The state record in the girls 400 meters stood for 27 years before Lake Oswego's Josie Donelson shattered it by more than one second as a senior last season.
Now it's looking like Donelson's record already could be in jeopardy.
Newberg junior Sophia Castaneda has started the season on a tear. She clocked a personal-best 54.16 seconds in her first 400 of the season April 4 at the Oregon Relays, then ran a scorching 53.76 in the Therapeutic Associates Chehalem Classic on April 18 on her home track.
Castaneda has moved up to No. 2 on the state's all-time list, within one second of Donelson's record of 52.83.
“I wouldn't say it was expected, but she's definitely put in the time,” Newberg coach Brandon Ramey said of the impressive start. “It's been a real complex training schedule the last six months, and all that time is really paying off. She's in a good spot, and having said that, she's only a junior.”
Castaneda, who placed third in both the 400 and 200 at the 6A meet last year, trained in the weight room throughout the offseason with Ramey, the school's strength coach. She got her competitive juices flowing in the winter by running in three indoor meets, including New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, where she placed 12th in the 400 (55.47).
She is confident and aggressive, attacking races from the start.
“Last year, she was kind of tentative coming out of the blocks,” Ramey said. “When she ran against some of those great runners, she'd let them get too much of a head start.
“We kind of changed that strategy to make sure she was competing in the 400 like a sprinter. The last couple races, for sure, she's had some of her best starts, and it's showed.”
She finished first at the Oregon Relays, knocking .01 seconds off her PR to finish well ahead of the runner-up, Roosevelt senior Ellis Heslam (54.94). She was looking for a good test April 12 in the prestigious Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational, but after running the 200, she was a scratch in the 400 due to concerns about heat exhaustion.
“I could just tell she was out of it,” Ramey said. “She got kind of dizzy warming up.”
Castaneda turned her focus to the Chehalem Classic. She spent the week leading up to the meet training to break the 54-second mark.
“We were kind of pushing for her to run 53.9, 53.8, and she just went out and said, 'I'm going to go 53.7,'” Ramey said. “She was much more comfortable. There was no real strategy, it was just come out and see how fast you can get to the 45-second mark before you really start tying up. She made it faster to 45 seconds than she ever has, and she never seemed to tie up. She had more in her.”
In fact, Castaneda felt so strong that she came back late in the meet to run a mid-53 split in a mixed 4x400 relay, helping the Tigers to a win.
The 5-foot-7 Castaneda has a long stride that “just eats up the track,” according to Ramey.
“She's just a naturally fluid runner. Her gait is long,” he said. “She's one of those genetically gifted people that can run faster farther on the track than most people. You put that together with all the work she put in during the offseason, and it's coming together right now.”
Castaneda ran the 200 in 25.04 at Arcadia, well off her PR of 24.41 but good enough to rank No. 3 in the state this season. She is a strong finisher in the 200, and as she improves her starts, Ramey said she could push the 24-second mark, which would put her in the state's all-time top 10.
But much of the attention Castaneda receives will be in the 400. Dropping from 53.76 won't be easy, but she has shown an ability to make big jumps.
“She does seem to skip a gap every once in a while, when she's really feeling good,” Ramey said. “I would expect she could go a little bit faster. We'll see what happens when she gets in competition. It's going to be exciting.”
Notes:
Girls
Westview junior Saskia Dorf triple-jumped 40 feet, 10 inches in a home meet against Jesuit on April 16, the No. 2 mark in state history behind McDaniel's Maleigha Canaday-Elliott, who went 41-2 ¼ as a senior in 2024. Dorf, the 6A runner-up to Canaday-Elliott last year, added 14 inches to her personal best (39-7 ¾ last April). … South Albany junior Pharalynn Dickson, the two-time reigning 5A champion in the 100, 200 and 400, had a big meet in the John Oliver Invitational on April 18 at Central. Dickson won the 400 in 54.71, lowering her PR from 55.80 and moving into a tie for eighth on the state's all-time list. She also won the 200 in 24.33, beating her previous best of 24.55 and climbing to No. 10 all-time in the state. …
In the same meet, South Albany freshman Charis Rettman improved on her 5A-leading 100 time by running 12.14. Her previous best was 12.32. Rettman also is ranked second in 5A in the 200 (25.23), behind Dickson. … Estacada senior Abby Behrman took the state lead in the discus by throwing 153-3 in an April 16 home meet, a PR by more than 11 feet. She stands ahead of Tigard junior Marissa Johnson, who threw a personal-best 150-3 at the Sunset Team Challenge on April 18. … Philomath senior Anneka Steen is the state leader in the high jump after clearing 5-6 at the John Oliver Invitational. Her previous best was 5-4.
Boys
Oregon City senior Keaton Moore ran the 200 in 21.53 in a meet against West Linn on April 16, improving on his PR of 21.69 and moving him to No. 32 all-time in the state. Moore leads the state this season in the 100 and 200. His 100 time of 10.63 is tied for No. 19 on the all-time list. … Crater sophomore Maxwell Miracle leads the state in the 800 after clocking 1:53.85 in the Phillips-Klimek Distance Twilight Meet on April 18 at Phoenix. He took nearly four seconds off his previous best. … Central senior Gabriel Haynes added more than two feet to his PR in the shot with a state-leading throw of 58-1 ½ in a meet at Lebanon on April 16. …
Woodburn senior Joaquin Parsons improved on his school record in the 100 (10.96) and broke the school record in the 200 (22.54) in a meet at South Albany on April 15. … Burns senior Carsen Volle broke a 58-year-old school record in the 110 hurdles by finishing in 14.83 in the Boise Invite on April 18. He leads 3A in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles (38.84). … Eagle Point's 4x100 relay set a school record for the second time in two weeks by running 42.42 at the Phoenix Invitational on April 19. The time leads 5A.
jerryu@osaa.org
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