A handful of elite local track and field athletes made the trip to Hayward Field in Eugene for the prestigious Nike Outdoor Nationals meet this past weekend.
And it was a good way to close out the 2026 season for all of them.
Arcata’s Skyler Collenberg impressed in the boys shot put and discus, while the St. Bernard’s 4x100m mixed relay team had the best showing of the North Coast athletes.
Collenberg finished 13th in the discus with a throw of 164’ 9” and 25th in the shot put with a throw of 59’ 1.25”.
He holds the HDN record in the shot put, having thrown a 61’ 11” earlier in the year, and also holds the Arcata High record in the discus (176’ 4”).
Several St. Bernard’s athletes also made the trip for the Nike meet, including freshman Lulu Vainuku, who was this year’s H-DNL champion in the girls 100 meters.
Vainuku, who set a PR of 12.88 seconds at this year’s North Coast Section Class A championships, placed 57th with a time of 13.25 seconds.
“She had a great first year ever running track and looks set to do amazing things next year,” St. Bernard’s coach DJ Snowton said.
The young standout also teamed with Paula Bullock, Scarlett Zerlang and Sariah Vainuku in the girls 4x100m relay and the four Crusaders placed 28th in the emerging elite division with a time of 52.79 seconds.
Lulu and Sariah Vainuku also had a good showing in the 4x100m mixed relay, joining Alex Carter and Kohlton Hall and placing 11th with a time of 48.69 seconds.
The strong finish earned the SB foursome Second All-American status.
First All-American goes to the top eight finishers.
Carter had a big final leg in the race, running down a couple of opponents to secure the high finish.
