Emily Picard came on late to get an upset win the 1,500 meters at the 4A Girls State Track and Field Championships

A state championship from Emily Picard and a school record in the boys 4×100 relay were among the highlights of the 2025 4A State Track and Field Championships May 30-31.

In the girls competition, the Buffalos took 11th out of 28 teams, finishing with 27 points, one behind 10th-place Stayton. Philomath won with 80 points and La Grande was second with 69.5.

Picard’s surprise win in the 1,500 may have been the biggest upset in the meet. She went into event projected to finish seventh or eighth, but her powerful kick at the end carried her to the victory. She finished in 4:46.57, barely beating La Grande’s Cecilia Villagomez-Edvalson’s 4:46.85.

After the first lap, the Madras senior was in fourth. She was sixth at the race’s midway point, and fifth entering the bell lap.

She wanted to cry when she crossed the finish line. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy after winning the race and the state title.

“I came into the race ranked eighth, so I was aiming for fifth or fourth,” Picard said. “And I got first, so I was super excited at the finish line.

“I did not know I had that in me,” Picard added. “I for sure thought I was going to get at max third, so I’m so stoked to get first.”

Everything seemed to click for Picard in the race, especially when it came to timing her kick. Picard finished just ahead of Villagomez Edvalson (4:46.85) after surging past four runners in her 70-second final lap. “One of my coaches always tells me to trust my kick,” Picard said. “So going into that last 400 meters, I was saying, ‘Trust your kick, Emily, just go.’”

Picard also had a great 3,000, finishing fourth in a personal-record 10:32.34.  Villagomez-Edvalson won the race by five seconds over teammate Brooke Perry. Ellie Massey of North Bend was third in 10:26.51.

The meet capped an outstanding prep distance running career for Picard. She won the district cross-country title last fall and both the district 1,500 and 3,000 meter this spring, maybe the best senior year of any MHS female distance runners in MHS history.

Another Buffalo senior, Addy Adams finished her career with a pair of fourth-place finishes in the long and triple jumps. She went 16-8.5 in the long jump. Janice Hellestro of Philomath won the event with a 18-6. In the triple, a pair of Astoria girls went one-two. Clara Moore soared 36-11.75 to win and Maevri Bergerson was second in 36-9.5. Mada Lee of Mazama was third at 36-0.

The Buffalos’4×400 team of Ana Boyle, Picard, Marlee Simmelink and Miriam Egoavil took seventh with a 4:12.63, missing fourth place by roughly a half-second. Junction City won in 4:01.39. The Madras 4×100 team of Egoavil, Boyle, Caylie Owens and Simmelink finished ninth in 50.84. Cascade won in 48.79.

2025 4A State Track and Field Championships

Hayward Field, May 30-31

Team scores, top 10 teams – Philomath 80, La Grande 68.5, Cascade 52, Crook County 39, Mazama 38, Molalla/Colton 38, Klamath Union 37, North Bend 34, Junction City 31, Stayton 28 (Madras 11th with 27)

The Bulletin’s Brian Rathbone contributed to this report.