Ida B. Wells wins 4x400 relay, plus roundups from other local Portland squads

EUGENE – The time finally arrived. The girls' 4x400 relay was set to begin, marking the conclusion to another Oregon high school track and field season. There may have been two heats and 17 total teams, but most of it was background noise, a requisite standard.

Everybody knew it was coming down to the PIL.

And it did, with the teams from Ida B. Wells, Lincoln and Grant, in that order, sweeping the event. The same exact result occurred at the PIL district championships.

For the Guardians, Millie Grabenhorst, Samantha Moylan, Tilda Hathaway and Zora Li Budd Baker finished first in 3 minutes, 53.96 seconds, followed by the Cardinals' group of Rosie Gross, Matilda Hof, Kelsey Hill and Ellery Lincoln in second at 3:56.35. Nailani Solomon, Parker Hetherington, Rosemary Sheerin and Riley Dotten made up Grant's team, crossing in 3:56.53 for third.

"We came in wanting to win," Hathaway said. "We were seeded first, so just being able to come out and execute, I think we're really excited."

The Guardians led throughout most of the race, firmly ahead through 800- and 1,200 meters. Budd Baker dropped a 57.53-second anchor split, staving off a screaming 55.98-second bell lap by Oregon commit and distance standout in Ellery Lincoln.

“I think we all have different (skills) that we can just really combine," Moylan said. "Zora is our main 400-meter runner, so she’s an amazing anchor. Tilda has the best kick ever, so she’s perfect. And then Millie, she’s our bravest runner and (starts) it off for us.”

After the race, the three PIL relay teams eventually convened and offered congratulations. Once they stopped off the podium, Ellery Lincoln beckoned a certain reporter to enshrine the moment with a group photo. The competition is real, and it seems the respect is just as well.

“It feels really good (to be the top PIL finishing team), but they’re all so sweet and so talented," Hathaway said. "Being able to run against such talented people at districts sets it up good for state and allows us to be prepared.”

Besides the relay, all four Guardians saw individual action across the state championships. Grabenhorst, a sophomore, was 0.27 seconds from reaching the 800-meter final, posting a time of 2:18.47 in the prelims. Fellow sophomore Moylan jumped 16 feet, 7 inches in the long jump, finishing 11th.

Budd Baker, a freshman, blazed her way to a personal best of 55.67 seconds in the 400 meters to finish second. Hathaway, meanwhile, finished third and fifth in the 100- and 200 meters, respectively, clocking in at 12.00 and 24.68. The two also made the podium for the 4x100 relay, joined by Addison Prather and Holly Clark, as the quartet ran 48.03 for fifth place.

On the boys side, senior Otto Sellers was a lone wolf, as the only Guardian to compete in a final and make the podium. He finished 11th in the 1500 meters in 3:59.66 on Saturday, but his moment in the sun came Friday morning in the 3000 meters, crossing in 8:32.32 for eighth place.

FRANKLIN

Senior Elliot Platt produced the Lightning's best performance by far, setting a new personal best of 14.54 to finish second in the boys 110-meter hurdles. It's a bit unfortunate, then, that the moment was relatively bittersweet for the senior.

One should not dwell in hypotheticals, but for Platt it's admittedly difficult. His season was plagued by injury. A strained calf suffered at the end of his indoor season led to Achilles tendinitis that lingered all spring.

Improving by just under three seconds between his sophomore and junior seasons, and ultimately improving by 0.32 seconds between his junior and senior campaigns, it's pretty easy to see why Platt was left wanting a tad more.

"I've been able to push through it somewhat and still train," Platt said. "I'm definitely happy – it's just that I know what could've been if (my injury) hadn't happened."

Fortunately, Platt's hurdle career is far from over. He'll be continuing his journey at Colorado School of Mines.

"They have a really good group of hurdlers, so I'm really excited for that," he said.

Besides Platt, three others made the podium for Franklin. Felix Snyder finished seventh in the boys 3000 meters in 8:31.15, while Alison Fajardo ran a personal best of 10:04.43 in the girls 3000 meters to finish eighth. In the girls high jump, Paloma Shrall cleared 5 feet, 3 inches to finish fifth.

DAVID DOUGLAS

The Scots had three athletes appear across finals at the state championships, headlined by junior Ariya Abdullah, who finished third and second in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, respectively, boasting times of 14.67 and 43.49.

In the girls discus, sophomore Beatrice Dormezil finished fourth thanks to a toss of 120-11. Faysal Ibrahim, meanwhile, finished 15th in the boys 1500 meters at 4:03.95.

JEFFERSON

It was a two-man show at the state championships for the Demos. Seniors Eric EJ Cozart Jr. and Qai Gresham finished first and second in the triple jump, with Cozart Jr. leaping a ridiculous 47-09.25, while Gresham's mark of 45-10.75 was over seven inches farther than third place.

Cozart Jr. added a sixth-place finish in the long jump, stretching out to 22-06.50.

Cozart won the 2025 boys long jump title, ending his career with two golds before he heads off to compete for Division I North Carolina Central in track and field.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC

Senior Joseph Donnelly, a Boise State commit, and junior Kaiji Allerman were the only Rams to compete in finals at the state championships. Donnelly took second in the long jump with a mark of 23-05.25, while Allerman finished 11th in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:51.31.

Jordan Dillard had the top prelim time in the boys 110 and 300 hurdles, but didn't finish in the 110 race and didn't compete in the 300 later in the meet.

CLEVELAND

Senior Milo Swinth ended his prep career with a new PB in the boys shot put at 57-1.5 placing him second in the event at state.

Swinth also competed in the discus where his top mark was 152-10, placing him in fifth.

Senior Noah Malmon also made state in the boys triple jump despite a recent leg injury. He was able to leap 43-5.25 to take ninth in the event.

ST. MARY'S ACADEMY

Sophomore Thea Young had a day in the 6A girls high jump, clearing 5-3 to get herself into third place in the state event.

Fellow sophomore Titi Paternoster took 10th in the 1500 with a time of 4:44.80 while senior Adelaide Nelson took 11th in the 3000 at 10:14.45.

Freshman Lorelei Kelly competed in the long jump, taking 14th with a mark of 15-10.25.