It's a year of expansion for the Oregon Relays

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Expansion of the schedule and the number of teams has allowed the high school portion of the Oregon Relays to grow by 25 percent this year. 

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The Friday-Saturday meet at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field will be carried live on a webcast produced by RunnerSpace.com. 

The Oregon Relays wraps the largest high school invitational in the Northwest together with college and professional sections. One of the professional headliners this weekend is Mary Cain of the Nike Oregon Project. 

The high school portion of the meet also now includes more relays -- the 4x200 and the 4x800. And teams are allowed to enter more athletes because an additional five hours were added to the two-day schedule.

"Our goal in expansion wasn't about sheer numbers but about making it better for teams," said Ross Krempley, high school meet organizer and founder of RunnerSpace.com.  

The goal also involves giving athletes the chance to compete against unfamiliar faces. There is a larger Canadian presence than ever before. There is a large contingent of Washington teams, as usual, plus a handful from California, Nevada and Idaho. 

"Everyone wants to experience what it's like to be part of a big event at Hayward Field, and for a lot of these kids the Oregon Relays is their one and only opportunity to compete in this historic venue," Krempley said. "Some Oregon teams may take Hayward for granted, because their state meet is here. But for other teams, this trip is a very big deal."

One of the perks that remains the same is the incentive of a pizza party for the top two schools. (Scoring is co-ed). Last year, Federal Way WA won the Oregon Relays title and then went on to sweep the Class 4A boys and girls team championships in Washington. Eastlake of Washington was second last year.

Federal Way and Eastlake are both back for this year's meet, which is forecast for sunny and 70-degree weather. 

Zion Corrales-Nelson, a junior from St. Thomas More BC, is the defending champion the 200 and 400 meters. She also competes internationally for the Philippines and was at Hayward Field for the IAAF World Junior Championships last summer.  

In the 400, Corrales-Nelson will go up against sophomore twins Dai'lyn and Jai'lyn Meriwether of Union (Camas, Wash.). The sisters were third and fourth in the Washington Class 4A 400 last spring. 

The girls distance races feature Richland's Lindsay Bradley taking on the dynamic duo from Lakeside -- Sophie Cantine and Andrea Masterson -- in separate races. Bradley, Cantine and Alexis Fuller from Union are entered in the 1,500; Bradley and Masterson are the top entrants in the 3,000. Ella Donaghu of Portland's Grant High School -- the Oregon state record holder in both events -- is recovering from mono and not entered in either race. 

Matthew Maton, who is running independently after leaving the Summit OR team, is an unattached entry in the A section of the men's 1,500 meters. 

Abby Weiler from RA Long WA, who placed third in the Arcadia Invitational girls pole vault with 13-1, is one of the top field event performers on the entry list. 

Recent Oklahoma commit Gabrielle Kearney of Roseburg is entered in the javelin. She is currently US#5.

DyeStat will be on-site with photos, interviews and stories from the Oregon Relays throughout the meet.