By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club honored McNary’s Violet Siegel (Softball), Sprague’s Carson Hunsaker (Boys Track and Field) and Jaida Carrodine (Girls Track and Field), Sprague’s Jace Dalton (Baseball), McNary’s Yosef Picazo and Derek Olivo (Boys Track and Field) at this past Friday’s meeting.
Here’s the Press Release:
Jace was honored last year for baseball as well.
Salem Sports and Breakfast Club (since 1954)
Les Schwab (since 2013) Athletes of the Week
February 18th, 2025
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from McNary Softball, is Violet Siegel.
Violet, a junior, is a third-year varsity player for the Celts. McNary is 9-4 on the season including a 10-4 league opening win over Sprague. At the Best of the West tournament, Violet hit a walk off grand slam to secure the 5-1 win over Southridge. She is hitting .465 with 5 doubles and a homerun and already has 14 RBIs on the season. From Coach Brewer, “She is not only a great athlete but great student and is a part of the unified programs at McNary.”
Violet’s was an AOTW for softball last season as well.
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athletes of the Week, both from Sprague Track and Field, are Jaida Carrodine and Carson Hunsaker.
Jaida, a senior and team captain, is a hurdler and jumper for the Olys. She currently leads the Central Valley Conference in the 100 meter hurdles at 16.64 seconds, the high jump at 4’11¾”, the triple jump at 33’11¼”, and is tied for best in the long jump at 16’ 3¼”. Coach Charles says, “…Jaida is a heptathlete in the making…and will be a force in our district meet.”
Carson, also a senior and team captain, is a three-sport athlete for the Olys. He is currently leading the CVC by 3′ in the pole vault. Carson recently vaulted 14’7¼ ” at the dual meet against West, winning the competition by over 3′. He is currently sitting as the #3 all-time in Sprague history and according to Coach Charles, “… has sights on breaking the school record soon”.
These are the first AOTW honors for both Jaida and Carson.
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athlete of the Week, from Sprague Baseball, is Jace Dalton.
Jace, a senior, is a pitcher and infielder for the Olys who are currently 7-5 in pre-season. Last week versus three high quality non-league opponents, Jace went 4 for 8 at the plate, including a double and a triple, while also drawing 3 walks. He also started on the mound last Friday, throwing 100 pitches in the 2-1 win over currently #7 Lakeridge where he scattered 3 hits and allowed a single unearned run over 6 innings. He also helped his cause at the plate with a 10 pitch at bat that ended with a two out, 2 RBI single to set the final score. Jace is 2-0 this season on the mound with a 1.6 ERA.
The Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Les Schwab Athletes of the Week, both from McNary Track and Field, are Yosef Picazo and Derek Olivo.
Yosef is a junior for the Celts. At the CVC relays at Sprague, Yosef anchored the boys 4×800 meter relay in a big victory, beating the next closest team by 50 seconds. He followed that performance with another great leg during the Oregon Relays at the University of Oregon’s Hayward field. Yosef won his leg with a PR of 1:55.30, the second fastest 800 in McNary history and the fastest time run by any Oregon high schooler from all classifications so far this season. From Coach Christensen, “As he continues to excel on the track, he’s also taking care of business in the classroom where he’s earned his way onto the honor roll while taking AP and other college-level courses.”
This is Yosef’s third AOTW honor. He has been honored twice for track and field and once for cross country.
Derek is a sophomore for the Celts. At the opening meet of the season, the Kingsmen Icebreaker, Derek beat his personal bests from the previous season in all of his events. He improved in the discus by nearly 30′ to reach a mark of 151’1″. He threw 45′ 6½” in the shot put to beat his previous PR by more than 5 feet. And he improved his 2024 season record of 171′ 2″ in the javelin with a throw of 189′! His javelin throw broke the 21-year-old McNary High School record by nearly a half-foot! At the Oregon Relays Derek came in as the 6th seed in the javeline and won the event with a new PR and school record. But that didn’t last long. Last Friday at the Vic Downs Mac Invite, he threw 202’1”, placing him 1st at the meet and currently 4th overall in the nation.
Derek was honored as an AOTW for track and field last week as well.
