Lincoln High School junior Ellery Lincoln set a new state record in the girls’ 3,000 meters on April 14 during a Portland Interscholastic League home meet against Wells. Lincoln finished with a time of 9 minutes, 6.61 seconds, surpassing the previous Oregon record of 9:15.14 held by Kate Peters since 2022.
The achievement marks a significant milestone for Lincoln, who had not previously competed in the event as a high school athlete. Her performance now places her fourth nationally among outdoor times and atop Oregon’s all-time list.
“We knew we wanted to attempt the state record, but I didn’t necessarily have a special time on my mind, because I haven’t raced a real 3K in high school before,” said Lincoln. “I feel pleasantly surprised with how it went.”
Lincoln ran in a combined girls-boys heat and finished third overall behind two male teammates. Cardinals coach Eric Dettman said, “She was flying to the finish line… It felt like a race. It didn’t feel like a time trial.” Dettman also noted her positive reaction after finishing: “In typical Ellery fashion… she was going, ‘You know, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.’ Which was cool.”
Reflecting on her strategy during the race, Lincoln said she calculated her pace late in the event: “I was like, ‘Oh, I could run like a 70 right now and still run well under the state record,’ so I felt excited.” She added that after finishing she “couldn’t stop jumping.” The decision to enter the boys’ heat came after pacing girl teammates earlier this season; both coach and athlete agreed it would be beneficial.
Dettman credited Peter James for setting an effective pace for Lincoln to reach her target time range. Looking ahead at future competitions this season—including possible entries in both middle-distance and longer events—Dettman said he wants to honor Lincoln’s preference for racing the 1,500 meters but did not rule out another fast attempt at the longer distance next year.
Elsewhere around Oregon track meets last week: Newberg senior Sophia Castaneda is approaching Josie Donelson’s state mark in the girls’ 400 meters; Sunset junior Naomi Cesar improved her personal best in California competition; several boys posted top-3000 times en route during Arcadia’s prestigious invitational; South Albany sophomore Charis Rettman continued strong early-season form with another personal best sprint; Oregon City’s Colin Smith moved up historic rankings in sprints; and West Linn’s relay teams led statewide performances.
