Highland's Van Orden Sweeps Idaho 6A Hurdles Titles, Including US#12 300s; Potlatch's Burnette Throws US#16 Girls Shot Put; Mountain View Sweep 6A Team Titles

By Marlowe Hereford for DyeStat

INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Will Nelson

Photo of Sorelle Clark by Porter Teichert (above)

MERIDIAN, Idaho -- The all-time leader in both Idaho boys hurdles events added two more state titles to his name and lowered his all-time best in 300 hurdles Saturday at Mountain View High School.

Highland junior Spencer Van Orden, who earlier this season became the second Idaho boy on record to break 14 seconds in 110 hurdles and the first to break 37 seconds in the 300 hurdles, won Saturday's 6A 110 hurdles final in 13.60 and the 300 hurdles final in 36.51.

The owner of Idaho's all-time 110 record of 13.55, he remained undefeated in 110 hurdles with the win, and his only loss in 300 hurdles was a second-place finish at the Arcadia Invitational. He also ran on Highland's third-place 4x400 not long after his 300 hurdles final and placed third in the 100 meters in 10.78.

Van Orden said he was a bit hard on himself going into this weekend as expectations have risen.

"Everybody was watching me and I felt like I could feel all those eyes on me," Van Orden said. "So coming in, I was nervous, but as soon as I got to that line, I knew I just had to keep doing my thing and everything would be all right."

This season was historic for Idaho boys hurdlers. Prior to this spring, only 2022 Emmett graduate Landon Helms had broken 14 seconds in 110 hurdles. Now there are five: Van Orden, Tegon Lords of Nampa, Chase Lawyer of Boise and Emmett's Kenyon Carter.

No Idaho boy had ever broken 37 seconds in 300 hurdles prior to this season, either. Van Orden, Lords and Lawyer all accomplished that since April. 

"You never really would have expected what we just did, but here we are," Van Orden said. "It's been cool. I came into this year thinking I was gonna be alone after my Rigby friends graduated but then I check Instagram...holy crap, Tegon just broke 14. Holy crap, Chase just broke 14. Holy crap, Kenyon just broke 14. It was really like paradoxical."

Lords, who collided with the final hurdle in the 110 final, took second in the 300 hurdles in a personal best and No. 2 Idaho all-time 36.79. Earlier this season, he achieved a personal best 13.81 in 110 hurdles. He will continue his career at Idaho State.

"It's probably the best thing ever, especially competing against Chase and Spencer," Lords said of the history they shared this season. "I'd been training with Chase all winter."

Lawyer, a University of Idaho signee, achieved personal bests of 13.84 and 36.98 this season. He placed second in Saturday's 110 final in 13.93 and third in the 300 final in 38.00.

"I think this season, this really wouldn't have been possible without all three of us," Lawyer said. 

Another nationally ranked 6A athlete, Meridian senior Nate Stadtlander, closed out his high school career with a second consecutive 1,600 state title in 4:09.39 and a hard fought 800 win 1:52.92 in a final that was decided in the final 50 meters. He went undefeated in the 800 this spring.

The Oklahoma State signee entered the state meet with a personal best of 4:06.14 from Nike/Jesuit Twilight, which is No. 13 in the U.S. and No. 3 all-time in Idaho.

"I was a lot more nervous going into the eight than the 1,600. I was fresh during the 16 but definitely nervous. (Timberline senior) Nick (Janecko), he's a super great guy. Great kicker. So I was pretty nervous coming into this, but I think it was pretty good. I timed my kick right and then I got him by the line."

For the first time since 2018, the team champions of Idaho's largest classification were not the Rocky Mountain boys or Boise girls. Mountain View swept both 6A titles, claiming the boys' with 100 points and a tighter girls race with 93 points. The margin over second-place Rocky Mountain was two and a half points. 

The boys title is a program first for the Mavericks, while the girls title is the first since 2018.

Mountain View junior Quincy Keller contributed 40 points to the girls team title, winning the 6A 100 final in 11.84, 200 final in 24.45 and anchoring wins in the 4x100 (47.83) and 4x200 (1:40.38). She also ran an all-classification state meet record 23.97 in Friday's 200 prelims, which is No. 2 all-time.

"This entire season, that's been my goal so it was amazing to finally pull it off and do it," Keller said of breaking 24. "And the weather was probably better than it is today, so it was just a good opportunity and I'm super grateful."

Mountain View senior Madilyn McCarty won 6A girls discus with a mark of 128-1, junior Kami Clayton won the shot put (41-11.5) junior Lilja Walmsley placed third in the pole vault (11-6), junior Bree Cardon placed third in the triple jump (37-2.25), the 4x800 placed third in 9:24.12 and Keller's relay teammate, sophomore Talia Johnson, placed fifth in the 200 (25.88) and fourth in the 400 (58.57).

The Mountain View boys had an individual champion in senior Joseph Miraya, who won shot put with 58-5.50 to conclude an undefeated season in the event. He attained personal bests of 62-8 in shot put and 191-4 in discus, which put him top 25 in the U.S. earlier this season.

The Mavericks piled up points with freshman Behr Scott placing third in the 200 (21.86), senior Nathan Bunning placing fifth in the 400 (49.43), junior Austin Riley placing third in the 800 (1:55.40), junior Koda VanDahlen placing second in the 1,600 (4:13.15), senior Kellen Walbuck placing third in long jump (22-0.50).

The Mavericks swept the 6A boys and girls 4x100 and 4x200 titles, with the boys 4x100 winning in 41.64 and the 4x200 team of Cashton Gennette, Scott, Catcher Gennette and Jacob Allen winning in a new overall state meet record 1:26.34, which is No. 3 all-time on record in Idaho.

Rigby junior Brayden Maughan, who earlier this season broke an 18 year-old school record in discus with his personal best 180-3, claimed the 6A boys discus state title with a mark of 174-6. The final came down to the wire with Miraya, and Maughan's fifth attempt ended up being the winner.

"I was so happy. I was like, Yeah. Let's go," Maughan said.

Coeur d'Alene senior Max Cervi-Skinner won the 6A boys 3,200 final in 9:01.59. He said he has been battling lingering impacts of illness for several months, and injury prior to that.

"The past couple weeks have been the best I've felt all year," Cervi-Skinner said."I was very excited to see what I could do down here at state."

Rocky Mountain senior Emme Hamm won four 6A gold medals: the girls 1,600 in a personal best 4:49.65 to become the fifth Idaho girl to break 4:50; the 800 in 2:11.71; plus contributions to the winning 4x400 (3:58.50) and 4x800 (9:17.31).

In addition to Stadtlander, senior Paisley Taylor (girls 3,200 in 10:46.21), senior Hanmah Bingham (girls 400 in 56.49) and senior Carver Martin (boys long jump, 22-10.75) won gold medals for Meridian. 

Timberline's boys 4x800 won in 7:43.06, which is No. 2 all-time in Idaho. 

Rocky Mountain senior Paul Anderson became the latest Grizzly to clear 16-0 to win state pole vault. Anderson's teammate Timothy Price won triple jump (46-1).

Coeur d'Alene senior Kimberlee Priebe cleared 5-6 to win 6A girls high jump.

Eagle senior Makenzie Baisch swept 6A girls hurdles, winning the 100s in 14.60 and the 300s in 43.86, the latter of which is No. 10 all-time. 

Bishop Kelly won its fifth consecutive Class 5A boys track and field title and eighth in nine seasons, with 113 total points, a massive 56-point victory over runner-up Skyline. Moscow won the 5A girls title with a score of 95 points, a 16-point margin over runner-up Bishop Kelly, for its first girls track state championship since 1992 in the 3A classification.

Bishop Kelly swept the 5A boys and girls 1,600 titles, with senior Isaac Edwards winning the boys title in 4:19.38 and senior Zoey Stauffer winning the girls title in 5:09.58.

The Knights had champions in senior Reed Martin (boys discus, 163-0) and senior Owen Kane (long jump in 21-0.50, triple jump in 44-7.75). Additionally, Bishop Kelly placed in all four relays, including winning the boys 4x400 in 3:23.55 and winning the sprint medley in an overall state meet record 3:30, which is No. 3 all-time. 

Moscow's biggest point scorer was sophomore Mattea Nuhn, who won high jump (5-6), 100 hurdles (14.71) to conclude an undefeated season, 300 hurdles (44.96) and was part of the winning 4x100 (49.26) to bring her gold medal count to seven in two track seasons.

The Bears sent all four girls relay teams to state, and all four medaled. Their 4x200 team also won in 1:45.20. Junior Jessica Skinner had a pair of second-place finishes, in the 100 hurdles in 15.48 and long jump with 16-11.25.

Hillcrest senior Leah Pebley, who also cleared 5-6 in 5A high jump, took second place to Nuhn.

Like Van Orden, Emmett senior Kenyon Carter won multiple gold medals to conclude a historic season. He swept 5A boys hurdles titles with 14.11 in the 110 finals and 38.05 in the 300 finals and also anchored Emmett's winning 4x100 in 42.22 shortly before his 300 hurdles final. 

Carter is a second-year track athlete. He took up track and hurdles last year and has now won multiple state titles. He will continue his track career at College of Idaho, an NAIA school in nearby Caldwell. He attained personal bests of 13.98 and 37.50 at the BYU Invitational.

"It's honestly crazy," Carter said. "It's been a little bit repetitive going 1-2-3-4 against those guys, but it's been awesome. To go from lowest on the totem pole to essentially one of the highest is a surreal moment."

First-year track athlete, Skyline junior Zyan Crockett, won the 100 final in 10.95 after a false start sent everyone back to the starting line. He already owns Skyline's school record of 10.89 in his first season in the sport, and contributed 27 points to his team's state runner-up trophy.

"I really enjoy our bonding time as a team," Crockett said. "We always have fun."

Blackfoot freshman Owen Gregory made his state track debut with a bang, winning the 5A boys 800 title in the final 50 meters in a personal best 1:55.55 to stay undefeated in the event this season. He laid on his back in the infield after the win, expressing disbelief. 

"The race started off, I think I was sitting in eighth, 10th, somewhere around there," Gregory said. "I just had the grit and the determination that last 300 that we had to push through."

His teammates Lauren Christiansen, a junior, and Cambrie Waterhouse, a senior, also won individual titles. Christiansen won 5A girls triple jump (36-6) and Waterhouse won 5A girls shot put (39-2.50).

Idaho Falls junior Jaycee Jensen won Friday's 5A girls 3,200 final in a personal best 11:00.32, emerging victorious after going into a dead sprint  at the end with Century senior Hailey Jackson.

"I was nervous, but I was super excited to see how much I could improve from this past year," said Jensen, who ran four events this weekend. "It was an awesome race overall."

Sandpoint junior Jetta Thaete won 5A girls javelin, the newest state sanctioned track event in Idaho, with 138-10 to put her at No. 40 in the U.S. as of Saturday afternoon.

The 5A boys 3,200 was also close, with Century sophomore Ethan Hansen edging out Wood River senior Matt Wilde 9:32.46 to 9:32.67.

Lakeland sophomore Sapphire Ruelle won the 5A girls 100 in 12.57 and 200 in 25.79.

Burley senior Alex Rushton, who cleared 7-0 in the 5A District 4 championships a week prior to become the second Idaho boy to clear seven feet, cleared a state meet record 6-8 to win 5A boys high jump and conclude an undefeated season.

One of the top results from the 4A/3A/2A state meet at Middleton High School, and perhaps from the entire weekend, came from the 2A girls shot put final. Potlatch senior Kathryn Burnette unleashed a throw fo 47 feet, 4.75 inches to demolish the classification meet record, surge to No. 2 all-time on record in Idaho behind the 49-5.25 by Leadore's Hollie Tyler from 2001 and to No. 16 in the U.S. She won by more than nine feet over second-place finisher and fellow north Idaho thrower, Prairie junior Sage Elven.

Like Tyler, Burnette comes from one of Idaho's smallest schools and will be continuing her career at the Division I level. Tyler won Idaho's Gatorade Player of the Year for girls basketball and went to play basketball at Montana before a brief overseas career and Burnette will throw at Washington State.

"That was a big throw," Burnette said. "I had so much adrenaline before and after the throw and I'm just so grateful for the abiilty God gave me and that I was able to pursue it all the way."

This was Burnette's second consecutive undefeated season in shot put. Potlatch does not have its own track, and it has one concrete ring for throwers to share. Burnette describes herself as a 'total band kid' who gave track a try after being encouraged by her mom, Deanna Burnette, who was also a thrower.

"My mom is my coach so I'm super grateful for her," Burnette said. "I did not do sports at all until eighth grade. I originally did track to break her school record from her high school (36-6). My sophomore year, I threw 39. Safe to say I did that by a little bit."

Burnette led Idaho for much of the season in girls shot put and Elven led Idaho in girls discus for all classifications this season. Elven concluded an undefeated season in discus upon winning Friday's 2A girls discus title with a mark of 142 feet, her second mark of 140 feet or better this season. Elven won Friday by 20 feet.

"It's a totally different dynamic because we're all friends outside the ring," Burnette said of her fellow north Idaho throwers. "I'm really proud of (Elven), too. She's doing great this season."

Sugar-Salem had a huge second day to win the 4A boys track state title with a total of 94 points and Kimberly edged out Coeur d'Alene Charter by nine points to win the girls title with a total of 110 points. The latest title gives Sugar-Salem head coach Brett Hill 55 total state titles combined between cross country and track in coaching stops at Firth and Sugar and follows a sweep of the 4A cross country state titles six months ago.

The Diggers had one individual champion in junior Jack Larson, who cleared 6-4 to win high jump in a tie-breaking jump off.

His ability to jump was in question less than 24 hours before his final. Earlier in the week, he suffered a popped rib while playing at the 4A state golf championships in North Idaho. On Wednesday evening, he was awake and in pain. 

"I found a way to pop it back in," Larson said. "I went to a massage therapist before I came here just to help loosen up my muscle and then just took a bunch of Ibuprofen and just kind of sucked it up and jumped. I felt good today, though."

Sugar-Salem placed in the top three in all four relays and piled up points in jumping events.

American Falls swept 4A boys sprint titles, with senior Jose Torres winning the 100 (11.15) and 200 (22.16) and his teammate and fellow senior Austin Adair winning the 400 in a personal best 49.34. Torres, Adair, Jakub Sammons and Zakary Grigg won the 4x400 in 3:25.83.

Fruitland junior Kelvin Obot swept 4A boys throws, winning discus with 155-0 and shot put with 54-3.25. His teammate Ezekiel Van Hofwegen, a junior, won long jump with 23-6.50. Kimberly claimed 4A boys javelin, with senior Damon Taylor's winning throw of 148-1, pole vault with senior Nolan Klimes clearing 14-0 and the 1,600 with senior Ethan Poff's winning time of 4:24.21.

Cole Valley Christian won the 4A boys 4x100 and 4x200 in 42.41 and 1:28.85, respectively. 

Sporting iridescent sunglasses, Teton senior Zane Lindquist won the 4A boys 3,200 in 9:29.18 to become Teton's first boys distance event state champion since Thomas Knight won the 3A state 800 in 2014. 

Lindquist's teammate, sophomore Canon Kunz, won 110 hurdles in 15.40 while McCall-Donnelly senior Benjamin Walker won 300 hurdles in 39.82.

Sophomore Karlie Bair, a younger sister of multiple state champions Peyton, Jaxon and Gatlin Bair, transferred back to Kimberly from Burley this school year and scored 36 points for the Bulldogs in their state championship. She won the 4A girls 100 in 12.39, 200 in 25.47, placed second in long jump in a personal best 18-8 and anchored the second place 4x400 in 3:58.64.

The Bulldogs won the 4x200 in 1:44.58, placed third in the 4x100 and won the sprint medley relay in 1:47.82. Kimberly sophomore Reagan Stephenson won javelin (114-0) and junior Isabella Burnett won the 400 in 57.31.

Sugar-Salem freshman Sorelle Clark made a splash at her high school state track debut, winning 4A long jump with 19-5.25, which was a meet record, an eastern Idaho all-time best and No. 5 all-time in Idaho for all classifications.

"I was so happy," Clark said. "It was a shock."

Hill expressed amazement at what she has already accomplished in one season of track.

"She doesn't know how good she is yet," Hill said.

Clark's teammate, junior Tasha Larsen, cleared 5-4 to win 4A girls high jump.

Coeur d'Alene Charter swept girls distance events, with junior Annabelle Carr going 1-2 with teammate and fellow junior Helen Oyler in the 800 and 1,600, winning in 2:13.77 and 5:07.52, respectively, while Oyler won the 3,200 in a personal best 11:26.81. Their teammate Reagan Meine, a junior, swept the hurdles titles, winning 100 hurdles in a personal best 14.99 and 300 hurdles in a personal best 44.38. Carr and Meine contributed to Coeur d'Alene Charter's win in the 4x400 in 3:56.57, a meet record and the fastest time of the weekend for any classification.

Payette junior Olyvia Denison won 4A girls triple jump with a meet record and personal record 38-2. Bonners Ferry senior Helene Rae swept 4A girls throws, winning shot put  with a personal best 43-11.50 and discus with 123-6.

Nampa Christian won the 3A boys title with 126.5 points for its ninth boys track title in program history. Firth won the 3A girls team title with the highest two-day total of the weekend with 134 points to claim its fifth state championship in program history and its first girls track state championship since 2004.

Senior distance runner Kynzie Nielson, a multiple school record holder and Weber State signee, won her first individual state title upon winning the 1,600 in a personal best 5:15.86, placed second in the 3,200 in 11:31.61 and second in the 800 final in a personal best 2:15.99 and contributed to the 4x400's first state title win since 2022 in 4:08.07 with teammates Baylie Mecham, Allie Nielson and Baylee Johnson. 

Firth's 4x100 team of Adyson Park, Ellie Christensen, Ruby Hillman and Johnson also won in 50.22 and Park, Hilllman and Christensen teamed up with Olivia Christensen to win the 4x200 in 1:46.52.

Sophomore Madison Torgerson won 3A girls shot put with a mark of 37-6.50 and placed third in discus with 114-1, freshman Kennedy Waite placed third in triple jump (33-8) and freshman Paityn Messick cleared 9-6 to win pole vault. The Cougars also had three athletes score in javelin, led by senior Presley Messick's fifth place with a mark of 99-7.

Through day one, Firth was leading the team standings 36-19.5 over Ririe, and Torgerson said she and her teammates and coaches had prepared for their opportunity this weekend.

"We've had a lot of mental health meetings," said Torgerson, who opted to return to track this season after playing softball last year. "For our practices, we take 30 minutes out of each day to just talk about it, talk about what we need to do to prepare. Half of it's mental."

All six medalists in the 3A girls 3,200 final were from eastern Idaho. Ririe junior Lucy Boone, who last year won the 2A girls 3,200 final, won the 3A final this year against most of the same competition, finishing in a personal best 11:29.63. 

"I think it's better to go in as the underdog," Boone said. "Not as many people are looking at you and there's less nerves there."

She and Nielson congratulated each other after the race. Nielson, who finished second, had briefly led before Boone retook the lead at the bell lap.

"I've been running with her since we were in sixth grade," Nielson said. "I'm happy for her. You make friends when you're racing."

Nampa Christian sophomore Avery Reece won four gold medals, claiming the 3A girls 100 and 200 titles in 12.44 and 25.39, respectively, the 100 hurdles in 15.57 and long jump in 17-6.50. Parma senior Megan Atkinson won the 3A girls 400 in a personal best 58.79 and 800 in a personal best 2:15.99 in a photo finish over Nielson.

The Nampa Christian boys got titles from junior Ian Johnson (400 in personal best 49.03, 300 hurdles in personal best 38.81), the 4x100 (43.50), 4x200 (1:29.49) and 4x400 (3:24.49). Johnson was also member of the 4x200 and 4x400.

North Fremont senior Corbin Johnston, a Utah State signee, won a third consecutive 3,200 state title in a personal best 9:18.97, third consecutive 1,600 state title in 4:20.21, helped North Fremont to a third consecutive sprint medley relay win in 3:33.95 and placed second in the 800 in a personal best 1:55.47. His previous titles were in 2A.

"It's super fun to be able to share these moments with each other," Johnston said of his teammates, several of whom also run cross country with him. "They're great guys. I love to run with them."

One of Johnston's fellow seniors, Roy Winn, cleared a personal best 6-4 to win 3A boys high jump. He, too, spoke to the bond he shares with his teammates who have won program first state trophies for North Fremont over the last four years.

"It's been very special," he said. "Everyone just supports each other so well."

Parma senior Chase Klahr repeated as state champion in 3A boys throws, winning discus with 168-6 and 54-0.75. 

St. Maries senior Julien Ceja-Grimaldo won 3A javelin with a distance of 170-6 and triple jump with 44-9.50.

Soda Springs senior Degan Stoor won a second consecutive state 110 hurdles title, this time in 3A in 15.07.

Declo senior Gavin Rasmussen won the 3A boys 100 in 11.26, the 200 in 22.92. 

Logos swept 2A track state titles, winning the boys with a two-day total of 150 points and the girls with 112 points. This makes two state championships in a row for the Logos girls, and gives Logos its first sweep since 2015.

Logos went 1-2 in the 2A boys 800 final, with senior Seamus Wilson winning in 1:58.99 just ahead of teammate John Henry Crapuchettes' 1:59, both personal bests. Crapuchettes won the 1,600 in 4:32.54 and the 3,200 in 9:46.80. Their teammate, senior Ryan Daniels, swept hurdles with a 110-meter victory in 15.33 and the 300 hurdles in 40.29. Logos won the boys 4x400 in 3:29.06 and sprint medley relay in 3:38.38, the latter of which included Wilson and Crapuchettes. Additionally, senior Thomas Bowen won shot put with 50-7.50 and discus with 158-6.

Prairie senior Dylan Uhlenkott swept 2A boys sprint titles, winning the 100 in 11.15, the 200 in 22.55 and the 400 in 48.82 and anchored the winning 4x100 in 43.80. Prairie also won a second consecutive title in the 4x200 in 1:32.65.

Logos senior Naomi Taylor swept the 2A girls sprints, winning the 100 in 12.61, the 200 in 25.36 and leading a 1-2 with teammate Chloe Jankovic to win the 400 in 58.13, all personal bests. Taylor was also on the winning 4x200 team (1:47.70) and Jankovic was on the winning 4x400 (4:03.86) and sprint medley relay (1:50.93). Jankovic also won the 800 in a personal best 2:17.79.

Challis sophomore Lilly Stebbins won a second consecutive title in girls high jump, this time in 2A upon clearing 5-4 to conclude an undefeated season in the event and also a second consecutive 300 hurdles title in 46.64. A three-sport athlete and last summer's 15-16 age division champion at the USATF Junior Olympic Nationals, Stebbins sustained an ankle injury during volleyball season and has competed with a heavily taped ankle all spring. Her personal best is 5-8 from last season, and she attempted 5-6 on Friday but could not quite clear it.

As was true for last year's state meet, Stebbins began her approach all the way back to underneath the uprights on the east side of Middleton's infield.

"Focus on your technique because your jumps aren't going to be as powerful because of your ankle," Stebbins said of her mentality this season. "I had about a 58, 59 foot approach today."

Valley senior Lexi Huettig, a University of Idaho signee, concluded a storied high school career by breaking her own meet records in the pole vault (11-8) and triple jump (38-0) and breaking her team's meet record in the 4x100 with 50.31. She also won long jump (18-0.75) to conclude her prep career with 11 state track gold medals.

Team champions

6A boys: Mountain View 100 - RESULTS

6A girls: Mountain View 93 - RESULTS

5A boys: Bishop Kelly 113 - RESULTS

5A girls: Moscow 95 - RESULTS

4A boys: Sugar-Salem 94 - RESULTS

4A girls : Kimberly 110 - RESULTS

3A boys: Nampa Christian 126.5 - RESULTS

3A girls: Firth 134 - RESULTS

2A boys: Logos 150 - RESULTS

2A girls: Logos 112 - RESULTS