Sports

3 Whiteaker athletes break track records

Head coach Brad Kilgroe, Derek Olivo, Aris Vasseur, Sole Bartlemay and Jocelyn Schnurbusch. (Submitted Photo)

Decades old track and field records fell this season at Whiteaker Middle School. 

Jocelyn Schnurbusch, Derek Olivo and Sole Bartlemay broke eighth, seventh and sixth grade records respectively.

Schnurbusch broke the 24-year old 1500m eighth grade girls record that was held by Maren Asay. Schnurbusch’s time of 5 minutes, 19.54 seconds was nearly four full seconds faster than Asay’s time from 1998. 

The record time came in a dual meet with cross-town rival Claggett Creek Middle School on May 5 at McNary High School. Rainy conditions led to a track that wasn’t optimal for breaking records, according to head coach Brad Kilgoe.

And according to Kilgroe, Schnurbusch’s day wasn’t done. She changed out of her spikes and headed into a choir performance being held at McNary.

“This just goes to show you what kind of student-athlete Jocelyn is,” Kilgroe said.

But Schnurbusch wasn’t done. Three weeks later at the Oregon Meet of Champions in Corvallis, she broke her own record with a time of 5:07:15. 

Olivo broke a seventh grade boys discus record that had stood for 15 years. His toss of 104 feet, six inches broke Jordan Ruiz’s 2007 record throw of 103’3”. 

Ruiz, now a coach at Houck Middle School, was at the Salem-Keizer All-City Championships on May 17 when his record was broken. 

And just like Schnurbusch, Olivo bested his own record at the Meet of Champions with a throw of 108’10”. 

“He is a wonderful example of what happens when a dedicated student-athlete works hard both in the classroom and on the field,” Whiteaker throw coach Kelly Hafer said.

Also at the Meet of Champions, Bartlemay broke the sixth grade field 200 meters record with a time of 28.28 seconds. 

“It’s a goal of many athletes every year to add their name to the record wall,” Kilgroe said. I always catch kids looking up there wondering if they can do it. Sole is one of those special athletes that knows she can.”