The Grant Union boys track team and coaches pose with the 2A Special District 5 championship trophy on Friday, May 13, 2022.

ATHENA — The Grant Union track team is sending 11 competitors to the state track meet following a strong showing at the 2A Special District 5 track meet at Weston-McEwen Track in Athena on Friday, May 13.

The Prospector boys finished with 124 points to win the district championship, edging out host Weston-McEwen, which finished second with 122 team points.

Weston-McEwen and Echo/Stanfield finished in a tie for the girls district championship with 112 points. Grant Union finished third with 89.5 team points. Pilot Rock and Heppner were right on the heels of the Grant Union girls, finishing fourth and fifth with 87 and 86 team points, respectively.

The Grant Union boys will send eight competitors to the state meet, led by seniors Justin Hodge and Luke Jackson, who will compete in three events each. Hodge picked up district championships in the 100 meter dash, javelin and 4×100 relay. Jackson won district championships in the 200 meter dash and 4×100 relay and was the runner-up in the 400 meter race. 4×100 relay teammates Cashton Wheeler and Mason Morris will join Hodge and Jackson in defending Grant Union’s 4×100 2021 state championship at the state meet.

Morris also qualified for the state meet in the long jump, placing second at district in the event. Also punching a ticket to the state track meet for the Pros was Quinn Larson, who placed second in the pole vault. Grant Union’s lone “wild card” qualifier — reserved for selections outside top-two finishers — was Riddick Hutchison, who qualified for the meet following a third-place finish in the javelin. Andrew Hunt and Brady Dole will make the trip to state as alternates for the 4×100 relay team.

The Lady Pros qualified three for state, all in field events. All three were district runners-up, with Morgan Walker placing second in discus, Katelyn Hughes second in javelin and Morgan Randleas second in the long jump.

Grant Union head track coach Sonna Smith said the first-place boys finish came about due to her team stepping up following the loss of a score in one of the field events. “It was crucial that everybody left in the meet tried to move up as much as they could, so I was really impressed with their effort.”

Smith said the girls outperformed her expectations. “I thought we were going to come in fifth and we came in third,” she said. “Third, fourth and fifth were all really close together. There was a spread of three and a half points between all those places.”

Smith feels her team’s best chances to place at state lie with the 4×100 relay team and individual events that the relay team’s members will compete in.

“Our 4×100 relay team is seeded second, so they have a very good chance of placing,” she said. “Justin Hodge and Luke Jackson, who are also on the relay team, have an excellent chance of placing in the 100, 200 and 400. And then Mason Morris has an excellent chance of placing in long jump.”

The team now gears up to head to the 2A State Track Meet at the University of Oregon’s renowned Hayward Field in Eugene on Thursday, May 19, through Saturday, May 21. Field events start at 10 a.m., and track events start at 12:30 p.m.