Gresham Track Makes a Comeback

   In a bounceback year for track and field, the high school’s most diverse sport hit numbers that no one could have predicted, along with offering opportunities for many to improve their personal records.

   “At one point we had 128 or 29 Kids cleared,” Head Track Coach Tim Mowery said. “As with every sports season, different things come up and people aren’t able to continue or they find out it’s not for them. but we’re still hanging out in the teens, so we met the goal and I’ve been really impressed.” Mowery said.

   One of the standout athletes in the 2022 season has been Oliver Reis, who is the top triple jumper for 6A in the state, and one of the main contributors on the 4×100 relay team.

   “My goals for Oliver Reis this year are having him do very well at districts so he can make it to state. Right now he’s the best jumper in 6A. ”Jumping Coach Victor Homsanith said. “I also have to give credit where it’s due with Max (Young) and Hayden (Spencer) for showing him the ropes before I came in and essentially tweaked him up to the point where he’s at now.”

   Another breakout in the junior class is runner Noah Letter, who became the fastest runner for Gresham in both the 200 and 400. His growth during his junior season has helped the team become competitive in the longer sprint categories.

   “I think the highlight of my season is getting 23.9 seconds for my 200 which I’ve been stuck at, 24 or 25 for the past year or so,” junior Noah Letter said. “I had to do five races that day, which is quite a bit and I was expecting to be really tired and do pretty bad, but I actually did really well. I had PR’s in most of my events and I felt good about it, all around it was just a good experience.“

   In a team of more than a hundred athletes, the throwers have carved out their own community within the greater track and field program. 

   “You got the whole track team like the whole like 120-ish people and then you got like 30 or so throwers. We bring food that we all share,” sophomore Jack Betts-Prince said. “We’re separated from the team, but we all still go for the 4×4 (The final event of the meet) and so it’s a lot tighter and you get to know each other a lot more. So it’s like a community within the community,” 

   What seemed to be a huge emphasis in each of the coaches and athletes minds when it came to this season was the memories they had created. From the Dean Nice invitational, to the mid-snowstorm practice.

   “I will not forget going out for practice and it’s snowing in April, mid April, and it was fun watching the team instead of complaining and moaning about it,” Mowery said. “People started to turn it into a big snowball fight. People are messing around having so much fun.”