State championship season is here and boys athletes around the Salem-Keizer area are competing for district and state glory as the 2026 OSAA spring sports season begins to close.
Every week, you get to vote for the Statesman Journal’s Athlete of the Week, sponsored by Maps Credit Union.
Here are the nominees for this week’s boys Athlete of the Week.
- Mason Bowlby, McNary track and field
- Anders Hagen, West Salem track and field
- Grant Hemelstrand, Cascade golf
- Wyatt Metzger, Silverton track and field
- Owen Mitzel, Stayton baseball
- Derek Olivo, McNary track and field
- Braxton Singleton, North Salem track and field
Information about each nominee is listed below. Vote for the athlete you think is most deserving at statesmanjournal.com/sports. The poll closes at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Mason Bowlby, McNary track and field
Bowldy, a senior, won the 100-meter dash in 10.67 seconds and the 200 in 21.76 May 22 at the Central Valley Conference district meet.
Anders Hagen, West Salem track and field
Hagen, a senior, won the 800 in a Class 6A second-best 1:56.01 and the 1,500 in 4:07.08 May 22 at the Central Valley Conference district meet.
Grant Hemelstrand, Cascade golf
Hemelstrand, a junior, earned a fourth-place finish May 19 at the OSAA 4A state championships by shooting a 155 (+11) across two days at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell.
Wyatt Metzger, Silverton track and field
Metzger, a senior, won the 100 in 10.74 for a new school record and the 200 in 22.30 May 22 at the Mid-Willamatte Conference district meet.
Owen Mitzel, Stayton baseball
Mitzel, a senior, smacked two hits for five RBIs to help the Eagles claim an Oregon West Conference championship May 21 in a 13-5 win over Sweet Home.
Derek Olivo, McNary track and field
Olivo, a junior, won javelin with a Class 6A-best 210-foot, 5-inch toss and won discus (175-2) May 22 at the Central Valley Conference district meet.
Braxton Singleton, North Salem track and field
Singleton, a senior, won the 110 hurdles in a Class 6A-best 14.33 seconds and 300 hurdles in 40.04 May 22 at the Central Valley Conference district meet.
Landon Bartlett covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at LBartlett@statesmanjournal.com or on X, TikTok or Instagram @bartlelo.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Vote for Maps Credit Union boys Athlete of the Week