Baker Senior Sammy Gressley Sets School Record in 200-Meter Dash

A Baker school record that survived three decades fell Friday when senior Sammy Gressley crossed the finish line in 25.44 seconds to win the 200-meter dash at the Ontario Icebreaker, erasing the mark Tish Henes set at the 1995 state meet.

Gressley doubled her individual wins by also taking the 100-meter dash in 12.42 seconds, a wind-aided performance that ranks second in Baker High School history. The time ties her own run from last year's Greater Oregon League district meet. Lynn Edmonson's 12.30, set in 1973, remains the program's all-time standard in the event.

The Bulldogs girls team scored 62.94 points to finish third in the team standings. La Grande won the girls competition with 118.64, followed by Vale at 66.14. Baker's boys squad placed second with 79 points behind La Grande's winning total of 114.

Gressley was far from the only Baker athlete to make an impression on the opening meet of the season. Kate Norton won the shot put with a throw of 39 feet, 1 inch. Gwen Rasmussen took second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:36.10. Romie Spooner placed fifth in the 400 meters at 1:06.99. Hannah Sullivan finished seventh in the 1,500 meters in 5:48.03, and Matty Gressley placed 11th in the same event at 6:07.33.

The Baker 4x100 relay team of Sophia Fortin, Anaya Sanchez, Remy Damschen and Juniper Joseph finished fifth in 55.67 seconds.

In the 100 meters, Powder Valley's Sky Nesser finished third overall at 13.46. Baker's Sophia Fortin placed 19th at 14.28, followed by Ellie Murphy 20th at 14.41. In the 200, Nesser again represented the combined Baker-PV contingent well, placing fourth at 27.98. Fortin was 16th at 29.76, Meren Jesenko 21st at 30.51, Juniper Joseph 24th at 30.87 and Ellie Murphy 26th at 31.19.

Gressley's 25.44 now stands alone in the Baker record book, a number that held up against every Bulldog sprinter for 31 years before she arrived in Ontario.