After ending behind Josie Donelson twice, Newberg’s Sophia Castaneda lastly will get her personal gold medal

For the previous two years, Newberg’s Sophia Castaneda has been considered one of a pack of Oregon highschool monitor stars which will have discovered state gold in a number of years had it not been for Lake Oswego’s Josie Donelson.

Now at Vanderbilt, Donelson is considered one of Oregon’s finest to ever contact the monitor. She holds the state file within the 300-meter hurdles and the 400-meter sprint. She gained 12 whole state golds between the 2 particular person occasions and the relays.

Within the 400, Castaneda was compelled to look at. She was the state runner-up as a freshman and completed third final 12 months.

Now a junior, it’s lastly her flip. On Saturday on the OSAA Class 6A monitor and area state championships at Hayward Area, Castaneda was capable of maintain off the competitors for her first gold.

“I’m so blissful,” Castaneda mentioned.

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Castaneda completed in 53.83 seconds. She was capable of narrowly edge out Roosevelt’s Ellie Heslam (54.31) and West Linn’s Reese Jensen (55.65).

Castaneda’s time was just a bit behind her private better of 53.62, regardless of some winds in Eugene on Saturday that threatened to gradual issues down.

“I really feel like I executed it very well,” she mentioned. “I ran a quick 200. And we couldn’t really feel the headwind on the again stretch.”

Regardless of competing towards one another, Castaneda additionally credited Heslam as somebody who has pushed her to grow to be higher on the monitor.

“She’s helped me develop a lot,” Castaneda mentioned. ”We’re fairly good buddies and we did our recruitment collectively and it’s simply so nice to have somebody that’s subsequent to me wish to race with. And she or he’s similar to a extremely good human being so I’m simply blissful to have her with me.”

From final 12 months, Castaneda has dropped her season finest from 54.17 seconds to 53.62 and now stands among the many state’s all-time finest within the occasion.

The distinction, she mentioned, is a quicker beginning 200 within the occasion as she works to achieve an early lead.

“I undoubtedly need to thank my coach for that as a result of I’ve been with him for all of highschool and he’s additionally my weights coach and so he’s been pushing me to do higher on the entrance stretch.”