The Yoncalla Champions Complex welcomes each one of you to be involved in helping transform this amazing space to become a regional hub for both athletic and community events.
We have started the process and would love for you to help us get to the finish line. The Yoncalla Champions Complex will help each student and community member reach their potential .
About
We as a team and a community put in the work and we still run through that lake.
Even so our kids still show up.
They still love our sport.
They still want to be there.
I’m incredibly proud of the athletes we’ve had over the years. Their performance and dedication despite the challenges of practicing at a rundown facility exceeds my expectations.
The goal of a new track and field will give these athletes and our community the opportunity to take their personal goals to the next level. The obvious is that this new track will benefit the track and field team but it will be much more than that.
It’s an exciting opportunity for the entire community of Yoncalla.
The new track will also benefit youth sports in a way to hold meets and activities for our future athletes.
We’ll be able to hold community activities such as exercise programs and community based events.
Community members who use the facility for personal development will have a safe and functional place to exercise.
This is the dream we are working incredibly hard to make a reality.
The dream of having a safe, fully functional, beautiful facility that our entire community can benefit from and be proud of.
“I’m tired of running through a lake.” I’ve heard our athletes say this over the years. So we’ve done everything we could to prevent it. We’ve had several volunteers throughout the community bring their tractors and their graders to level the track. Our coaches and athletes have spent hours picking rocks, weeds and grass and moving loads of cinder by hand.
Become Part of the Championship Team
Make a donation directly or help us through in-kind donations or other ways to get us to the finish line. We could use your time, treasure or talent.
Please mail checks to:
PO Box 568
Yoncalla, OR 97499
Yoncalla Track & Field History
Yoncalla High School has a rich and successful history in track and field. The program has thrived due to the strong-willed and talented athletes trained by dedicated coaches and supported by volunteer community members.
The first championship came in 1953 there were only two divisions A and B. Led by Phil Bloomquist, Bill Fast and Jerry Boan. A team that practiced on a dirt circle, dirt runways and sawdust pits, Yoncalla won the state B championship scoring 50.5 points.
In 1967 the girls program was added. During the late 1970’s the track was converted from yards to meters and an inside curb was added.
However, it was still red cinder, unmarked, and lakes around the track every year as the Spring weather arrives and track season approaches.
The Eagles continued to persevere!
In 1982 the boys' team placed 2nd at Oregon’s 2A State Championship Track and Field Meet benefiting from the outstanding performances from Cameron Brennan and Jim Bickford.
Brennan was the Who’s Who of Oregon Track and Field HS Athlete of the year in 1982 and 1983.
The 1990s saw incremental improvements to the track with the addition of a high jump approach, a long jump runway, and the yearly addition of cinder to add to the track.
Practices began with a first lap warm-up that included everyone throwing rocks off the track and after every workout, the athletes took on facility upkeep chores. These chores included raking, pulling weeds, sweeping runways and marking jump pits, and throwing runways.
By the end of the decade, the Eagles would be champions again!
The Yoncalla Girls Team led by Miranda Brownson and Jhana Gilbert would be the 2A state runner-up in 1998 and 2A state champions in 1999. Brownson would go on to win 16 state titles over the course of her 4 years at Yoncalla. This in itself puts her as one of the top Track and Field athletes in Oregon history.
For the boys Gabe Lemay, a multi-event athlete would go on to compete for the University of Oregon in the Decathlon.
The last home track meet at Yoncalla High School took place in 1999. The school has not hosted a meet locally for over two decades!
Despite the quality of the track and field facility the Eagles have built a program that has shown amazing results and potential.
Yoncalla Athletes have competed and scored at the Oregon State Championships every year since 2006 with the exception of 2013 and 2015!
This is an amazing accomplishment despite being one of the only schools in the league and region to have a cinder track and outdated facilities.
In addition, with the help of coaches, athletes, the athletic director, and many volunteers Yoncalla was able to get the puddles of water on the track to dry out and create conditions good enough to host our first ( Middle School) track meet providing motivation for the Yoncalla Champions Complex to become a regional and storied venue in the area.
By hosting a Middle School Track Meet for 4 schools it inspired us and It was truly a day to remember. It felt so amazing to hold the event at our facility.
Moving forward our dream is to continue the tradition and the pride by working hard together to build a facility that will serve our school and community for years to come.