The Oregon Relays: Data, Grit, and the King of the Bounce Back
Yesterday, I had the Oregon Relays live feed open in a background tab while I worked. By the time the afternoon heated up, I was completely locked in from the couch, watching the data roll in for the high-stakes races.
It sounds crazy, but as the lap splits refreshed on my screen, I could literally visualize the races. I’ve been inches away from these athletes so many times with a camera that I could see their form changing as they fought for position in the pack.
Even though I wasn’t on the ground at Hayward Field, the narratives were clear. Seeing Leah Hennen go out hot in the Freshman Girls 2-Mile was zero surprise. I pictured her dropping back to conserve energy before launching into a massive kick—which is exactly what the data showed. A few laps in, teammates Gemma Stevick and Eliza Johnson locked in together, running with grouped confidence.
Freshman track athlete Leah Hennen runs during a race in Olympia, WA. The image is used for editorial coverage of the Oregon Relays. Commercial sports and editorial photography engineered by Russell Moore Photography in Olympia, WA.
The Bears are currently fielding an incredible roster of freshmen, and I kept a close eye on them as they stepped onto one of the country's most prestigious stages. As the evening progressed, I pulled data on Anneliese Jones, James Levitt, Quenton Lanese, and the relay squads.
But early in the day, one specific entry caught my attention: the Boys 1600m SMR. I knew the lineup, and the strategy was intriguing. The anchor leg belonged to Caden Durocher—Olympia’s undisputed senior leader and the king of the bounce-back, who has been on an absolute tear after sitting out XC and most of last year's track season.
Looking at the heat sheet, I knew the Bears would compete, but I didn't have them taking the crown. The top-seeded time from Wilson (Long Beach) was already faster than the meet record. On paper, it was a lock.
Then my screen reloaded.
Not only did the Bears win, they shattered the meet record and instantly became the 2026 US #1 in the event. I am never surprised by the sheer grit of this team, but I did not see a national number-one spot coming.
Track athlete Caden Durocher of Olympia High School recovers after a race at Olympia High School. Commercial sports and editorial photography engineered by Russell Moore Photography in Olympia, WA.
I started stalking the Oregon Relays social feeds for the visual proof. When the video finally dropped, there was Caden in the final 100m, fighting tooth and nail for his spot. The second he crossed the line, an ever-vocal Sam Rigg sprinted over to hype him up. Up in the stands, Sydney Kosa and dozens of other Bears were completely losing their minds.
To close out the night, Quenton Lanese toed the line as the youngest runner in the Boys 1-Mile Championship. He finished 15th in 4:14.53, clocking the US #37 time overall. Did I mention he's a freshman?
Olympia was the main event for me, but they weren't the only ones I was tracking. Every race was a chance to see how the athletes I document hold up under the pressure of the big stage.
| Event Group | Rank | Athlete | Unit / School | Confirmed Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys 3200m | 1 | Malachi Schoenherr | OR Sheldon | 8:53.74 |
| Boys 3200m | 2 | Mason Morical | OR Caldera | 8:59.06 |
| Boys 3200m | 4 | Leroy Lozano Mejia | OR Hermiston | 9:02.62 |
| Boys 3200m | 5 | Ty Cirino | OR Central | 9:03.38 |
| Boys 3200m | 6 | Oliver Zimmerman | WA Cedar Park Christian | 9:04.01 |
| Boys 3200m | 8 | Stejer Franklin | WA Mead | 9:05.36 |
| Boys 3200m | 9 | Max Billett | WA Shorewood | 9:08.82 |
| Boys 3200m | 10 | Elijah Graves | WA Shorewood | 9:10.48 |
| Boys 3200m | 11 | Otto Sellers | OR Ida B. Wells | 9:10.94 |
| Boys 3200m | 13 | Ashenafi McKinnis | OR North Eugene | 9:14.73 |
| Boys 3200m | 14 | Benjamin Kehrein | OR Sheldon | 9:15.33 |
| Boys 3200m | 16 | Leo Brown | OR West Linn | 9:16.15 |
| Boys 3200m | 17 | Jayden Warner | OR Warrenton | 9:19.24 |
| Boys 3200m | 18 | Malcolm Dimoff | OR Lincoln | 9:20.34 |
| Boys 3200m | 19 | Finley Lyke | OR Bend | 9:20.92 |
| Boys 3200m | 20 | Carson Buergey | OR Thurston | 9:30.03 |
| Boys 3200m | 21 | Oskar Koontz | WA Stadium | 9:30.36 |
| Boys 3200m | 23 | Kai Jensen | OR Cleveland | 9:32.70 |
| Boys 3200m | 24 | Seth Kugel | OR Lincoln | 9:43.44 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 2 | Ruby Ihmels | OR Century | 4:49.53 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 3 | Kjirsten Ludeman | WA Sehome | 4:50.26 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 5 | Brynn Davenport | OR Crater | 4:53.47 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 9 | Eleanor Wyatt | OR West Linn | 4:59.65 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 11 | Samantha Knipp | WA Sehome | 5:01.19 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 14 | Cricket Phipps | OR North Eugene | 5:11.29 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 15 | Amber Green | OR Dallas | 5:11.88 |
| Elite Girls Mile | 16 | Macallan Cutsforth | OR Canby | 5:13.18 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 1 | Cassidy Armstrong | WA Ballard | 10:24.54 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 3 | Latham West | WA Bonney Lake | 10:32.88 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 4 | Maddie Carney | OR Caldera | 10:37.60 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 5 | Nelida Dalgas | OR North Salem | 10:40.35 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 6 | Ella Koch | WA Union | 10:41.22 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 7 | Natalie Kupka | OR Ashland | 10:41.49 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 8 | Sloane Clines | WA Sehome | 10:46.03 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 9 | Elyse Henriksen | OR Lincoln | 10:48.04 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 10 | Mari Dunlap | OR Crater | 10:49.54 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 13 | Sophia Capozzi | OR Summit | 11:01.26 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 14 | Miley Morical | OR Caldera | 11:02.97 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 16 | Adelaide Nelson | OR St Mary's Academy | 11:03.91 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 17 | Lil Desler | WA Sehome | 11:15.16 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 19 | Sara Thompson | WA Union | 11:17.90 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 20 | Alison Fajardo | OR Franklin | 11:20.30 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 21 | Sophia Service | OR Tigard | 11:22.79 |
| Elite Girls 3200m | 22 | Syl Perrin | OR Hood River Valley | 11:29.73 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 4 | Yosuke Shibata | OR South Eugene | 4:09.97 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 6 | Ronan Gantzos | OR Oregon Episcopal | 4:11.11 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 7 | Cohen Butler | WA Camas | 4:11.25 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 8 | Garrett Faught | OR Crater | 4:11.34 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 9 | Clayton Jero | OR Summit | 4:11.41 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 10 | Bjorn Blankenship | OR Summit | 4:11.64 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 12 | Peter James | OR Lincoln | 4:11.87 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 13 | Liam Wilde | OR Wilsonville | 4:13.12 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 14 | Amin Fidaar | WA Rogers (Puyallup) | 4:13.34 |
| Elite Boys Mile | 15 | Quenton Lanese | WA Olympia | 4:14.53 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 1 | Ryder White | OR Crater | 9:20.29 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 3 | Cole Julian | WA Mt. Spokane | 9:42.28 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 4 | Jake Powell | WA Mercer Island | 9:51.19 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 5 | Cooper Altenburg | OR La Grande | 9:52.43 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 6 | Kellan Roberts | WA Shorewood | 9:52.48 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 7 | Carter Corrigan | WA Jackson | 9:52.52 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 8 | Oz Cohen | WA Issaquah | 9:56.51 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 9 | William Strasser | OR Milwaukie | 9:57.12 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 10 | Gideon Bosh | WA Curtis | 9:59.41 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 11 | Ezra Morgan | OR South Medford | 9:59.54 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 12 | Chester Essink | OR Lincoln | 10:01.40 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 13 | Ian Houston | OR West Linn | 10:05.11 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 14 | Angelo Pedrini | OR North Bend | 10:05.41 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 15 | Mason Strogen | WA Camas | 10:09.95 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 16 | Zain Pour | WA Shorecrest | 10:13.32 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 17 | Ronan McElligott | OR Marist | 10:18.65 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 19 | James Levitt | WA Olympia | 10:27.66 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 20 | Brendan Sullivan | WA Mercer Island | 10:31.60 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 21 | Angelo Chapeton Zamboni | OR Caldera | 10:33.13 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 23 | Taylor Noble | OR Adrienne Nelson | 10:34.12 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 25 | Henry Dotson | OR Siuslaw | 10:34.99 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 26 | Adrian Reyes | OR Franklin | 10:37.23 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 27 | Caleb Young | WA Shadle Park | 10:38.06 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 29 | Cameron Acton | OR Westview | 10:43.12 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 30 | Greysen Doyle | OR Siuslaw | 10:56.54 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 31 | Hudson Stange | OR Central | 10:57.16 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 32 | Joshua Ben Mendoza Vazquez | OR Franklin | 10:59.10 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 33 | Ames O'Neal | OR Franklin | 10:59.57 |
| Fresh Boys 3200m | 34 | Finley Schoenherr | OR Sheldon | 11:01.00 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 3 | Jaya Holt | WA Glacier Peak | 11:12.41 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 4 | Nezeya Bugher | OR Sherwood | 11:14.07 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 6 | Bella Heczey | WA Mercer Island | 11:17.65 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 8 | Paige Ricks | WA Sehome | 11:27.86 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 9 | Leah Hennen | WA Olympia | 11:30.31 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 10 | Rizah Despres | WA Mercer Island | 11:31.38 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 13 | Claire Philips | WA Mead | 11:37.59 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 14 | Olivia Decker | WA Shorewood | 11:38.24 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 15 | Maya Crane | WA Gig Harbor | 11:40.89 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 17 | Isa Nicholson | OR Grant | 11:44.10 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 18 | Alma Galicia | OR Ashland | 11:45.41 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 19 | Gemma Stevick | WA Olympia | 11:47.63 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 20 | Eliza Johnson | WA Olympia | 11:54.91 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 21 | Abigail Davis | WA Redmond | 11:57.43 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 22 | Hannah Mangan | OR Southridge | 12:00.67 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 23 | Olive Prideaux | OR West Linn | 12:03.42 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 24 | Emerson Mobley | OR West Linn | 12:04.09 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 25 | Brynnlie Upchurch | WA Gig Harbor | 12:05.30 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 26 | Ava Ontiveros | OR Crater | 12:06.66 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 27 | Scout Zundel | OR Ashland | 12:08.46 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 28 | Anna Betts | OR Corvallis | 12:08.47 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 29 | Emma Wurster | WA Issaquah | 12:09.03 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 30 | Eleanora Diment | OR South Eugene | 12:10.28 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 32 | Greta DeKoker | OR Lincoln | 12:22.24 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 33 | Iris Wheelwright | WA Eastlake | 12:30.45 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 34 | Harper Welch | WA Shorecrest | 12:44.19 |
| Fresh Girls 3200m | 35 | Kadence May | OR North Salem | 13:01.78 |
