goals is to help develop responsible young adults by promoting communication between coaches, athletes and parents.  By including the student athletes in this process it helps to develop responsibility, and also cuts down on excessive texts, phone calls, and emails.  Also, please feel free to have questions ready for the parent meeting on Friday, March 1st.

On our first day of practice athletes will be given hard copies of a few items, but we want to make sure and keep parents/guardians in the loop.  Below is some information as well as links to some resources that will help you through the season. 

1.  This website will be updated weekly on Sunday afternoons.  Thank you for bookmarking this site and making it a habit to check here for weekly updates!

2. We push out more time sensitive information using several methods in addition to the website, so please be sure to follow us where it is most convenient for you.

• Sign up for remind this year for text reminders and updates.  You can sign up by texting @cgtrack24 to 81010

• Facebook: CG Track and Field/Cross Country

• Instagram: cgtrackandfieldxc

3.   A link to a copy/printable version of our detailed schedule is here. TIMES/DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.  The most up to date schedule is always online at athletic.net (see #5 below). Please note the key at the bottom of the printable schedule as not all athletes will be competing at every meet. 

4.   There will be a parent meeting on Friday, March 1st at 6:15pm in the gym.  All spring sports will meet briefly and then we will have a track and field meeting.  Please make every effort to attend as we have some new information for this season.

5.   Athletic.net is the website that hosts all high school track and field meet results.  Sometimes meets have live results and other times they are posted shortly after the meet ends.

6.  Our team expectations are handed out to athletes on the first day of practice, but here is the link as well.  This document is loaded with information and includes a Q and A section.  Athletes are required to return the signed sheet before competing in the first meet.

7.  We will check out uniforms to each athlete for the season, but they also have the option to purchase additional apparel.  Order forms will be available for athletes to purchase personal apparel, but it is not required.  Money and the order forms should be returned to Lena Twyman in the main office by Friday, March 8th.  Forms may also be accessed and printed HERE.  After the deadline on March 8th, the items will be printed and shipped to the high school for pickup within 3-4 weeks. 

8.  There will be no practice on Friday, March 29th, but we will have practice on the first four days of spring break and practice time will be at 9am. Please see team expectations if you will not be able to attend. Any questions or concerns regarding this will be addressed at the parent meeting.

Important upcoming dates in addition to meets:

March 1st: Parent meeting at 6:15pm in the gym.

March 21st: Team pictures at 3:45pm (packets will be handed out at practice prior to this day).

March 22nd: Team potluck and Squad Competition following practice.

That should be a good start for now.  We're also looking forward to addressing any other questions or concerns at our parent meeting on the 1st.  Thank you for all you do to support the student athletes as well as the Cottage Grove Track and Field program.

Go Lions!

Ricky Knutson

Head Track and Field Coach

ricky.knutson@slane.k12.or.us

It has been 66 years since a Cottage Grove cross country athlete has been on top of the podium at the state championship.  On Saturday Carter followed in the footsteps of Dyrol Burleson by winning the state championship by over 40 seconds.  If you don't know who Dyrol Burleson is then you should pause here and do a quick Google search to learn more about the two time Olympian.  While it is often easy to write off successful athletes as just talented, that would be a huge disservice to the work that Carter has put in over the last few years.  Carter spent his first two seasons at CGHS learning from and chasing Jaden Owens, who is also one of the all time greats at CGHS.  After finishing in sixth place at the state cross country meet last fall, and third in the 3000m last spring at the state track and field championship, Carter took his training to another level.  His desire to improve and his commitment to doing the actual work it takes to get better has been what sets Carter apart from the rest.  While Carter may have crossed the finish line first at LCC on Saturday, the win was in the works during June, July, and August when Carter was adding up the miles.  Carter understands the importance of not only the running, but all of the ancillary things that make a big difference, such as strength and mobility work.  Even more impressive is that Carter managed to fit in all the training while also being an integral part of the soccer team and excelling in the classroom.  All of those miles resulted in a huge boost in confidence as he stepped up to the starting line in September, and the rest is history.  After nine races during the course of the season where a total of 822 athletes tried to get to the finish line first, Carter stood on top of the podium as a state champion!  Congratulations Carter, we're honored to have you represent our team, school, and community.

Boys Team Recap:  The boys team entered the state meet ranked #7 and they ended up taking 7th place, a one place improvement on the team finish last year.  While it is the first time the boys team has had a streak of three top 10 finishes at state since 1959 there was a definite feeling that the athletes wanted more.  This is a huge testament to the work that the athletes have put in and how far the bar has been raised in our program.  Most people outside of Cottage Grove did not expect to see the team back at state after having to replace six of the top seven guys on the varsity team, let alone upset Marist to win a district title.  It was a steep learning curve for the boys team as most of them experienced racing at the varsity level for the first time.  Carter, Frank and Easton have established the benchmark for what off season training should look like.  If the rest of the guys follow suit this summer then the team could look to contend for a state trophy next fall.  With some strong JV runners on our team this season and some passionate incoming freshmen next year, the varsity team is going to be a tough team to make next fall.  The 2023 season was a massive success in terms of gaining experience and taking a giant leap toward the future.  Congratulations to all the guys for a successful season!

Girls Team Recap:  The girls team entered the state meet ranked #6 and ended up placing 6th, just 10 points out of 4th place and a state trophy.  Although 6th place is a tie for the best finish in CG girls XC history, the girls had hoped for more when the season started.   The girls team faced some different challenges this season with only one girl athlete able to make it through all of the workouts this season without any significant modifications.  There were doubts at times that we would have a full squad on the starting line at the end of the season.  Despite a variety of health and medical obstacles the girls still managed to pull together a near perfect race at districts to upset Junction City for the district title, the FIRST GIRLS XC DISTRICT TITLE IN SCHOOL HISTORY!  Facing a couple of additional hiccups the week of the state meet the girls rallied to a 6th place finish.  The girls will return a veteran squad next season with three seniors that are not planning to leave the state meet empty handed in 2024.  The girls program will also be transitioning from not always fielding a full team on race day to a roster that will be challenging to make with the addition of several incoming freshmen next season.  Congratulations to the girls on another season for the history books!

Cottage Grove is one of four 4A schools that had both boys and girls programs finish in the top seven at the state meet.  These athletes have established a culture of hard work and high expectations for themselves and their teammates.  Congratulations to all athletes for making Cottage Grove one of the strongest 4A programs in the state. 

It couldn't have been scripted any better.  From the perfect racing weather to runners executing race plans with surgical precision, it was another historic day for the Lion harriers.  The Lions spent the last month honing their racing tactics on slower and more challenging courses, and they expected some big improvements on Thursday.  However, they also knew that fast times would come as a result of putting themselves in the best positions possible to help their team.  The district championship is all about place rather than time.

Carter is the District Champion:

Carter became the first individual district champion for the CG boys since Jimmy Talley notched a win in 2018.  While the first mile was right on pace for Carter it proved to be too much for the two runners that attempted to try and hang with him.  Carter maintained the grueling pace and powered to the win by over 50 seconds while also claiming a 1 second personal best.  We believe he may have also set a state record for fastest time from the finish line to the porta potty.  Next week Carter will race with the hopes of becoming the first Cottage Grove athlete to win a XC state title since Dyrol Burleson won the 1.8 mile version of the race in 1957.  

Girls Race Recap:

The girls entered the meet ranked #3 in the league behind North Bend and the defending champions from Junction City.  It would be a fight for the two state qualifying team spots.  After the first mile it looked like the race may play out according to form as the ladies trailed North Bend by six points and Junction City by 15 points.  However, the CG runners had paced the first mile exactly as planned and they had positioned themselves to move up.  Maddison waited for the perfect moment to break free of the chase pack, while Ella trailed the pack closely enough so that she would be ready to pick off runners as they dropped.  Maddison powered her way to a second place finish as Ella devoured the four person pack to steal third place.  Allison fought some stomach issues during the race, but still managed a strong hold on her position and finished with a 23 second season best.  Hailey trailed two key North Bend runners by roughly 20 meters at the halfway point, but less than a mile later she had her own 20 meter lead on them.  She built on that lead late in the race to earn a 28 second PR.  Jordynn raced spectacularly after facing some challenges with training during the season.  As she moved up seven places after the mile she clocked a seven second PR, but more impressive was that it was nearly two minutes faster than her best time this season.  After having to take one month off to problem solve an injury issue Bella courageously chose to put herself out there to help her team.  Late in the race she debated stepping off the course due to pain she was experiencing, but chose to continue knowing the score would be close and that a tie breaker would come down to the sixth runner.  Zoey jumped in to help after spending the season with the soccer team.  If something would have happened with our 5th and 6th runner Zoey's place would have been strong enough to still secure the team a state meet birth.  The end result was a four point upset victory over Junction City and the first district championship in school history for the girls cross country team!  

Girls Results:

Maddison France: 2nd place, 20:05, PR by 45 seconds

Ella Cardwell: 3rd place, 20:13, PR by 1 minute and 20 seconds

Allison Palluck: 9th place, 21:32, Season Best by 26 seconds

Hailey Fergason: 10th place, 21:45, PR by 28 seconds

Jordynn Owens: 14th place, 22:23, PR by 7 seconds and Season Best by 1 minute and 52 seconds

Bella Keating: 23rd place, 23:17, Remarkable time for coming back after one month and running with discomfort

Zoey Knutson: 24th place, Season Best by 6 seconds

Boys Race Recap:

After watching the girls execute a perfect race plan the boys were ready to match what their female counterparts had just accomplished. Let's not forget that the CG boys were the defending district champs to start the race, but they also replaced six of the seven guys in the "starting lineup" this season. Marist entered the race as the favorite on paper, but after racing Marist early in the season the CG boys knew they had a chance to secure a win.  Carter pulled the race out to a hot start, and several runners from other teams chose to get out fast as well.  At the mile things looked a little scary as Marist held a 20 point lead over CG.  However, the mile splits told a different story as most of the Lions had hit the mile at the perfect pace.  It was time to get to work.  As Carter continued to pull away from the field, David hung with the main chase pack and waited for the right moment to make is move.  Still dealing with some jet lag from a recent trip, David managed to fight off one Marist runner that tried to go with him and he secured the 4th place finish.  Easton and Frank worked together to dial in the first mile and then move up.  Easton managed to reel in nine athletes after the mile and secure a first team all-league 6th place finish and a 39 second PR.  Frank picked off six guys to grab 8th place with a 20 second PR.  Just slightly back in the pack Jackson and Lucas were working to do much of the same.  Jackson moved up five places in the last 1,000 meters while Lucas managed three spots.  In the end, Jackson had a lifetime best by 45 seconds and Lucas saw a nearly 40 second improvement.  Ethan was also busy at work passing five runners in the last 350 meters to secure a top 20 finish and an amazing personal best by nearly 80 seconds! The end result was a 15 point victory and a district championship for the CG boys; the first time in school history that the XC boys have gone back to back.

Boys Results:

Carter Bengtson: District Champion, 15:41, PR by 1 second and currently the #1 4A time in the state.

David Culbert: 4th place, 17:54, The goal was not a fast time, but to minimize risk and secure 4th. Mission accomplished.

Easton Hutchins: 6th place, 18:01, PR by 39 seconds

Frank Garcia: 8th place, PR by 20 seconds

Jackson Gifford: 12th place, PR by 45 seconds

Lucas O'Hara: 14th place, 18:43, PR by 39 seconds

Ethan McClean: 18th place, 19:33, PR by 78 seconds

JV Recap:

It was an amazing day for the JV runners as well!  The JV guys dominated the race by taking seven of the top nine spots, to make it the third team win for Cottage Grove on the day.  Micah and Hayes pulled away from the pack and Micah was able to get the win and break 20 minutes for the first time.  Almost every CG JV athlete ran a personal best with the exception of one athlete only being four seconds off of a PR.  We're hoping for a full girls JV team next season so we can attempt to sweep all four team titles.  Many asked why there were not awards for the JV runners.  Keep in mind that cross country is one of the few (if not only) high school sports where a JV event is held in conjunction with a varsity championship event. In most sports the JV season ends prior to a varsity district championship happening.  We're excited that our JV runners get to compete at the district championship with our varsity athletes, and that our JV athletes get to see what they can work toward next season.