It was a record-setting weekend for Marshfield High School sports teams as the Marshfield volleyball team won its first Class 4A state championship and Marshfield senior Alex Garcia-Silver set a 4A course record while winning his second state cross country championship.
After struggling to a five-set win over Crook County in the quarterfinals, the Marshfield volleyball team showed why it was the top-ranked team in the state during the rest of the tournament.
In the semifinals, Marshfield crushed No. 5 seed Baker in three sets, winning 25-12, 25-12, 25-4 to set up a championship match against defending champion and second-seeded Cascade.
With the state title on the line, Marshfield again came out hot, winning the opening set 25-14. After opening a big lead in the second set, Cascade rallied to tie the match at 22-22, but the Pirates found a second wind and prevailed 25-23. That set up a third set, where Marshfield again controlled the play, winning 25-16 to clinch the Pirates first state title in volleyball.
With only one senior on the team, the Pirates are poised to compete for a second state championship next year, but for now, they are celebrating the first volleyball state title in school history.
At the state cross country meet, Garcia-Silver came in as the defending champion, and he showed why as he raced to a course record at Lane Community College, winning his second state title with a time of 15:22.2. Garcia-Silver won by close to 20 seconds and tied Marshfield legend Steve PreFontaine with his second individual state cross country title.
As a team, Marshfield finished sixth in the race won by The Dalles. Jaxson Stovall, Elijah Cellura, Corbin Reeves, Talon Thomas and Gavin Stovall all represented Marshfield in the state meet.