Grant Union track and field champion signs to WOU

Published 10:52 am Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Grant Union senior Kaylee Wright of John Day signed a letter of intent to run and throw for Western Oregon University’s track and field team in Monmouth this fall.

Wright was surrounded by family and Grant Union athletic director and head track and field coach Sonna Smith as she signed the letter on Dec. 22.

“I’ve always wanted to go to college and do a sport,” Wright said. “I want to go for a criminal justice degree, and they have the best program in Oregon.”

As a junior, Wright won three titles at the girls track and field state championships in Eugene, helping her team earn second place.

Wright shattered the previous state javelin record, which she set as a freshman, with a throw of 138-6.5, which was a personal record. She also won the high jump (5-3) and 100-meter dash (12.75). The Grant Union girls team placed first at state in 2017.

She competed at the Down Under Sports Track and Field Championships in the summer of 2017 in Queensland, Australia. There she had a fifth-place finish in the women’s 16-17 division (500g) javelin throw with a mark of 38.83 meters (127-40 feet).

Wright was also a member of the Grant Union volleyball team, which placed first in state in 2017 and second in 2018, and plays for the Grant Union basketball team, which earned fourth in state last season.

Wright is the daughter of Kelsy Wright, who is an assistant track and field coach for Grant Union specializing in javelin, and Raelynn Cearns.