May 30—JAMESTOWN — The 2026 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Outdoor Championships looked a lot like a 2022 Jamestown High School track and field meet.

"One of my favorite things is when I get to go to a meet where Yolanda (Nabwe), Julia (Skari) and Allysah (Larson) are competing," said Bernadette Belzer, a Jamestown High School Class of 2023 grad. "It makes me so happy to see them succeed and have those connections. Those girls will always be my teammates."

Belzer, Skari and Larson along with Hunter Petersen, a JHS Class of 2022 alum, competed at the NSIC Outdoor Championships on May 7-9.

"This season made me love track even more because of the memories, experiences and growth that came with it," said Skari, a freshman at Northern State. "Competing alongside supportive teammates, hitting personal records and being part of bigger meets made the season exciting and rewarding, and it gave me even more motivation for the future to get more personal records and achievements."

Skari said one of her biggest goals this year was simply to compete and give her best effort.

"I wanted to push myself, improve throughout the season, and get some new personal records," Skari said. "I definitely feel like I achieved those goals as I gave it my all for my first collegiate season, and also achieved many personal records throughout the season. The NSIC Conference was an amazing experience and a great way to end the season."

At the NSIC Championships, Northern's women's 4-by-100 relay team placed sixth and the 4-by 400 relay team placed eighth. The Northern State 4-by-100 relay team posted a time of 47.55 seconds. In the 1600 meter relay, Skari and her teammates completed the four laps in 4:02.

Individually, Skari posted a personal record in the 100 hurdles, placing 11th. She also ran a personal record in the 400 hurdles. Her time of 1:04.72 placed her 12th overall.

"Both events ended with me placing higher than I was originally ranked, which made the experience even more rewarding and showed how much growth and hard work paid off throughout the season," Skari said. "My freshman season could not have gone any better. I absolutely love the team, school and friends there."

Skari was hurdling alongside Belzer.

"My prelims race in the 400 hurdles barely got me into the last seed in finals, but I knew that the next day I'd have one more race and was able to give it my all," Belzer said. "I ended up moving into sixth place and had an all-time PR (personal record), which felt like a great way to end my season."

Belzer ran a 1:02.11 at the conference meet.

"This season went really well for me," Belzer said. "I accomplished a lot of my goals and learned a lot from my experiences. I was able to get stronger and faster, and consistently build all season long by putting in lots of hard work and dedication. ... I honestly can say now that I am just so grateful every time I get to set foot on that track, and truly just have so much fun when I get the opportunity to compete. People might think I'm crazy when I say I'm excited to go run the 400 hurdles, but I really can't get enough of them."

Belzer just completed her third season with the Marauders.

"I am truly am blessed with the best team ever that feels like a family," Belzer said. "It is pretty special when it doesn't matter if it's a pole vaulter, thrower, 10K runner or a decathlete, they all will cheer for every single person like they're a family member. To feel so supported by every member on your team roster is such a special feeling, and it is something that I will never take for granted. Track and field is such an individual sport, but when everyone comes together, that is what makes you love the sport and the people."

Larson has had the privilege of competing for two NSIC teams. As a freshman, the JHS Class of 2024 grad competed with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. This season, she is competing at the University of Minnesota State-Moorhead. Larson is the current Jamestown High School record holder in long and triple jump.

At the conference championships, Larson placed fourth in the long jump with a jump of 19 feet, 0.75 inches. In triple jump, the sophomore's mark landed at the 37 feet, 9.25-inch mark. She finished fourth in the triple jump.

"My main goals this season were to set a personal best in long jump and continue improving in triple jump," Larson said. "In long jump, I was able to reach a new PR at 19'0.75", which felt like a big step forward after last season. In triple jump, my goal was consistency and continued growth, and I ended up breaking my school record, which was a huge highlight of my season."

Larson said her greatest accomplishment of the season was breaking the school's triple jump record.

"It was really special to break a record that had stood for a long time, and it made all the hard work feel worth it," Larson said. "This was definitely my best season yet. I got a lot faster and stronger this year, which really helped me on the runway, and I exceeded a lot of my personal goals by more than I expected. ... What's exciting too is that now I get the chance to keep pushing myself and hopefully continue improving that record in the future."

Larson was competing with Petersen at the jumps. Petersen has been with the Dragons since the 2022-23 season. To end her college career, the senior placed fifth in high jump with a jump of 5 feet, 5 inches.

"It was a beautiful day to jump, it was awesome and honestly, I just had so much fun," Petersen said. "There was no pressure. I ended attempting 5-06 again and didn't get it but I got on the podium. It was a special moment and super fun."

A week after the four former Blue Jays completed their track and field seasons, Yolanda and Annie Nabwe took the stage at the Summit League and Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

Yolanda, a redshirt sophomore for North Dakota State University, placed first in the heptathlon with 5,308 points and seventh in the long jump with a jump of 19 feet, 0.5 inches.

Annie, a redshirt junior at the University of Minnesota, won the hammer throw competition with a mark of 69.22 meters. She also placed second in the shot put with a throw of 18 meters. In discus, she placed third, throwing 57.75 meters. Annie picked up a national championship earlier this year during the indoor season. She won the weight throw with a mark of 25.13 meters.

"The season is not over yet, but so far it is going really good," Annie said. "This year made me love track even more because of the growth that has been happening. This year showed me that hard work does pay off. My greatest accomplishment this year (so far) is winning indoor national title and throwing the No. 2 all-time collegiate mark. My mental health has also been better."

Annie will go on to compete at the 2026 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships next month in Eugene, Oregon.

"It's just so much fun to see her compete and do the things that she is doing," JHS co-head track and field coach Mike Dietz said of Annie. "To be able to see it from afar is just awesome. She's proving it at the next level. She and her sister both had a heckuva weekend, and so did those other girls in the NSIC.

"It's a sign of our Blue Jay pride," he said. "I am really proud of all our former athletes."

Halftime shows at basketball games are a high school staple. In Clatsop County, there’s a variety of local entertainment on display. The Astoria High School Pizazz Dance Team is a darling at the Brickhouse — but in Seaside, the Tsunami Skippers jump roping club is the highlight.

Stacey Dundas, owner of Dundess Bar and Grill Seaside, started Tsunami Skippers 20 years ago as a way to connect with her kids. They had always gravitated towards jump roping, she said. Dundas decided to start a club in Seaside to give other aspiring jump ropers a chance to experience community with other jump ropers and to enhance their skills.

The club started off as a small local one, but has since grown to about 20 to 25 jump roping athletes. There is no specific age requirement, so spectators at Seaside basketball games often will see high schoolers jumping with elementary school-age kids. In addition to entertaining at Seaside basketball games, the Skippers have performed nationwide, including at the Harlem Globetrotters — and at Six Flags in California over spring break this year. In the past, the team has also performed at Portland Trail Blazers basketball games.

Competition-wise, the group has taken part in the Oregon Coast Classic. This tournament is hosted by the Skippers and Seaside High School, however 2026 was the first time since 2019 that the Skippers got to jump in their home gym. For Dundas and her two senior jumpers Ella Clyde and Theia McCarthy it was a great moment.

“This was the first time it’s been in Seaside since 2019,” Dundas said. “In 2020 we had to cancel due to COVID and then 2021 we did a small event over at the convention center and then 2022 to 2025, it was in Astoria — so this was our first year back in Seaside.”

Twenty years ago, the Oregon Coast Classic was just a three team event — this year, the tournament had 157 competitors from four different states. In addition to Oregon, teams from Montana, Idaho and Washington made the trip to the coast on April 24, 25 to take part in it.

“The event went great,” Dundas said. “(People from out of town) loved the view. … And it’s actually the biggest jump roping competition on the West Coast.”

McCarthy and Clyde agreed that having the tournament is Seaside was a great experience.

“It was pretty cool having it here rather than Astoria,” McCarthy said. She said events like the Coast Classic are good for the local community. “It’s really important for our town because it increases tourism.”

Clyde agreed that Seaside was a good draw for participants. “It’s just a lot more convenient to have it back in Seaside because that’s where most of the teams have known it. The tournament being at Astoria for so long was kind of out of the ordinary. Even when we had it in Astoria, most of the teams would always stay in Seaside hotels,” Clyde said.

A jump out senior project

Last year, Dundas’s youngest daughter Malory created her senior project around jump roping. This year, so did McCarthy and Clyde. They designed all of the club’s jumping routines this year — and for their efforts, each received a $1,000 scholarship.

“We took on more of role in coaching and putting group routines together,” McCarthy said.

“We taught the younger jumpers new tricks like donkey kicks and double dutch,” Clyde said. “On our competition (routine) we made sure (jumpers) were in the right spots.”

As members of the team for more than 10 years each, McCarthy and Clyde have a lot of fond memories jumping rope. McCarthy said her favorite experience from this past year was the trip to Six Flags, while Clyde said the Harlem Globetrotters show was her favorite.

““I was really proud of a lot of our jump ropers because our routine was mostly flawless,” said Clyde.

Jumping rope, making friends

But jump roping means more than just a fun physical activity for them. McCarthy and Clyde said jumping rop was a bonding experience for them. McCarthy said she saw Clyde jump roping one day and was immediately intrigued.

“Ella is the reason I joined (the jump roping club),” McCarthy said. “I saw her perform at our elementary school and I said ‘I want to do that.’ She took the whole year to teach me all the jumps so I would make the team the next year. That’s how we became friends.”

Dundas and her jumpers love the club and hope to bring more into it by hoping to continue spreading the word about Skippers.

“I love this sport,” Dundas said. “The opportunities you get through jump rope are unique to any other sport that’s out there. … It’s the best sport to be involved in because it will take you places that no other sport can take you.”

The next local event for the Skippers will be the Seaside July 4th parade.