Another high school sports season came to a close this month, and it was full of exciting moments and tremendous accomplishments.

This year saw the return of Bend and Redmond schools competing in the same conference. And it saw Caldera High making its first appearance in varsity level sports.

In the Intermountain Conference alone, 10 teams claimed state titles. The fall had its highlights, as did the winter.

To put a cap on the 2022-23 high school sports season, here are the 10 defining moments from the spring sports season:

Summit track and field culture returns as track and field coach Dave Turnbull liked to say in the later stages of the spring season, 2023 was the year that the Storm’s culture returned to where it was when Summit won titles on a yearly basis.

Both the boys and girls teams dominated the 5A field to bring home team titles. It was the girls team’s 13th state title, and the boy’s sixth. 2023 also marked the fifth time since 2011 that Summit swept the team titles.

Spencer Elliott (shot put), Barrett Justema (1500-meter), Ben Strang (300-meter hurdles), Isabella Sanderl (high jump) and Noah Goodrich (triple jump) all buoyed the Storm with individual titles at Eugene’s Hayward Field.

Hayward Field

Redmond’s Nate Wachs repeated as 5A high jump champion, and Ridgeview’s Zowie Nunes repeated as the girls 5A javelin champion.

Bend High’s Sara Rivas swept the 5A hurdles, with wins in

both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. Her time of 14.73 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles was the fastest of all classifications.

Treyden Lucas earned the lone Lava Bear individual title in the boys 400-meter run. Ridgeview’s Tyas Selby was the last man standing in the 5A pole vault.

Sisters’ Gracie Vohs won the girls 3A 400-meter title, and was part of the 4×400-meter

relay team of Delaney McAfee, Brooke Duey and Ila Reid that brought home gold.

La Pine’s Darrell Goddard won the 3A high jump title, and Culver’s Peter Miranda won the 2A shootout title.

Ridgeview baseball

Not since 2014 had the Ridgeview baseball team advanced to the playoffs. A year ago, the Ravens went into the final day of the regular season with a chance to end the streak, but fell just short. This year, Ridgeview not only made the playoffs to end the drought, but it also beat Corvallis 10-5 for the program’s first playoff win in years.

Bend softball

After the Caldera softball team scored two runs against Bend High on April 14, the Lava Bears did not give up a run until May 30 — a span of 15 games. The Lava Bears won 23 consecutive games this spring, and claimed the IMC title.

However, for the second consecutive year, the Lava Bears’ season ended one game short of playing for a state title.

Redmond softball

Speaking of breaking a playoff drought, Redmond softball hadn’t reached the postseason in more than a decade. By finishing third in the Intermountain Conference this spring, the Panthers made their first trip to the playoffs since the 2013 season. Although Redmond was the 16th tournament seed, it gave top-seed and eventual state champion Dallas a game, falling 2-0 in the first round.

Summit boys golf

It might not have been a record-breaking performance at the 5A state golf tournament, but it still ended in a blue first-place trophy for the Summit boys golf team.

The Storm used a strong second day at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell to secure the program’s fifth team title.

All four of the Storm’s scoring players finished with a final stroke count between 159 and 163. Leading the charge for the Storm was senior Nick Huffman, who moved up 11 spots on the leaderboard to finish tied for third in the 36-hole tournament.

Summit and Crook County girls golf

No team in Oregon has won more state titles in girls golf than Summit, and this year the Storm added its 11th. At Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks, Zoe Garcia finished second individually and Saylor Gillet finished eighth to help the Storm to another team title.

The same week, Crook County girls claimed their program’s first state title in golf after three second-place finishes in its history.

Summit tennis

Singles, doubles and team tennis champions were all won by one team: Summit. Bend Bonetto rallied to claim the 5A single title. Max Himstreet and Zack Olander cruised to claim the doubles title, which led to a no-doubt team title, the program’s ninth.

redmond Hardwood

Basketball might not fall under the “spring sport” category, but Ridgeview made a splash in the spring when it hired Maarty Leunen — Redmond High basketball legend turned Oregon Duck, who played a decade professionally — as its next boys basketball coach. Leunen had spent the previous two winters as an assistant coach for the Panthers.

Brahe-Pedersen sets record

Even if it isn’t a local athlete, it is cool to see history made. Those on hand for the Summit Invitational in early May got to see Lake Oswego’s Mia Brahe-Pedersen do just that when she ran a blistering 11.08 seconds in a mixed-100-meter dash. At the time, it was a state record, and the fastest in the country. Brahe-Pedersen went on to run an 11.00 at the state meet to break that record.

she set in Bend.