Lake Oswego sprinters Donelson, Bauman pushing program forward
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — It’s been quite literally a sprint for the Lake Oswego track and field team over the last two months.
Thankfully they’ve passed with flying colors.
“Most of the schools we’re racing against have three to four times the school population that we have,” said Lakers track and field head coach John Parks. “The kids get excited by it because they know we’re not expected to be this sprint powerhouse.”
With record-breaking sprinter Mia Brahe-Pedersen out with an injury, you would expect Lake Oswego’s sprinting program to take a step back.
That has been hardly the case, as a few other sprinters on both the boys’ and girls’ side have emerged as some of the best in the nation in their events.
“We’ve been to Spokane, Gainesville for the Florida Relays, New York for Nike Indoor Nationals, and then Los Angeles for the Arcadia Invitational, so we’ve crisscrossed to every four corners of the country to getting good competition and that’s the challenge,” said Parks. “They’ve bought in that if you challenge yourself to better competition, you can raise your level.”
Two of the most shining examples of that were how senior sprinters Josie Donelson and James Bauman performed at the Arcadia Invitational a few weeks ago.
The meet is one of the top high school events in the country, bringing in competitors from around 25 states.
Donelson placed first in the 400 meters with a time of 53.17 seconds and when factoring in wind differences in heats, Bauman won the 100 meters, with a time of 10.37.
“My last time racing there, I was just happy to even be in a solid heat,” said Donelson. “I remember I PR’d there with a time of 55, so to come back with a time of 53.17 and also come back being the Arcadia champion? It was a really awesome full-circle moment and just something I’m pretty proud of.”
“It was exciting,” said Bauman. “The last couple years I’ve always seen it. I’ve seen these kids run these fast times and I’ve been like, ‘Wow, I want to run at that meet.’ So going there and actually running at it and winning was really exciting.”
Overall, the uncommitted Bauman knocked off Lake Oswego High’s 60-year-old 100-meter record this year and is .3 seconds away from breaking the state 200-meter record.
“My younger self would believe it,” said Bauman. “I think this has always been a goal for me, and I knew I could accomplish it. All it was was the work that I put in.”
Meanwhile, Donelson holds the Oregon state record in the 400 and is closing in on the 300-meter hurdle record as well.
The Vanderbilt commit is hopeful to get a qualifying time for the US Olympic Track and Field trials in the 400-meter hurdles this year.
“It’s felt really good,” said Donelson of her season. “I’ve been really working hard and working towards a lot of my goals for a while and to see them come to fruition like this and get attention for them too, it’s a pretty good feeling.”
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