The Lions were led by a trio of second place finishes over the weekend.  Carter finished second place in the 3000m, Makya finished second place in the javelin, and Hayes finished second place in the 110m hurdles.  The boys team amassed 35 points over the two days which was good enough for a sixth place team finish.  It is the third consecutive year that the boys team has finished in the top six at the state championship.  By the time the meet concluded six Cottage Grove athletes had earned all-state honors (top 8) in nine different events.  It was a fantastic weekend for the athletes in our program!  A huge thank you to Coach Tucker and Easton Hutchins for providing the photos and amazing graphics of our athletes.  More pictures from the meet will be available using the 2024 Track and Field Pictures link in the quick link section above once they are uploaded this week. Below is a list of our state placers.

Carter Bengtson: 2nd place (3000m), 4th place (1500m)

Hayes Valley: 2nd place (110m hurdles), 7th place (300m hurdles)

Makya Alsup: 2nd place (javelin)

Eli Williams: 4th place (shot), and 4th place (discus)

Terran Stewart: 8th place (300m hurdles)

Micah Hanke: 8th place (800m)

Ella Cardwell: 9th place (3000m), 9th place (800m)

Thank you to all of you that took a few minutes each week to read the updates.  We hope that the updates helped to keep you informed about our weekly operations, and that the updates were also helpful in learning about how the sport of track and field works.  Website design is not our area of expertise, but if you have suggestions about how we can adjust our updates to make them more efficient or informative please let us know.

Important Items and Upcoming Dates:

CGHS All-Time List:  Did you make the list!?  The all-time lists have been updated to include marks from 2024.  We had five new athletes move up or crack the top 10 this season and we will be updating our record boards, but many more athletes were added to the lists.  Why are some lists longer than others on the spreadsheet?  We started every list at 20 names and the lists grow as names are added.  Some events have had much more movement over the last ten years than others.  You may access the updated All-Time CGHS Track and Field Lists in the quick links section above.

Uniforms:  Fines will be issued for any uniform item not turned in by May 28th.  Filling out fine slips is a significant amount of extra work, so thank you for returning uniforms to Coach Knutson (room 109) before May 28th.  

Tuesday, May 21st: Equipment clean up at the track right after school.  Each person that shows up will get squad points!  The trophy is still up for grabs and the results will be announced at the awards night.

Tuesday, May 28th:  We will have our awards night at 6:15pm in the CGHS cafeteria.  We will hand out participation awards, varsity letter awards, as well as all-league and all-state awards.  Just a reminder that there should be no surprises with varsity letter awards.  The criteria for earning a letter is outlined in our team handbook (linked above) and each athlete should know before awards night if they earned a varsity letter.  Please see Coach Knutson if you have any questions about how this works.  

Tuesday, May 28th:  There will be a meeting at 3:30pm in room 109 for anyone interested in or planning to participate in cross country next fall.  We will discuss summer training, fundraising opportunities, and our summer camp.  The meeting will be focused on athletes, but parents are welcome to attend if they wish. 

Additional Opportunities to Compete:  While there is no official "summer track" there are opportunities if athletes wish to compete this summer on their own.  The Oregon Track Club offers all comers meets where athletes can just show up and compete.  All athletes need to do is show up and pay the $15 fee and pick the events they wish to compete in.  A link to all the details can be found HERE.

Nike Outdoor Nationals:  You may have noticed this meet added to the athletic.net schedule.  Carter will be competing in the 5,000m at the high school national championship event. 

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

Our trivia questions have come to an end this season.  The weekly winners will be put in a drawing and we will reveal the winner and prize at awards night.  

Last Week's Question:  Name the last CGHS girl to qualify in four events for the state meet in the same year.

Answer: Hannah Albrecht - 2017 (100m, 200m, 400m, and 4x400m relay)

Week 12 Winner: Congratulations to Micah Hanke!

What a weekend!  The boys captured their third straight district championship and eight Cottage Grove athletes qualified for the state championship in 12 different events.  Hayes won two events (both hurdles) and was the high point scorer of the meet with a massive 31 points, while Carter was also a two time district champion (1500m and 3000m).  The girls scored 14 more points than what was projected and finished ahead of Marshfield for fourth place.  Makya was the district champion in the javelin, while Ella captured two state qualifying spots in the 3000m and 800m.  Cottage Grove finished third behind North Bend and Marist in the coed standings.  Most importantly, the Lions fought hard and represented our school and community in such a positive way.  What a fantastic group of young people to be associated with!

DISTRICT MEET PICTURES:  Special thanks to Travis for coming to the meet both days and taking pictures.  Those will be posted to view and download soon.  Please use the 2024 Track and Field Pictures quick link above to view those.

Here is a full list of our state qualifiers:

• Makya Alsup - Javelin (1st place)

• Ella Cardwell - 800m (2nd place), 3000m (3rd place/wild card)

• Hayes Valley - 110m hurdles (1st place), 300m hurdles (1st place)

• Terran Stewart - 300m hurdles (2nd place)

• Carter Bengtson - 3000m (1st place), 1500m (1st place)

• Eli Williams - shot put (2nd place), discus (2nd place)

• Gavin Grogan - long jump (2nd place)

• Micah Hanke - 800m (1st place)

Monday:  We are asking athletes that competed at the district meet to show up for practice for a brief meeting.  We would like to recognize many of them for outstanding performances, and cover a few quick details about the end of the season.   We will have normal practice for our state qualifiers.  State qualifiers should bring their uniform to practice for a photo shoot so that we may get some pictures to create state championship graphics.  

Tuesday (Uniform Return Day):  Please bring all uniform items to the track after school.  We will award 5 squad points to every athlete that returns their full uniform by this time.  We will have our annual state qualifier team dinner at Coach Vogel's house.  We will give more information to those athletes at practice.

Friday and Saturday: STATE CHAMPIONSHIP at HAYWARD FIELD!  Bus leaves at 6:45am on Friday and 10:45am on Saturday. We will go over more meet details with the state qualifiers.  Spectator information may be found HERE and a full meet schedule is linked HERE.  The links include information about tickets, the meet schedule, and the stadium clear bag policy.  Let's get as many spectators as we can to Hayward to support these athletes! 

Awards Night:  We will try to get a date and time established as soon as possible after the state championship.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question:  Name the last CGHS girl to qualify in four events for the state meet in the same year.

Last Week's Question: Name the last CGHS male AND female athletes to score in both a throwing event and a jumping event at the state championship.

Answer:  Gracie Arnold 2022 (5th in the Javelin and 3rd in the high jump) and Alex Toureen (2nd in shot and 2nd in high jump)

Winner:  Congratulations to Micah Hanke!!

JV athletes wrapped up the season last week with a strong showing at the JV district meet in Junction City, while the rest of the team competed at our home invitational on Friday. Eli (Discus), Hayes (110m hurdles) and Carter (1500m) were all event winners enroute to helping the boys team finish third among some of the top teams in the state. Carter's time of 4:06 moves him into the #6 spot on the all-time top 10 list at CGHS for the 1500m.  Ella was the top finisher for the girls with a third place finish in the 800m.   A huge thank you to everyone that helped to make the meet a success.  Without all the volunteers it would be impossible to pull off such a large event.  Last week we communicated with athletes about who would be continuing with the season this week for the district championship, and athletes can already see live entries for the district meet on athletic.net (more details below).

Special notes for the week:

District Championship Info:  This is a two day championship meet that is unlike anything we have attended all season.  We will be covering a lot of information this week at practice, but some important details for athletes and families can be found below:

• Entries for the district meet were due on May 4th and league coaches met on Sunday at noon to iron out meet details.  At this point we are no longer allowed to add or move athletes, we may only scratch athletes from events.  There will be a handful of strategic scratches that we will be making on Friday, and we will discuss those with athletes this week.

• Friday/Saturday at North Bend High School.  A full event schedule can be found HERE.  The bus will depart at 7:15am on both days.  We want to get athletes home as soon as possible on Friday evening, so we will not be stopping to fill up on fast food.  Please pack food accordingly.

• The online version of heats and flights can be viewed HERE.  Note that a couple of heats still need to be adjusted.  Please be sure to note dates and times of listed events.

• Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students each day and will be cash only.

• How does the two day format work?  Field events will be spread out over the two days with prelims and finals of those events happening on the same day.  For all field events except pole vault and high jump there will be three attempts in the prelims with the top 9 athletes advancing to finals (on the same day) for three more attempts.  The 3000m final is on Friday, and all other running event finals are on Saturday.  All running events other than the 1500m and both relays will have prelims on Friday.  Athletes running in prelims will need to qualify to advance to the final on Saturday.  This means that in an event with two heats an athlete must finish in the top three or have one of the next two fastest times.  

• How does the team scoring work?  We are allowed three varsity entries per gender, per event, at the district championship.  We have only entered athletes that are capable of competing at a district meet level, which means there are a few cases where we left some spots vacant.  At the district and state championships the athletes that finish in the top 8 in each event score points for their respective teams as follows: 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  The team with the most points wins the meet.  At the district meet the top 8 finishers will be recognized on the awards podium (medals to the top two places and ribbons for 3-8).  

• How do athletes advance to the state championship?  Track and field is one of the most challenging high school sports in terms of qualifying for state.  Unlike many other sports there are no "play-in" opportunities for average teams and athletes, and top athletes that are in tough leagues routinely find themselves on the outside looking in.   At the district championship the top two finishers in each event final automatically qualify for the state championship at Hayward Field.  There is one at-large bid that will go to the top third place finisher from all six district meets in each event.  Additionally, an athlete may qualify if they are not in the top two, but hit an auto qualifying mark, which is not too common.  Auto qualifying marks can be found HERE. 

• May athletes stay overnight with their family?  Yes, but please communicate with Coach Knutson about this early in the week as we have to plan transportation accordingly.  Also, we can't allow athletes to stay with other families unless both sets of guardians have cleared this with the office prior to Friday (not the day of the meet).  This is the district championship and not a vacation.  We hope that if athletes stay overnight with their family they will be doing so to maximize rest and minimize travel.  Our team is depending on each athlete to make good decisions around rest and recovery during this time.  Thank you for doing your part to be a good teammate. 

Varsity Lettering Criteria Reminder:  You may view the full criteria in our team handbook (linked above).  In short, athletes need to hit a certain mark or time during the season, or place in the top 8 in an individual event at the district meet.  Relays do not count toward varsity lettering requirements due to the fact that there are only five teams in the league and every team that makes it across the finish line scores.  Please note the requirement of attending both days of the district meet.

Practice this week:  Practices will continue to end earlier this week based on event groups.  Thursday's practice will start in Coach Knutson's room (109) at 3:45pm.

Upcoming Dates:

State Championship:  May 10 -11.  Full details about the state meet will be available on next Sunday, but until then you may view the spectator information at the OSAA website HERE.

Uniform Collection:  Please look for details next Sunday on how we will collect uniforms.  Squad points will be up for grabs for athletes that turn in uniforms on time.

Awards Night:  This is still TBD, but will take place sometime after the State Championship (May 17-18).  We will push info out as soon as we know the date, time, and location.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question:  Name the last CGHS male AND female athletes to score in both a throwing event and a jumping event at the state championship.

Last Week's Question: In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

Answer:  Girls Long Jump - We believe the last time was Ginger Loescher in 1999.  Between 2010 and 2024 CGHS has qualified one or more athlete for the state championship in every other track and field event.  The boys team has qualified at least one athlete in 14 of the 17 events since 2021.

Winner:  Congratulations to Rylie Reeder!!

It was another solid week for the Lions with multiple trips to the coast.  The varsity preview at North Bend and the Central Coast Invitational provided opportunities to compete and tune up for a couple of big weeks ahead.  Carter also had a strong showing at the Jesuit Twilight Relays.  There will be a lot of moving parts over the next two weeks, so thank you again for taking a moment to stay informed.

Athletes will find themselves falling into one of several categories this week, and we will do our best to communicate with each of them at practice.  After last week many athletes should already have a good idea of where they stand in each event area, but additional competition this week can make an athlete's status a bit fluid.  Below is a quick synopsis of each of our remaining meets.

JV Districts:  This will be the last meet of the season for many of our athletes.  We will communicate with those athletes at practice on Monday.  Some athletes might also compete in this meet due to the fact we won't know until Wednesday night if they qualified for the Wally Ciochetti Invitational.  We are trying to make sure kids get at least one meet this week.  As a result, there will be a few athletes that may have two meets this week.

Wally Ciochetti Invite:  Our home invitational hosts 16 teams and we cap event sizes with a maximum of three entries per team.  Our remaining athletes won't know who makes the cut in each event until Wednesday evening.  There will be some athletes where Friday will be their last meet, and others who won't qualify for Friday, but will still compete at districts the following week. 

Districts:  The focus of the district meet is to advance athletes to the state championship and maximize team points.  Since the meet is two days there are some athletes that will double up in events.  This means there aren't the same number of vacancies in events as usual, and some athletes that might have attended invitationals this season may not compete at districts.  We have been communicating this with athletes throughout the season, so this should not come as a surprise.  There will be much more information to come about this meet.  Entries for coaches are due at 12pm on Saturday, May 4th and there are no changes (other than scratches) allowed after that point.  It is critical that athletes share any potential scheduling conflicts with Coach Knutson NOW.  If an athlete scratches after the May 4th deadline we are not allowed another entry and the spot is lost. Please be sure to communicate with coaches ASAP if there may be any schedule conflicts.

Special notes for the week:

• Senior Recognition on Friday at 3:30pm:  Seniors will be given a form to fill out and return to Mrs. Tucker by Wednesday.  We will honor our seniors and family members that are present during our home invitational at 3:30pm.  Thank you for being in lane one at the 50 yard line at 3:30pm so that we may start the recognition on time.  Not all seniors will be competing in the meet, but we would still like to honor all of our graduates.

• Grade Checks:  There will be another round of grade checks at the end of this week and it is critical that athletes are taking care of business in the classroom.  Entries for the district meet are due on Saturday, but we won't know grade status until the following Monday.  This means if an athlete is ineligible as of Monday (May 6th) we can't replace them on the district meet roster.  PLEASE TAKE CARE OF GRADES!

• Help Needed:  We have one parent volunteer so far to help with concessions at our meet Friday.  We will have several athletes helping as well.  We could really use a few parents that wouldn't mind taking turns with some shifts so that we have additional adult supervision.  If  you are able to to help with this please contact Coach Knutson.

Monday (4/29):  Athletes that are competing on Tuesday will have a chance to confirm events.  Athletes will most likely be finishing up a little early depending on which event group they are in.

Tuesday (4/30):  JV District Meet.  Athletes will be dismissed at 12:55pm and the bus will depart at 1:15pm.  Athletes not attending the meet will still have practice at the normal time.  

Wednesday (5/1):  Even if athletes are done for the season we are asking everyone to at least attend our team meeting to start practice.  We will recognize athletes for performances that they had at the Tuesday meet.  We also need help from athletes for our Friday meet, and they will be signing up for job assignments.  After the team meeting athletes that are done competing for the season may either stay and practice or head home.  After Wednesday practice will be limited to just athletes that are still competing.  Our entries for Friday are due at 8pm and we will then know who has qualified for the Friday home invitational.  Athletes will be notified on Thursday at practice.

Thursday (5/2):  Short pre meet practice and set up for the meet.

Friday (5/3):  Wally Ciochetti Invitational at CGHS.  This has become the premier late season meet for 4A schools and we cap the number of schools at 16 to maximize entries for each team.  This is why teams travel from as far as Klamath Falls and Prineville to compete at our event.  The entire meet schedule may be viewed in the meet info section at athletic.net.  Athletes competing or helping will be dismissed at 12:30pm.  There may be some athletes that are competing later in the afternoon that choose to stay in class longer.  

Upcoming Dates:

Saturday, May 4th: Entries for the district meet are due for coaches at 12pm.  Athletes will be informed of all finalized entries at practice on Monday, May 6th.  

Friday, May 10th and Saturday, May 11th:  District Championship at North Bend High School.  We have yet to receive a formal version of this year's schedule, but from what we've been told we will be following the same time schedule from last year.  You may view a copy of LAST YEAR'S SCHEDULE HERE.  PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Uniform and end of season awards night:  Once we make it through this week we will share more information about the process for turning in uniforms and schedule our awards date.  Thanks for your patience.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (We have some athletes that are close to the answer.  This will be the week!): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

What a week for the Lions!  After hosting a league meet on Tuesday and working the middle school meet on Wednesday, the Lions headed for some big events over the weekend.  Carter represented Cottage Grove at the Oregon Relays, one of the premier high school events in the United States.  Carter entered the two mile event ranked 46th out of 107 runners.  During the last five laps of the race Carter held pace and passed over 20 runners to take 4th in his heat and 15th overall in the elite field of runners.  Carter ran a 10 second PR in the 3000m enroute to a 27 second personal best in the two mile.  His 3000m split time of of 8:43 moves him one spot away from the school record (8:35.39) set by Bruce Davidson in 1984.  The CGHS 3000m school record is once of the toughest in Oregon at the 4A level.  The boys followed up with the team victory at the 36 team Meet of Champions on Saturday  with many strong performances, including wins from Carter in the 1500m and Hayes in the 110m hurdles.  It is the third consecutive year the CG boys have won the meet.  Makya and Ella were top finishers for the girls on Saturday.  Makya started the week as an alternate to get into the meet and then took advantage of the opportunity by throwing a massive 14 foot personal best in the javelin to take third place. Her mark of 114-4 moves her into the #8 spot on the all-time CGHS javelin list. Ella ran a strong race in the 3000m to capture third place as well as an eight second PR.  Ella's time of 11:10 moves her to the #7 spot on the all-time CGHS list.  

THANK YOU to those of you taking the time to read the weekly update, there are a lot of layers each week as we navigate through the end of the season.

Common question this time of year:  Why is my athlete being moved around to different events so much?

Answer:  There are multiple reasons athletes don't compete in the same events at each meet and the simplest reason is recovery.  When there are multiple meets in a week for some athletes we typically prioritize one of the meets.  We want athletes to be healthy and ready when it matters most, and shifting events so athletes can still participate in two meets in a week allows us to accomplish this. The more complicated reason is the big picture.  As we approach the district championships we are focused on two primary performance goals.  How can we advance as many athletes as possible to the state championship and how can we score as many team points as possible?  Sometimes this requires reducing event loads for athletes or even removing some of our top athletes from relay teams.  Other times this means athletes are trying new events late in the season where our league may not have as much depth with the hopes of scoring points at districts.  Ultimately, it's all about maximizing success for our athletes and team.  The last two seasons our boys team has won the district championship by two points.  This means that two athletes finishing in 8th place (and each scoring a single point) at districts over the last two years made all the difference for our team.  Mistakes with entries can make or break our team success which is why we take athlete placement and entries very seriously. We always make a conscious effort to explain this to our athletes, but sometimes that message doesn't make it home.  If something doesn't seem like it's making sense and you'd like to know why, please ask.  Everything that we do is calculated and we are happy to explain our rationale when given the opportunity.  

Special notes for the week:

• With two meets during the week there will be some shorter practices.  Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are all days that are either before or after a meet, and we want to keep athletes rested and healthy for competition.  As always, there will be coaches on site until 6pm, but athletes will most likely be wrapping up earlier on those days this week depending on the event group they are part of.

• Some athletes will not have a meet this week and their last meet will be the JV district meet on April 30th. If you're curious where athletes rank among CGHS teammates in different events for this season remember that athletic.net has way more information than just the meet schedule.  You may view CGHS event rankings for the 2024 season HERE.  

Monday (4/22):  Athletes were notified at practice on Friday if they will be attending the Tuesday meet at North Bend. Entries for the meet will be posted at practice so that we may make adjustments to events.

Tuesday (4/23):  Sky-Em Varsity Meet at North Bend.  This meet is for athletes that might be competing at the district championships in May.  Those not attending the meet will not have practice on Tuesday.  Students will be dismissed at 11:25am and the bus will leave at 11:45am.  It is critical that athletes pack food for lunch and dinner.  North Bend is a long trip on a school night and we don't plan on stopping to eat on the way home.  We want kids home and in bed so that they will be rested and focused for school and recovered for our meet on Friday.

Wednesday (4/24):  Normal practice and we will inform athletes who will be attending the Friday meet.  We want to give athletes a fair opportunity to compete on Tuesday before finalizing the Friday entries.  Most athletes will have a good idea of where they stand prior to Wednesday.

Thursday (4/25):  Practice

Friday (4/26):  You may have noticed the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays on the athletic.net schedule.  Carter will be competing in this event on Friday evening (pending acceptance into the meet this week).  Like the Oregon Relays, there will be teams from several west coast states.  Another group of our athletes will travel to Florence for the Central Coast Invitational.  Athletes will be dismissed at 11:45am and the bus will leave at 12:15pm.  Again, this is during lunch time, so be sure to bring food.  We will stop on the way home for dinner.  Those not attending the meet will not have practice on Friday.

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, April 30th:  The JV District Meet.  This will be the last meet for some.  Others that compete in this meet might still continue on for one of the last few meets.  More details to come.   Athletes not attending the meet will have normal practice.

Friday, May 3rd:  The Wally Ciochetti Invitational at CGHS.  This has become one of the premier 4A meets late in the season.  We are excited to host another strong field of teams this year.  We will have more information about how parents might be able to help out at this meet.  

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (This is a tough one, still no correct answer yet.): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

The Lions capped off the week with a dominating win from the boys team at the Philomath Relays.  The girls battled to a second place finish behind the defending state champions from Philomath.  Many JV athletes saw some big improvements at the Marist meet last Monday as well.  It's another busy week with our home meet on Tuesday, Oregon Relays on Friday (for Carter), and the Meet of Champions on Saturday.

Upcoming Grade Checks: Updated grades will be available on Monday.  Those not passing five classes and/or below a 2.0 GPA won't be competing on Tuesday and in the future until they have improved grades to the minimum standard.

Pictures:  Pictures have arrived for those that ordered.  Please pick those up in Coach Knutson's classroom (room 109).  

Monday (4/15):  Athletes will have the opportunity to check event entries for Tuesday.  They were responsible for getting signed up at the end of last week.  Like many of our pre meet practices, athletes will be getting done with workouts earlier on this day.  We will also have athletes sign up for job assignments for the Wednesday middle school meet.  

Tuesday (4/16):  Athletes will be dismissed at 2:40 and should be in full uniform and at the starting line ready for warm ups at 3:10.  Field events start at 4pm and track events start at 4:30.  The order of events and full schedule can be found in the meet info section at athletic.net (linked above).  Just a reminder that we ask all athletes to stay to the end of the meet to support their teammates.  Entries for the Meet of Champions (Saturday) are due at 10pm and we will know by Wednesday who has been accepted for the Saturday meet.

Wednesday (4/17):  HOME MIDDLE SCHOOL MEET.  Athletes should be in the main gym dressed and ready for practice at 2:30pm.  We will go over job assignments for the middle school meet and then get in a team warm up.  Athletes should expect to be helping until 7pm.  Please be sure to bring layers of clothing as it cools off quickly in the evening.  Athletes will also find out at practice if they made the cut for the Meet of Champions.  Some may be on the alternate list and could potentially be added if athletes scratch prior to Saturday.  

Thursday (4/18):  Normal Practice.  We will be checking in with athletes about which events they will be competing in for the upcoming "Varsity Meet" in North Bend next week.  Not all athletes will be attending this meet.

Friday (4/19):  Carter Bengtson will be competing at The Oregon Relays and the rest of the team will have normal practice.  To meet the standards and qualify for the Oregon Relays in an individual event is extremely challenging.  Carter ran in the meet last season and will compete in the 2 mile event which starts at 11am.  It is online ticketing only for the event and you can find all the spectator information HERE.  

Saturday (4/20):  The team travels to Sweet Home for the Meet of Champions.  This is a 37 team invitational for 1A-4A schools and the event has been around for decades.  Athletes qualify individually (or as a relay team)  to compete.  Athletes will know on Wednesday if they are attending and the bus will leave at 7:00AM.  All the meet details can be found in the meet info section at athletic.net, but a schedule is also linked HERE.  We will stop for food on the way home.

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, April 23rd:  The Sky-Em Varsity Meet is a preview of the district championship meet that will be held at North Bend High School.  Because all five teams from the league will be attending it is called a "varsity" meet as a way to limit entries and keep the weekday meet manageable.  Please understand that the entries for this meet won't necessarily match the entries for the two day district championship meet that will happen on May 10-11.  Some athletes that compete at this meet might not compete at districts.  Also, as we approach the second half of the season, this is just a reminder that the varsity lettering standards can be found in the team handbook linked above.  

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (This is a tough one, still no correct answer yet.): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m)

It was a fantastic way to get back into competition last week with the JV meet at Marist and the 28 team invitational at Marshfield.  Congratulations to Gavin Grogan (long jump) and Hayes Valley (110m hurdles AND 300m hurdles) for earning the event wins on Saturday among large fields of quality competition.  Ella Cardwell (4th in the 3000m) and Makya Alsup (5th in the javelin) were our top finishers for the girls.  There were many other CG athletes that made the podium (top 8) as well.  While the team was at Marshfield we had a group of athletes here in Cottage Grove that volunteered to serve at the Family Relief Nursery Gala on Saturday night.  Thank you to all those athletes that volunteered and represented our program in such a positive way!

Upcoming Grade Checks:  Just a reminder that our next grade check will be this Friday, April 12th.  Any athlete that is not passing five classes and/or is below a 2.0 will be immediately ineligible until grades are improved to meet the standard.  Athletes, please make sure we are taking care of our priorities in the classroom.  

Monday (4/8):  JV Meet at Marist.  Monday meets are not common, but we have one this week.  Like last week, some athletes will be attending and others will have a normal practice.  Athletes with the option of attending the meet were given the opportunity to sign up for events last week and those entries can be viewed HERE.  If you happen to see a necessary change with the entries please contact Coach Knutson via email (ricky.knutson@slane.k12.or.us) ASAP.  However, there are no promises that the changes will be made prior to the Sunday afternoon deadline.  Those competing will be dismissed from class at 1:40pm and should be on the bus ready to roll at 2:00pm.  Everyone else should be at practice at the normal time.  

Tuesday (4/9), Wednesday (4/10) and Thursday (4/11):  Normal Practice.  We will also be ironing out entries for the unique relay meet on Saturday.  Most athletes will know by Tuesday or Wednesday (if they don't already know) if they will be attending the Saturday meet.  Due to the nature of the meet and event structure, there will be some athletes attending that may not normally attend invitationals.  

Friday (4/12):  Athletes will sign up for events on this day for our home meet the following Tuesday (4/16).

Saturday (4/13):  Philomath Relays.  Departure time is 8:15am.  This invitational is a unique meet where the track events are all relays and the field events are scored as a team (top three marks from each team in each event are added together to determine team place).  There aren't a lot of details listed at the meet info page at athletic.net, but if you select the schedule option (within the meet info page) you may view a list of events.  Field events start at 11am and track events start at noon.  Due to the nature of the meet there will be some athletes competing in events that they may not normally participate in.  This type of meet showcases a team's depth, and there may be spots that need to be filled that we don't usually have to fill.  Athletes that may not typically score for the team become very important in events like this, especially in field events, as marks for three athletes are required for a team score in each event.  It should be a fun day!

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, April 16th:  Our next home meet.

Wednesday, April 17th:  Middle school home meet at CGHS.  Our athletes help to put this meet on by running the field events.  Please plan on a later release time on this day.  We hope to be done by 7pm.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (SAME AS LAST WEEK SINCE THERE WAS NO CORRECT ANSWER): In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m).

Spring break was a solid week of workouts for athletes that attended practice.  We ended the week with a frisbee croquet squad competition and squads were also awarded points for every member that had perfect spring break attendance.  Don't forget that you may access the latest squad scores in the quick link section above.  It's going to get busy from here on out and we're excited to get rolling with more meets!

Apparel:  The apparel order has arrived!  Apparel has been individually bagged and will be ready for distribution on Monday.  Athletes should confirm items are correct at the time of pickup and BEFORE walking away with apparel.  PLEASE LABEL YOUR ITEMS WITH YOUR NAME ON THE TAG.

Upcoming Grade Checks:  Just a reminder that our next grade check will be April 12th.  Any athlete that is not passing five classes and/or is below a 2.0 will be immediately ineligible until grades are improved to meet the standard.

Volunteers Needed:  We are in need of some volunteer athletes to help out with The Family Relief Nursery Gala on Saturday, April 6th.  It's a bit tricky this year since many athletes and our coaching staff will be at Marshfield for the meet.  If there are any athletes that are not attending the meet that would be interested in helping please let Coach Knutson know.  Jim and Joyce Settelmeyer will be helping to oversee the volunteers as they plate food, and assist the caterers. We will also award 10 squad points for each person that volunteers. Details below:

• Saturday, April 6th (Please know that alcohol is available for adults at the event, so please pass on this opportunity if you are uncomfortable with that.  Volunteers are primarily in the kitchen or helping to clear tables.)

• Location: Cottage Grove Armory

• 4:30 - 8:30pm (dinner is provided for volunteers).

• Attire should be all black.

This week:

Monday (4/1):  Athletes that missed practices over the last week will be taking time in practice to "spin the wheel" and participate in some conditioning activities.  They will do this as a group and we will spread spins out over the course of the week.  

Athletes that meet the spring break practice requirement (see updates for the last two weeks) and are attending the Tuesday JV meet will need to make sure to check posted entries at practice and confirm their event entries with Coach Knutson before leaving practice.  Entries for Tuesday are due by 6pm on Monday, so it is critical that those are in and accurate.  Most athletes already know if they are attending the Tuesday meet, but should follow up on Monday if they have questions.

Tuesday (4/2) JV Meet at Marist (Athletes not attending the meet will have practice as normal with a small coaching staff):  

Athletes will be dismissed at 1:40pm and should be in full uniform, with equipment loaded, and ready to roll at 2:00pm.  The track and field program always departs ON TIME.   Athletes are responsible for getting out of class on time and being ready to go on time. ANY ATHLETE NOT ON THE BUS WHEN IT IS TIME TO LEAVE WILL BE LEFT AT CGHS.   All information with regards to meet schedule can be found at athletic.net in the meet info section.  If you are not familiar with how to use athletic.net we have put together a quick tutorial that could be helpful. You may access that video HERE (It will also be available in the quick link section above for the rest of the season).  Just like with our home meets we ask that athletes stay until the end of the meet.  We won't be stopping for food on the way home, so please be sure to bring snacks.  ATHLETES WILL BE REMINDED TO CALL TO ARRANGE PICKUP FROM CGHS WHEN WE LEAVE EUGENE.  THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR PICKING YOUR ATHLETE UP FROM THE SCHOOL WHEN WE RETURN SO THAT COACHES DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT. 

Wednesday (4/3):  We are allowed two entries per event for the Saturday meet at Marshfield, but not all entries will be accepted.  We should know by practice time on Wednesday who has been accepted to compete at the Marshfield meet on Saturday.  

Thursday/Friday (4/4 - 4/5):  Normal practices. On Thursday athletes will start the event sign up process for our meet on 4/8.  It is not very often that we have a Monday meet, so athletes will need to make sure to confirm their events prior to leaving practice on Friday.   Friday will end a bit early depending on the event area as practice will be light due to the Saturday meet.  

Saturday (4/6):  Bus leaves at 6:30am.  Again, we will leave ON TIME, so please be in uniform, equipment loaded, and ready to roll at 6:30am.  Meet details can be found at athletic.net.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE (only one submission per athlete each week).   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question: In which track and field event has Cottage Grove High School had the longest drought in qualifying someone for the state championships?  In other words, which event has seen the most number of years pass since CGHS has qualified an athlete for state?  A correct answer needs the gender and the event (for example: boys 3000m).

Last Week's Question: Who was the last male CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Answer:  Austin Place (2009 - 800m, 2010 - 800m/4x400m, 2011 - 800m, 2012 - 4x400m/800m)

Last Week's Winner: Congratulations to Eli Williams!

Our home icebreaker meet was a success and it was fantastic that the weather also cooperated.  Many athletes had their first high school track and field experience!  On Friday we had our annual team potluck and squad competitions.  An ENORMOUS thank you to everyone that contributed to the potluck, it was a fun evening of team bonding for the athletes.  The updated squad scores can be viewed in the quick link section above. Only 29 points separate fourth from first, the squad title is up for grabs! Thanks again to Coach Tucker and other yearbook photographers for taking pictures at our events.  Remember, pictures from the season can be accessed above using the 2024 Track and Field Pictures quick link.  On Saturday we had some of our throwers compete at the Harvey Lewellen Throws Invitational where our boys (Eli, Rogelio, and Clayton) took first in the shot put team competition.  They combined top throws for a score of 127 feet and .05 inches!  It was a great showing from our throwing crew!

Apparel Order Update:  We are hoping that the apparel order shows up shortly.  It usually arrives around spring break.

Pictures:  We took team pictures last week.  If you would still like to order please visit the website HERE. When the pictures are ready they will show up at the school to be distributed to athletes.

This Week:

Monday - Thursday (March 25th - 28th): Spring break practices from 9am to 11am.  Practices are required and absences will be treated the same way that we do with any other missed practice (two spins of the fitness wheel for each day missed).  We understand that some families may leave for spring break, but we maintain the same standard for all athletes.  There is no need to notify coaches of absences this week; athletes are either at practice or they aren't.  Athletes, please enter the facility through the gate at the track and you may then access the locker rooms through the gym door at the track.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THE APRIL 2ND MEET.

Friday (March 29th): NO PRACTICE

Upcoming Dates:

April 2nd: JV Meet at Marist.  This meet is designed for JV and/or newer athletes.  Athletes that competed at the varsity district meet last season will most likely not attend this meet.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THIS MEET.  Again, this is not a consequence, it is to protect athletes that will not be prepared to compete after missing a week of workouts.

April 6th: Prefontaine Rotary Invite.  We are only allowed two entries per event at this meet, and then we will be informed which entries make the cut.  Entries are due Tuesday evening and we've been told that we should know who was accepted by Wednesday.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question: Who was the last male CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Last Week's Question: Who was the last female CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Answer:  Hudson Weybright (2014 - 800m, 2015 - 800m/3000m, 2016 - 4x400/3000m, 2017 - 4x400m/800)

Last Week's Winner: Congratulations to Micah Hanke!

Our week culminated with a kick off of our season long squad competition.  Captains drafted squads on Tuesday, and on Friday the athletes competed in a modified version of a track meet.  It was a perfect afternoon of sunshine and fun competition!  Enjoy some of the pictures from the squad meet by using the track and field pictures link in the quick links section above.  Results of the squad meet will be shared at practice on Monday and squads will continue to compete throughout the season to have their squad name on the championship plaque.  It's going to be another busy week as we host our first official meet of the season.  There is a massive amount of information below, but we truly appreciate you taking a moment to make sure you're aware of what's happening this week.  It's always more fun when everyone is on the same page!

Academic Reminder:  Teachers issued trimester grades on Friday.  Fortunately, academic issues are not typically a problem with most of our track and field athletes, but we still want to make sure expectations are clear.  Athletes that have passed at least five classes and have above a 2.0 GPA will be clear to compete.  If an athlete did not pass five classes then they are deemed ineligible by the OSAA and will not be able to continue the season.  If an athlete passed five classes, but does NOT have the 2.0 GPA then they are still allowed to continue the season.  However, they will not be able to compete until they show they have above a 2.0 at the first grade check (approximately three weeks into the trimester).

Athletic Fee Reminder:  We still have athletes that need to take care of the athletic fee.  After March 20th there will be a $25 late fee added.  Please contact Mrs. Twyman in the main office if you need a waiver, would like to pay by card, or if you have questions.  Thanks for helping us wrap up this process.

Apparel Order Update:  For anyone that ordered apparel, the order was placed last Monday.  The apparel usually shows up during spring break at the latest.  We will distribute items once we receive them.

This Week:

Monday (3/18):  Athletes will be issued a team uniform that will consist of at least a jacket and jersey.  Athletes may choose to check out shorts and pants if they wish, or they may use their own if they have items that are solid black (no stripes or other decor).  Pants that have the CG logo such as the ones ordered through the program may also be used.   Team uniforms are for meets only and should not be worn to school, at practice, or in any other situations outside of competition.  Athletes will also be signing up for events that they will compete in on Wednesday.  It is the responsibility of each athlete to get signed up for events with the head coach.  If athletes don't check in to get signed up then they will not compete on Wednesday.  Team picture forms will also be available for athletes.

Tuesday (3/19):  Athletes that have not turned in their signed team handbook form by the end of practice on Tuesday will not be entered in the Wednesday meet.  All athletes that were missing this form were reminded last week.  Entries for the Wednesday meet will be posted for athletes to verify, and we can still make additions or corrections if necessary.  This is the last opportunity for corrections prior to the meet on Wednesday.

Wednesday (3/20:  Athletes should be in full uniform and at the starting line ready for warm ups at 3:10.  Field events start at 4pm and track events start at 4:30.  Just a reminder of one of our team policies that athletes must stay for the entire meet to support their teammates.  We know that this can make for a later evening, but thank you for understanding that this is a critical component of developing a positive team culture.  Here are a couple of reminders for spectators:

• Remember, athletic.net (linked above) is one of the best sources on meet day.  When you select the meet in the menu you can often access all sorts of information (such as meet schedules) by selecting the meet info option.

• In order for meets to run as efficiently as possible they most often run on a rolling schedule, which means that we can't tell you exactly what time athletes will compete.  While we understand this can be frustrating it becomes easier to predict as you get more practice.

• Our volunteer officials and workers may still be learning the event.  Thank you for your patience if there are some hiccups.

• Wednesday is about learning how meets work such as the warm up and cool down, checking in and out of events, learning the schedule, and dealing with nerves.  Even our veterans need the review.  Thank you for being positive with our athletes as they navigate this process.

• Learning is a process and our athletes will most likely never look like Olympians this season.  With all due respect to the track and field knowledge of our spectators, please let this process play out with the athletes and our coaches.  We will continue to build skills in practice and one of the biggest mistakes we can make in a competition setting is over coaching.  Athletes deal with a massive amount of stimuli during a meet and flooding them with information (even good information) in the moment is typically not a successful answer to "fixing" things long term.  We build each week and we won't get to everything at once.  Clap, cheer, and congratulate your athlete for having the courage to compete and do hard things.  Thank you for trusting this process as we all grow throughout the season.  

Thursday (3/21):  Team pictures during practice.  We know that this is a quick turnaround with potentially dirty uniforms.  Even if you don't have the opportunity to wash it, please be in full uniform at the start of practice.  Athletes should still bring clothing to practice in following team pictures.  Picture information may be found in the quick link section above.

Friday (3:22): Team potluck and squad competitions in the school cafeteria following practice.  We do not require team activities outside of practice or competition, but athletes usually like to attend these.  The potluck only works if we have a team effort and last year was amazing.  If you are able to bring something to the potluck please click THIS LINK and let us know what that might be.  We're just trying to avoid 20 crock pots of baked beans :)  The activities should conclude around 8pm.    

Saturday (3/23):  Harvey Lewellen Throws Invitational.  This event is only for some of our throwers.  Our throws coaches will communicate this week with the athletes that have an opportunity to attend this meet.  Throwing coaches will be arranging transportation to the event and there may be some simple paperwork involved.

Upcoming Dates:

March 25th - 28th: Spring break practices from 9am to 11am.  Practices are required and absences will be treated the same way that we do with any other missed practice (two spins of the fitness wheel for each day missed).  We understand that some families may leave for spring break, but we maintain the same standard for all athletes.  There is no need to notify coaches of absences this week; athletes are either at practice or they aren't.

March 29th: NO PRACTICE

April 2nd: JV Meet at Marist.  This meet is designed for JV and/or newer athletes.  Athletes that competed at the varsity district meet last season will most likely not attend this meet.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THIS MEET.  Again, this is not a consequence, it is to protect athletes that will not be prepared to compete after missing a week of workouts.

April 6th: Prefontaine Rotary Invite.  We are only allowed two entries per event at this meet, and then we will be informed which entries make the cut.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

This Week's Question (Some good guesses last week, but no correct answer.  We are keeping the same question this week):  Who was the last female CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

Hint:  Due to COVID there were several athletes that didn't get four track seasons.  The last CGHS female to achieve this graduated prior to 2020.

Last Week's Winner: No correct answer

Week two of practice concluded with some sunshine, and Saturday was an opportunity to watch some of our former athletes compete at the Lane Community College Open.  It was exciting to see six of our former Lions representing three different collegiate programs as they continue their education while also pursuing their love of track and field.  Thank you for taking a moment to check out what's coming up this week and beyond!

This Week:

Tuesday (3/12):  Captains only will meet in room 109 after practice to participate in the squad draft and pizza will be provided.  Captains were introduced on Friday at practice, but congratulations again to the following athletes who have been voted captains by their teammates:  Tayler Bentley,  Maddison France, Zoey Knutson, Allison Palluck, Carter Bengtson, Clayton Dewitt, Raf Fields, and Eli Williams.

Wednesday/Thursday (3/13 - 3/14):  Athletes will meet as squads during the last part of practice to organize and plan for the Friday squad meet.  Thursday is also the last day of the trimester, so please be sure school work has been taken care of.  Athletes that don't pass at least five classes will not be eligible to continue the season.  Athletes that pass at least five classes but do not have AT LEAST a 2.0 GPA will be ineligible until they show they have met the minimum 2.0 standard at the first grade check of trimester three (approximately three weeks into the trimester).

Friday (3/15): Squad Meet 3pm (NO SCHOOL).  The four squads will compete in multiple versions of track and field events in the first step toward earning the right to have their squad name on the coveted squad plaque at the end of the season.  The event is essentially a scrimmage with a few twists.  Spectators are welcome, but it is a pretty low key and fun event. Bring your sunscreen!

Upcoming Dates:

March 20th:  First home track meet.  Athletes must have the last sheet of team handbook signed and turned in prior to the entry deadline (March 19th). 

March 21st: Team pictures.  Please see quick link above for details.

March 22nd: Team potluck and squad competition night following practice.  Team events outside of practice or meets are never required, although athletes usually don't want to miss events like this.  Last year this event concluded about 8pm.  Please watch for a potluck sign up in next week's update.

March 25th - 28th: Spring break practices from 9am to 11am.  Practices are required and absences will be treated the same way that we do with any other missed practice (two spins of the fitness wheel for each day missed).  

March 29th: NO PRACTICE

April 2nd: JV Meet at Marist.  This meet is designed for JV and/or newer athletes.  Athletes that competed at the varsity district meet last season will most likely not attend this meet.  FOR SAFETY REASONS, ONLY ATHLETES THAT ATTEND PRACTICE DURING SPRING BREAK WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND THIS MEET.  Again, this is not a consequence, it is to protect athletes that will not be prepared to compete after missing a week of workouts.

April 6th: Prefontaine Rotary Invite.  We are only allowed two entries per event at this meet, and then we will be informed which entries make the cut.

Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  

We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

Last Week's Question:  Who was the last CGHS track and field athlete to WIN multiple state championships in the same event?

Answer: Jordan Brunetti was the javelin state champion in 2007, 2009 and 2010 (injured in 2008, but still placed 14th).

Last Week's Winner: Congratulations to Terran Stewart!

This Week's Question:  Who was the last female CGHS track and field athlete to qualify for the state championships four years in a row?

It was a fantastic first week as we worked to build the foundation for another successful season!  Thank you to everyone that showed up to the meeting on Friday.  If you were not able to make it please be sure to familiarize yourself with the information from our week 1 update below if you have not already.  Here are some reminders for the week as well as some upcoming dates to make note of.

• Athletes may give input for team captains (VOTING HAS CLOSED). You must be logged in using your school account.  The form will be closed by practice time on Thursday, so please have votes in before then.  

• A remind message was sent out the afternoon of March 3rd.  If you didn't receive the message you will want to make sure you're registered for our team Remind group.  Please text @cgtrack24 to 81010

• As discussed at the parent meeting, while practice is scheduled until 6pm some athletes do finish up earlier based on their event group.  There will always be a coach on site until 6pm.  Thank you for making sure your student athlete is picked up from the school so that coaches don't have to stay later than 6pm.

• A reminder for anyone interested in ordering apparel for the season that forms and money need to be turned in to Lena Twyman in the main office by Friday, March 8th.  If you prefer to pay with a card please call or see Mrs. Twyman to place your order.  A copy of the order form can be found using the quick link above.

• The last day of the trimester is March 14th.  Please remind student athletes to take care of business in the classroom.

• The last page of our team handbook (linked above) should be signed and turned in to Coach Knutson in order to compete at our first home meet on March 20th.  If you're new to track and field please be sure to read through the handbook as there is a lot of information that can help the first time athletes and families.  

• Team pictures will be on March 21st.  Information about ordering is in the quick links above.

• Our team potluck and squad competition night is on March 22nd following practice.  Team events outside of practice or meets are never required, although athletes usually don't want to miss events like this.  Last year this event concluded about 8pm.

• Reminder that we will have practice on Monday through Thursday of spring break from 9am to 11am.  No practice on Friday, March 29th.

• Weekly CGHS Track and Field Trivia:  We will have a new CGHS track and field trivia question every Sunday for athletes that are checking the website each week.  The first correct answer each week will be our winner, and each weekly winner will be entered in a drawing for an end of the season prize!  Athletes will only be eligible to win two weeks this season to ensure maximum participation.  Please submit answers using the form linked HERE.   Athletic.net and our all-time track and field list linked above will be valuable resources when looking for answers. We will post the answer and weekly winner in next week's update.  Let's learn more about the rich history of track and field at CGHS!

Question:  Who was the last CGHS track and field athlete to WIN multiple state championships in the same event?

Thank you for all the support! GO LIONS!

Welcome to Cottage Grove Track and Field 2024

We are excited to get rolling with another season!  Last year was one of the best track and field seasons in school history and we can't wait to build on that success.  Our goal is to provide a positive experience while developing skills to become successful athletes, students and people.  Each year we have 80-100 student athletes with a wide range of experience and skills.  We do not cut any student athletes from the program and expect each athlete to show up every day ready to put in the work required to improve.  While many perceive track and field to be an individual sport, we place an enormous emphasis on the team aspect.  We are excited for what each individual will be bringing to our team this year!  Here is a bit of information that will get us started. 

Please be sure to share this information with other family members.  If you have additional questions after reading this please communicate with your student athlete first, and encourage them to talk with the coaches.  One of our goals is to help develop responsible young adults by promoting communication between coaches, athletes and parents.  By including the student athletes in this process it helps to develop responsibility, and also cuts down on excessive texts, phone calls, and emails.  Also, please feel free to have questions ready for the parent meeting on Friday, March 1st.

On our first day of practice athletes will be given hard copies of a few items, but we want to make sure and keep parents/guardians in the loop.  Below is some information as well as links to some resources that will help you through the season. 

1.  This website will be updated weekly on Sunday afternoons.  Thank you for bookmarking this site and making it a habit to check here for weekly updates!

2. We push out more time sensitive information using several methods in addition to the website, so please be sure to follow us where it is most convenient for you.

• Sign up for remind this year for text reminders and updates.  You can sign up by texting @cgtrack24 to 81010

• Facebook: CG Track and Field/Cross Country

• Instagram: cgtrackandfieldxc

3.   A link to a copy/printable version of our detailed schedule is here. TIMES/DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.  The most up to date schedule is always online at athletic.net (see #5 below). Please note the key at the bottom of the printable schedule as not all athletes will be competing at every meet. 

4.   There will be a parent meeting on Friday, March 1st at 6:15pm in the gym.  All spring sports will meet briefly and then we will have a track and field meeting.  Please make every effort to attend as we have some new information for this season.

5.   Athletic.net is the website that hosts all high school track and field meet results.  Sometimes meets have live results and other times they are posted shortly after the meet ends.

6.  Our team expectations are handed out to athletes on the first day of practice, but here is the link as well.  This document is loaded with information and includes a Q and A section.  Athletes are required to return the signed sheet before competing in the first meet.

7.  We will check out uniforms to each athlete for the season, but they also have the option to purchase additional apparel.  Order forms will be available for athletes to purchase personal apparel, but it is not required.  Money and the order forms should be returned to Lena Twyman in the main office by Friday, March 8th.  Forms may also be accessed and printed HERE.  After the deadline on March 8th, the items will be printed and shipped to the high school for pickup within 3-4 weeks. 

8.  There will be no practice on Friday, March 29th, but we will have practice on the first four days of spring break and practice time will be at 9am. Please see team expectations if you will not be able to attend. Any questions or concerns regarding this will be addressed at the parent meeting.

Important upcoming dates in addition to meets:

March 1st: Parent meeting at 6:15pm in the gym.

March 21st: Team pictures at 3:45pm (packets will be handed out at practice prior to this day).

March 22nd: Team potluck and Squad Competition following practice.

That should be a good start for now.  We're also looking forward to addressing any other questions or concerns at our parent meeting on the 1st.  Thank you for all you do to support the student athletes as well as the Cottage Grove Track and Field program.

Go Lions!

Ricky Knutson

Head Track and Field Coach

ricky.knutson@slane.k12.or.us