Baker middle school teams finish second at Imbler Invitational

Baker Middle School came home from the Imbler Invitational with more than two second-place finishes. It left Imbler, Oregon, with a clear sign that the Bulldogs’ feeder system is already producing high school-level depth, led by Ayla Kamerdula’s eighth-grade record in the high jump.

Baker’s girls scored 175.5 points on Thursday, May 7, and finished just half a point behind La Grande’s 176. The Baker boys also placed second behind La Grande. In a meet that tight, one placing or one late relay can decide the team race, and Baker was right in the middle of it on both sides.

Kamerdula delivered the headline mark by clearing 5 feet to set the Baker eighth-grade high jump record. That kind of performance matters because it is not only a personal breakthrough, but also the sort of result that shows Baker athletes are developing into all-around competitors before they ever reach high school.

The Imbler meet fits a pattern that has been building all spring. Baker Middle School’s girls won the Grant Union Invitational on Saturday, May 4, while the boys placed third. At that meet, Kate Norton set an eighth-grade school record in the javelin with a throw of 93 feet, 9 inches. Earlier this spring, Baker also won both team titles at a meet in Crane and set three school records there, including Norton’s marks in the shot put and discus.

That kind of record-setting across multiple events points to a program with balance, not just one star carrying the load. For Baker/Powder Valley/Pine Eagle, the co-op high school program that eventually receives many of these athletes, that continuity is a major advantage. The middle school results suggest Baker County is building a pipeline that can keep the Bulldogs competitive against La Grande, Imbler and other Eastern Oregon programs for years to come.