PIL student-athletes were among the top performers at the 2023 OSAA Track & Field State Championships at Hayward Field on May 25th - 27th. Lincoln boys claimed its first team title since 2007 by winning the 4x400, the final event, behind sophomore Ryan Hendrickson, freshman Nicholas Ranalli, senior Alexander Rhodes and junior Nathan Davidson. Their 10 points proved to be the difference for the Cardinals, who finished with 55 points, pushing past Sheldon (51).

Lincoln's Grant Nyhus was the state champion in the triple jump. Nikki Prall took 2nd in the Pole Vault, with Alex Rhodes taking home the gold in the 400m. Roosevelt boys finished 6th overall, a huge accomplishment for the season. Will Heslam took 1st place finishes in the 1500m, breaking the state meet record, and in the 800m. Heslam is committed to running at the University of Oregon next year. Nywan Campbell took 3rd in the discuss and 4th in shot put. On the girls' side, Ellie Heslam took 3rd in the 400m, with Havana Alonso taking 2nd in the Javelin. Franklin's Ethan Aman took 5th in state in the Shot Put, setting a new PR of 50.03. This was the 1st "over 50 ft throw" for Franklin in 14 years. Junior Maleigha Canaday-Elliot from McDaniel won the state championship in the triple jump, with a score of 40'6.

Several PIL athletes placed in the top 10 in numerous events. For a complete list of the results, click HERE.

Lincoln Junior Will Semler is the 2023 OSAA Tennis Singles State Champion in boys tennis for the 2nd year in a row. He defeated Tannor Binder of Beaverton, having done the same thing last year to be crowned the champion. Semler and Binder will both play tennis for the University of Portland next year and have become training partners and great friends (OregonLive Article HERE).

Wells' Claudia Barbieri ended her season strong, competing in the 3rd place match but falling short to Jesuit's Carissa Gerung. Lincoln's double's team, Anabella Wilkinson and Reece Emmert, made it to the 3rd round of the championships, only to lose to West Linn's DeVall sisters, eventual 3rd Place winners.

The PIL softball season saw three programs advance to the 6A state playoffs. League champions #16 Roosevelt, along with #24 Franklin and #29 McDaniel all reached the postseason, but unfortunately, all three teams fell in the first round.

In baseball the PIL champs #8 Lincoln and third place finishers #13 Grant lost one-run games to lower seeds in the first round. #15 Wells was the lone PIL program to win their playoff matchup, earning a comeback 8-7 win over McMinnville on a walk-off hit from senior Eli Berg. In the second round, the Guardians drew #2 Jesuit and lost 14-3.

#23 Roosevelt also made the playoffs and broke a long-time postseason drought for their baseball program. Roosevelt lost to Sherwood in the first round, but still finished their season with a winning record at 14-13 and earned 4th place in the PIL. In doing so the Roughriders also became the only PIL school to send both softball and baseball to the state playoffs.

The following teams won the PIL League and/or District Title for their respective sports:

Baseball - Lincoln

Softball - Roosevelt

Girls Golf - Wells

Boys Golf - Grant

Girls Track & Field - Lincoln (JV team placed 1st as well)

Boys Track & Field - Lincoln (JV team placed 1st as well)

Girls Tennis - Grant

Boys Tennis - Lincoln

Click the links below for the All-League selections:

2023 Baseball 1st & 2nd Team Selections

2023 Softball 1st & 2nd Team Selections

Benson's "Tech Youth United" (TYU) is a multi-pronged program that was created by the Benson High School Athletic Department. It aims to expose the Portland youth to Benson athletics, as well as encouraging activity and athletics. The youth will be provided with opportunities to participate in athletics, regardless of skill or athletic experience. TYU also hopes to encourage multi-sport athletes, starting at a young age.

Since it's inception in the summer of 2022, TYP has served 400+ kids. This program would not work without the Benson coaches and athletes' commitment to working together and serving their community. Benson would also like to thank District Athletic Director Marshall Haskins & Assistant District Athletic Director Jeff Peeler for their continued support of the program.

Date: Monday, June 26th - Wednesday, June 28th.

There will be several sessions focused on different sports throughout the 3-day camp. To register, go to the Benson Athletics Website and click on "Tech Youth United." Here, you will see a registration link. Each session is $10/camper. Registration closes Sunday, June 25th, at 11pm for all sessions. There will be no "day-of" registration available - online registration only. A full description of the program can also be found here.

The Oregon Middle School Meet of Champions was held on May 24th In Corvallis. This Meet is considered the "state championship" for youth track & field (6th - 8th grade). Several PIL Youth Track Athletes placed in the top 10 in their events. A huge congrats to the Wells' Boys team as they took home the championship trophy! 140+ teams compete in the Meet of Champions, with teams coming from all over the state of Oregon.

Wells' 8th grader Isaac Bongen had a particularly successful day at the Meet of Champions. He placed 1st in the High Jump & 100m hurdles, 2nd in the 200m dash and ran the anchor leg in the 4 x 100 relay, where his team finished 3rd in that race. Roosevelt's Isaya Migani finished 2nd in the Long Jump and 100m dash. Congrats to all our PIL Youth Track & Field athletes on a successful season!

Congratulations to Debbie Engelstad on an impactful tenure leading Generals' softball! Coach Engelstad has been a strong advocate for softball and girls' athletics across the PIL throughout her career. She was pivotal in securing the new on-campus softball field at Grant which has been a tremendous benefit for softball and baseball teams across the league. Additionally, coach Engelstad is a member of the PIL Hall of Fame. Read more in a recent OregonLive article HERE.

#DidYouKnow The PIL has a "Coach to Classroom" program? This year will be the 3rd cohort of the Coach to Classroom Pathway Program, in partnership with Warner Pacific. The goal of the program is to support coaches in becoming classroom teachers, while also diversifying the workforce. It is a program tailored to future Portland teachers who are already invested in our students as a coach. For more information about this program, please contact Diallo Lewis, PIL Assistant Athletic Director, at dlewis@pps.net.

Help support PIL Athletics by participating in the 10th annual PIL Golf Open. The tournament is September 27th at The Reserve Vineyard & Golf Club, with check-in starting at 11am. The format is double shotgun on the North and South courses, teeing off at 12:30pm. Dinner, awards and prizes begin at 5:30pm. Contact Heather Jenkins to get registered: jenkinsh@pps.net.

The PIL Open Golf tournament is one of the 3 main fundraisers of the PIL Foundation: POA Holiday Classic, MLK Invitational, and the PIL Open. Our Foundation generates resources to support athletics and serve our students enrolled in the Portland Public School (PPS) district. One in three PPS students, grades 6-12, participate in PIL athletic programming. Over the past five years, the PIL has grown from providing opportunities for 5,500 student-athletes to providing opportunities for over 13,000 student-athletes. With the continual expansion of athletic opportunities, there is greater need for additional resources. Our goal is to raise $150,000.00 to close the funding gap for the 2023-2024 school year.

Key Program Funding Areas:

• PIL Youth Sports Program (PILYSP)
• College Access Program (assisting PIL seniors to access and participate in collegiate athletics)
• Growth and expansion of athletic opportunities (LaCrosse, Soccer, Youth Baseball and Softball)

We ask you to support our efforts to help provide sustainable programming for our athletes by doing one or more of the following:

• Sponsor-: there are several levels of sponsorship opportunities- PIL Open Brochure- Sponsorship and Player Information

• Join us on the course!-: Enter as an Individual or a 4some team entry- Register Here

• Assist in fundraising- secure sponsorships, donations for the golden ticket and raffle drawing prizes- Contact Heather Jenkins for details

• Volunteer at the event: welcoming and directing participants, registration, swag distribution, on course support and other event support Volunteer Here