EUGENE – Experience served as the focal point of the La Grande High School track and field teams state focus.

“It was a great meet for the kids,” Tigers head coach Duane Smiley said. “It’s something the kids can use for next season. We’re young, and we’re going to be back.”

Nur Sofe returned to the state field, poised to improve his sophomore year.

Sofe competed in the finals of three events – 110- , 300-meter hurdles and the 4×100-meter relay.

He turned in the third fastest preliminary time in the 300 hurdles, a 40.46. Sofe finished fifth with a 41.14 mark.

In the 110 hurdles, Sofe finished a tenth of a second out of fourth place with a 15.81 finish.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” Smiley said. “He’s off to a really good start to his high school career.”

One goal the Tigers set prior to the state meet was to have a relay team in the finals.

La Grande accomplished that task when the 4×100-meter relay team finished with a 44.67 mark in the preliminaries.

The Tigers entered the finals seeded sixth – in a tie with Henley.

In the finals, Sofe, Wesley Burgess, Dylan-Whitelock-Wolff and Ryder Wilmarth earned two points with a seventh-place finish (44.95).

La Grande’s other top-five finish came from sophomore Jacob Johnson.

Johnson finished fifth in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 3 inches.

“(Jacob) has had a great year,” Smiley said. “He nearly made it past his mark, but he caught the bar with his body. He’s been very consistent, and I look forward to seeing what he can do next season.”

Teammate Brandon Powell finished an inch back in sixth-place – clearing 6 feet, 2 inches.

Junior Cody Laurence didn’t earn any points, but he didn’t leave the meet without a sense of accomplishment.

Laurence finished 10th in the javelin with a throw of 158 feet, 2 inches.

But the bright spot came with a personal record – by nine feet.

“It’s a great way to end the season for him,” Smiley said. “That gives (Cody) a great place to start next year.”

Shelby Miller paced the girls with two top-10 finishes.

The sophomore scored the only points for the Tigers in the 1,500-meter run. Miller finished seventh with a 4:59.66 time.

She placed ninth in the 800-meter run with a 2:25.80 mark.

“All in all we had a great three days down in Eugene,” Smiley said. “The kids that competed showed a great deal of potential. It was a big meet, and they all preformed well.”

One integral piece will be missing from the La Grande team next season.

Assistant coach Joe Brogdon will be retiring this year, and will end his tenured coaching career.

Brogdon coached for eight years at rival Baker City High School. He then coached at La Grande for the next 26 years.

“We’re going to miss him,” Smiley said. “He does so much for this team. It’s great for him to have more time off, but it’s a big loss for this program.”

Boys state placers

100-meter dash – 1. Cory McCaffrey, Sisters, 11.02; 2. Kevin Carpenter, Scappoose, 11.10; 3. Matt Anthony, Ontario, 11.14; 4. Darrell Fields, Gladstone, 11.17; 5. Larry Ragsdale, Illinois Valley, 11.22; 6. Joe Christie, Rogue River, 11.35; 7. Matt Cutone, Banks, 11.55. 200-meter dash – 1. Kevin Carpenter, Scappoose, 22.31; 2. Matt Anthony, Ontario, 22.51; 3. Dustin Remesnik, Cascade, 22.63; 4. Chance Rice, Scappoose, 22.82; 5. Eric Phillips, Central, 22.89; 6. Darrell Fields, Gladstone, 23.04; 7. Jeff Bedbury, Marist, 23.12. 400-meter dash – 1. Danny Staats, Henley, 49.01; 2. Casey Smith, McLoughlin, 49.77; 3. Elliott Jantzer, Phoenix, 49.79; 4. Land Florek, Sweet Home, 50.21; 5. Max Gruettner, Sisters, 50.83; 6. Trent Amerson, Yamhill-Carlton, 51.56; 7. Kenny Scherr, Estacada, 51.57. 800-meter run – 1. Cole Watson, Rogue River, 1:54.71; 2. Ryan Soberanis, La Salle, 1:56.01; 3. Jared Graham, Scappoose, 1:56.17; 4. Matt Hollander, Marist, 1:57.00; 5. Robert Callagan, Sweet Home, 1:57.14; 6. Connor Kasler, Hidden Valley, 1:57.40; 7. Jared Christian, Marist, 1:58.25. 1,500-meter run – 1. Elliott Jantzer, Phoenix, 3:58.53; 2. Travis Stevens, Siuslaw, 4:00.96; 3. Matt Hollander, Marist, 4:01.69; 4. Trevor Berrian, North Bend, 4:02.27; 5. Spenser Lynass, North Bend, 4:04.73; 6. Cole Watson, Rogue River, 4:05.04; 7. Jed Tolbert, Henley, 4:06.40. 3000-meter run – 1. Elliot Jantzer, Phoenix, 8:40.47; 2. Spenser Lynass, North Bend, 8:53.92; 3. Travis Stevens, Siuslaw, 8:56.47; 4. Kyle Jackson, Marist, 9:06.44; 5. Miguel Velez, Tillamook, 9:08.62; 6. Brad Prettyman, Estacada, 9:15.80; 7. Kian Flynn, Taft, 9:17.58. 110 Meter Hurdles – 1. Dom Walker, Seaside, 14.91; 2. Dakotah Keys, Sweet Home, 15.00; 3. Aaron Nelson, Pleasant Hill, 15.44; 4. Joe Cullen, Henley, 15.80; 5. Nur Sofe, La Grande, 15.81; 6. Derek Woodland, Henley, 15.86; 7. Travis Berrian, North Bend, 16.11; 8. Justin Lundgren, Gladstone, 16.19. 300-meter hurdles – 1. Larry Ragsdale, Illinois Valley, 38.49; 2. Dakotah Keys, Sweet Home, 39.44; 3. Aaron Nelson, Pleasant Hill, 39.92; 4. Justin Lundgren, Gladstone, 41.09; 5. Nur Sofe, La Grande, 41.14; 6. Britton Anderson, Cottage Grove, 41.66; 7. Cody Best, Estacada, 41.80. 4×100-meter relay – 1. Central (Ricky Cedillo, Ty Phillips, Steven Pond, Eric Phillips), 43.65; 2. Sweet Home (Alex Santana, Brandon Elliott, Sam Macklin, Land Florek), 43.74; 3. Cascade (Dustin Remesnik, Dakota Brown, Robbie Federico, R.J. Williams), 44.28; 4. Estacada (Daniel Jury, Jake Hyde, Cody Best, Kenny Scherr), 44.45; 5. Henley (Casey Evans, Derek Woodland, Jordan Brewster, Danny Staats), 44.47; 6. North Valley (Brady Brummett, Cody Nicholas, Chris Campbell, Ray Kaupel), 44.50; 7. La Grande (Ryder Willmarth, Nur Sofe, Wesley Burgess, Dylan Whitelock-Wolff), 44.95. 4×400-meter relay – 1. Sisters (Max Gruettner, Lee Elder, Jared Henderson, Cory McCaffrey), 3:24.31; 2. Illinois Valley (Nathan Green, Moises Mendoza, Doug Hoskins, Larry Ragsdale), 3:25.70; 3. Marist (Drew Gillespie, Michael Bellamy, Matt Hollander, Jeff Bedbury), 3:26.09; 4. Sweet Home (Robert Callagan, Ramiro Santana, Alex Santana, Land Florek), 3:26.99; 5. Phoenix (Dennis Ghrist, Conrad Hulen, Graham Thirkill, Elliott Jantzer), 3:28.42; 6. Tillamook (Jason Wetzel, Noah Boring, Daniel Werner, Miguel Nieves 12), 3:28.98; 7. Cascade (RJ Williams, Joey Gilliland, Tyrell Williams, Dustin Remesnik), 3:29.02. Long jump – 1. Dakotah Keys, Sweet Home, 23-04.50; 2. Cory McCaffrey, Sisters, 22-05; 3. Brian Schaudt, Philomath, 22-01; 4. Lane Seals, North Bend, 21-09.50; 5. Saxon Gotfried, Hidden Valley, 21-06.25; 6. Jake Hyde, Estacada, J21-06.25; 7. Joe Christie, Rogue River, J21-06.25. Shot put -1. Elliot Adams, North Bend, 51-09.75; 2. Eric Whalen, La Salle, 50-06.50; 3. Marcus Cuellar, Central, 50-03.25; 4. Paul Gutzman, North Valley, 50-00; 5. Trenton Hartsell, Stayton, 49-07; 6. Shaun Culp, Cottage Grove, J49-07; 7. Marc Callagan, Sweet Home, 47-07.75. Pole vault – 1. Lane Davison, North Bend, 16-00; 2. Austin Ouderkirk, Newport, 15-06; 3. Nick Schatz, Philomath, 14-06; 4. Kyle Botnen, Brookings-Harbor, 14-03; 5. Connor Streed, La Salle, 14-00; 6. Tim O’Brien, Gladstone, 13-09; 7. Reade Griebel, La Pine, J13-09. Javelin – 1. Eric Whalen, La Salle, 192-08; 2. Dakotah Keys, Sweet Home, 185-07; 3. Trevor Lundsten, Banks, 179-02; 4. Cody Reavis, Siuslaw, 173-01; 5. Ty Slater, La Pine, 169-04; 6. Zachary Smith, Phoenix, 168-08; 7. Jake Day, Estacada, 166-08. High jump – 1. Danny Staats, Henley, 6-09; 2. Chris Meyer, Astoria, 6-07; 3. Dom Walker, Seaside, 6-04; 4. Kevin Godfrey, Douglas, 6-03; 5. Jacob Johnson, La Grande, J6-03; 6. Klint Pippert, North Marion, 6-02; 6. Brandon Powell, La Grande, 6-02. Triple jump – 1. Brian Schaudt, Philomath, 48-09; 2. Lane Seals, North Bend, 46-00.25; 3. Steven Pond, Central, 42-09.25; 4. Matt Stewart, McLoughlin, 41-09; 5. Mason Keck, Siuslaw, 41-08.75; 6. Justin Lundgren, Gladstone, 41-04.75; 7. Jake Hyde, Estacada, 41-02. Discus – 1. Eric Whalen, La Salle, 159-05; 2. Charles Siddoway, Marist, 150-00; 3. Robert Parsons, Illinois Valley, 143-04; 4. Levi Cooper, North Marion, 142-06; 5. Elliot Adams, North Bend, 138-01; 6. Ty Slater, La Pine, 135-10; 7. Michael Ruppert, Douglas, 133-08.

Girls state placers

100-meter dash – 1. Braidy Bates, Pleasant Hill, 12.24; 2. Jessica Rodolf, Junction City, 12.43; 3. Maria Kropf, Sweet Home, 12.52; 4. Ashley Taylor, Cascade, 12.75; 5. Charlene Harber, Astoria, 12.91; 6. Brandi Miller, North Valley, 12.95; 7. Denali Cox, Ontario, 13.10. 200-meter dash – 1. Jessica Rodolf, Junction City, 25.55; 2. Laura Schmitt, La Salle, 25.61; 3. Braidy Bates, Pleasant Hill, 25.82; 4. Tahne Apo, Marist, 26.44; 5. Courtney Satko, Sisters, 26.49; 6. Denali Cox, Ontario, 27.54; 7. Ellie Pohl, Henley, 27.56. 400-meter dash – 1. Laura Schmitt, La Salle, 57.39; 2. Angelyn Salyer, Molalla, 1:00.06; 3. Barry McLaren, Philomath, 1:00.28; 4. Elena Collins, Marist, 1:00.36; 5. Mackenzie Williams, Sisters, 1:00.65; 6. Stephanie North, Henley, 1:00.74; 7. Emily Childers, McLoughlin, 1:01.06. 800-meter run – 1. Katie Waugh, Henley, 2:17.74; 2. Kailee Poetsch, Henley, 2:18.65; 3. Ashley Mayfield, Seaside, 2:18.96; 4. Maria Ramirez, La Pine, 2:20.15; 5. Allie Sibole, Marist, 2:21.72; 6. Jessianne Heley, North Bend, 2:23.84; 7. Emily James, Douglas, 2:25.10. 1,500-meter run – 1. Taylor Wallace, Henley, 4:33.79; 2. Mikayla Bradbury, Molalla, 4:47.26; 3. Maria Ramirez, La Pine, 4:52.39; 4. Raelyn Robinson, Siuslaw, 4:53.98; 5. Ashley Mayfield, Seaside, 4:57.27; 6. Jessianne Heley, North Bend, 4:59.26; 7. Shelby Miller, La Grande, 4:59.66. 3000-meter run – 1. Taylor Wallace, Henley, 9:58.30; 2. Mikayla Bradbury, Molalla, 10:21.45; 3. Ally Manley, Brookings-Harbor, 10:34.51; 4. Raelyn Robinson, Siuslaw, 10:37.03; 5. Patricia Guterrez, Cottage Grove, 10:51.99; 6. Jenny Elder, Scappoose, 10:53.22; 7. Maddie Morton, La Salle, 10:59.03.100-meter hurdles – 1. Alisha Buss, Stayton, 15.13; 2. Katie Sterling, Pleasant Hill, 15.22; 3. Kate Wilkins, Marist, 15.25; 4. Tera Prosser, Yamhill-Carlton, 15.76; 5. Brandi Miller, North Valley, 16.15; 6. Taylor Vandehey, North Valley, 16.70; 7. Cela Sibley, Seaside, 16.94; 8. Michelle Dubenko, North Marion, 18.35. 300-meter hurdles – 1. Kate Wilkins, Marist, 46.14; 2. Taylor Vandehey, North Valley, 46.36; 3. Hannah Steffey, Molalla, 47.00; 4. Alisha Buss, Stayton, 47.58; 5. Tera Prosser, Yamhill-Carlton, 47.76; 6. Kristina Hossley, North Bend, 47.85; 7. Jamie Richardson, Hidden Valley, 49.52. 4×100-meter relay – 1. Cottage Grove (Blair Wilkinson 12, Madison McClung 10, Brittan Hemenway 10, Alex Lewis 12), 49.52; 2. Hidden Valley (Mary Bailey 11, Ashley Seal 12, Alie Rodgers 9, Denise Powell 12), 50.29; 3. Henley (Ellie Pohl 10, Kailee Poetsch 10, Katie Waugh 11, Stephanie North 12), 50.38; 4. Marist (Christine Hinds 10, Elena Collins 12, Kate Wilkins 12, Tahne Apo 11), 50.39; 5. Cascade (Sascha Tudela 10, Brittany Roberts 10, Merran Pearson 12, Ashley Taylor 11), 50.79; 6. Molalla (Angelyn Salyer 12, Katie Olson 12, Erica Filipetti 12, Rachel Botsford 9), 51.39; 7. Baker (Hannah Prince 10, Rachael Livingston 12, Kayla Mercado 12, Whitney Phillips 10), 52.30; 8. South Umpqua (Megan Moreau 12, Chelsea Langston 10, Stephanie Collins 11, Jenny Stevenson 10), 52.79. 4×400-meter relay – 1. Henley (Kailee Poetsch 10, Stephanie North 12, Katie Waugh 11, Taylor Wallace 11), 3:56.83; 2. Marist (Meghan Manwill 9, Allie Sibole 10, Tahne Apo, Elena Collins 12), 3:58.81; 3. Molalla (Hannah Steffey 11, Mikayla Bradbury 12, Mary Botsford 9, Angelyn Salyer 12), 4:01.30; 4. Sisters (Mackenzie Williams 12, Jessica Head 10, Brandi Palmer 12, Courtney Satko 10), 4:03.02; 5. North Valley (Brandi Miller 12, Shyana Swanson 12, Trisha Durham, Taylor Vandehey 11), 4:08.42; 6. Philomath (Audrey Hendricks 12, Taylor Patterson 10, Rylee Marshall 9, Barry McLaren 10), 4:08.75; 7. Newport (Karryn Kimball 11, Samantha Moore 9, Ericka Hicks 12, Brittany Chestnut 11), 4:09.64. Long jump – 1. Jessica Rodolf, Junction City, 18-00.50; 2. Charlene Harber, Astoria, 17-10; 3. Maria Kropf, Sweet Home, 17-01.75; 4. Ashley Seal, Hidden Valley, 17-00.50; 5. Kate Wilkins, Marist, 16-07.50; 6. Marla Olstedt, Seaside, 16-00.50, w:0.9; 7. Amanda Luna, Molalla. Shot put – 1. Laura Bobek, Astoria, 42-08; 2. Alexis Reavis, Siuslaw, 40-10; 3. Jamie Coggins, Astoria, 39-10; 4. Samantha Lamonica, Cascade, 39-00; 5. Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili, Ontario, 37-09; 6. Sharayah Kenady, Cascade, 36-07; 7. Cori Wallace, Henley, 34-10. Pole vault – 1. Brooke Davison, North Bend, 10-09; 2. Stacy Marshall, Scappoose, 10-06; 3. Courtney Fujishin, Henley, 9-06; 3. Caitlyn Strain, Douglas, 9-06; 5. Chelsea Boone, Central, J9-06; 5. Hollie Doyle, Newport, J9-06; 7. Rachel Howell, Cottage Grove, 9-00. Javelin – 1. Nikki Ramsey, Gladstone, 133-01; 2. Lindsey Remington, Tillamook, 130-05; 3. Blair Wilkinson, Cottage Grove, 125-11; 4. Alla Dzhidzhiyeshvili, Ontario, 119-00; 5. Lynnae Huber, Astoria, 117-11; 6. Kayla Yokbay, North Bend, 117-09; 7. Katrina Amsberry, Cascade, 116-10. High jump – 1. Chance Summers, Estacada, 5-05; 2. Hilary O’Bryan, Astoria, 5-04; 3. Shanoaleig Roseby, Gladstone, 5-03; 4. Kelsey Nielsen, Sisters, 5-01; 5. Reanna Meier, Newport, J5-01; 6. Laura Schaudt, Philomath, 5-00; 7. Marla Olstedt, Seaside, 4-10; 7. Madison McClung, Cottage Grove, 4-10. Triple jump – 1. Charlene Harber, Astoria, 37-00; 2. Ashley Seal, Hidden Valley, 36-00.50; 3. Chance Summers, Estacada, 34-10; 4. Amanda Luna, Molalla, 34-08.25; 5. Marla Olstedt, Seaside, 34-05.50; 6. Kelsey Nielsen, Sisters, 33-11; 7. Erica Filipetti, Molalla, 33-05. Discus – 1. Laura Bobek, Astoria, 138-03; 2. Taylor Aldredge, Gladstone, 137-04; 3. Jamie Coggins, Astoria, 118-11; 4. Sharayah Kenady, Cascade, 118-07; 5. Jessica Rouse, Cascade, 116-11; 6. Rebecca Rafferty, Scappoose, 115-00; 7. Tabby Reneman, Brookings-Harbor, 114-10.