‘No other position group bonds like the linemen do.’ Oregon linemen get their day in the sun at annual Lineman Challenge

This marked the 13th year for the event, which was started by, and is run by, Glencoe head coach Ian Reynoso

Competition. 

It was spirited. It was fierce. 

Who was the fastest, strongest, most skilled, who can jump the farthest or highest — all of those bragging rights were up for grabs.

But for high school football linemen, it was about even more than that.

It’s about teamwork. It’s about camaraderie. It’s about team chemistry.

Maybe most of all, it’s about brotherhood.

All of that could be found at the Metro Area Lineman Challenge, which was held last month under scorching hot skies at Hare Field in Hillsboro.

“It’s great. I love it,” Sherwood senior-to-be Skyler Randleman-Galvan said of the competition, which featured such events as the 40-yard dash, shuttle run, vertical jump, standing broad jump, bench press, farmer's carry, tractor tire flip, two-man blocking sled relay and team tug-of-war. “I love all the work. There’s great competition between all the teams. We get to see where all of our guys are at.”

“I think it’s a good event,” Tualatin senior-to-be Tyson Hunt said. “We get to compete against other guys that we see during the season. Along with that, I think it’s a good team bonding experience, where we’re all cheering each other on.”

“It’s fun,” West Linn junior-to-be Ryan Holmes said. “Last year, we didn’t do as well. This year, it was fun to come back and see our improvements.”

This year’s event marked the 13th year for the Metro Area Lineman Challenge, which was started by, and is run by, Glencoe head coach Ian Reynoso. For teams like Tualatin, which has participated at the event since the inaugural competition, the lineman challenge is one of the highlights of the summer.

“It’s great to be out here and do it with our guys, but it’s also great to see the competition,” Tualatin senior-to-be Liam Pickering said. “It’s nice to be able to size each other up and be here with a good group of people.”

The Timberwolves, who have been a traditional power at the event, picked up another trophy, winning this year’s competition with a score of 54 points. 

While the Tualatin squad reveled in the victory, the event meant more than that to the Timberwolves.

“For me, it’s really good team bonding,” Tualatin senior-to-be Ryder Jones said. “No other position group really bonds like the linemen do. I think we have a special connection.”

“I think it means a lot,” Tualatin senior-to-be Trace Jones said. “There’s not a lot of linemen-only competitions. So, it’s all pretty special to us.”

While Tualatin has participated since the first lineman challenge, this year’s event marked the first appearance for Sherwood — and the Bowmen were happy to finally get their chance to shine.

“I’ve known about this event for a couple of years, and I’ve always been jealous that we’ve never been able to get out here,” Sherwood senior-to-be Elias Cleveland said. “But now we’ve got (assistant) Coach (David) Balfour, and he rallied us together. Now we’re out here, and I’m excited to compete.”

“I’ve heard about this event before, but I didn’t know we were going until about three weeks ago, when Coach said, ‘If you guys want to come, then let’s do it,’” Randleman-Galvan said. “I was excited for it. I was ready to get out here with all the other guys and show teams what Sherwood football is about.”

The Bowmen turned in a strong performance in their debut, placing fourth in the final team standings with 45 points.

“It’s been pretty good. The best for me has been the running events,” said Sherwood senior-to-be Braydon Klostreich, who finished in fourth place in the lightweight division individual final standings. “I love it. I love showing my abilities and seeing where I’m at.”

“I love the 40s,” Randleman-Galvan said. “I like seeing the big guys run.”

While Sherwood had a strong debut, it would be hard for anyone to make a more immediate impact at the lineman challenge than Lake Oswego senior-to-be Hunter Kavanaugh did.

Kavanaugh, competing for the first time, was the lightweight division overall champion, setting a couple of lineman challenge records in the process.

“It was really fun. I’ve never done anything like it, but I enjoyed it a lot,” Kavanaugh said. “It’s nice because it’s been a while since we’ve been out here. My coach was like, ‘We’re going to go out there and we’re going to compete,’ and we were all like, ‘Let’s go, let’s do it!’”

Kavanaugh set a record in the vertical jump with his mark of 38.5 inches. He also set the new standard in the standing broad jump with a distance of 122 inches.

“Just being with my team, my coaches — that was the best part,” Kavanaugh said. “My dad (David Kavanaugh) is out here. I was just happy being out here doing all of the events.” 

Also in lightweight division competition, Pickering and Forest Grove junior-to-be Carter Bennett tied for the top mark in the 40-yard dash, each with a time of 4.89 seconds. Bennett, who finished second in the lightweight division individual standings, topped everyone in the competition in the bench press, lifting 185 pounds 28 times.

Hunt had the top time for lightweights in the shuttle run with a mark of 4.55. Glencoe senior-to-be Dani Shaw had 22 tire flips to pace the field, and Liberty senior-to-be Logan Hinojosa had the top distance in the farmer’s carry with 107 yards.

In the heavyweight division, Jesuit senior-to-be Joey Schuler had the top time in the 40-yard dash at 5.3. Also for the Crusaders, senior-to-be Liam Cassidy led the way in the farmer’s carry with 100 yards, despite suffering a foot injury the night before.

Glencoe senior-to-be Pierce Ashenfelter took first in the shuttle run with a time of 4.67. Randleman-Galvan had a jump of 29.5 inches to win the vertical jump. West Linn senior-to-be Stephen Del Giudice had a winning mark of 97 inches in the standing broad jump. Nelson senior-to-be Noah Julison had 23 reps in the bench press to take first place in that event, and junior-to-be Dominic Macon, also from the Hawks, had 21 tire flips to win that event.

Macon was the overall individual winner in the heavyweight division, with Julison placing second. Liberty senior-to-be Mitch Mahlum was third in the heavyweight individual standings, Cassidy was fourth, and Holmes finished fifth.

Tualatin and Sherwood each had a mark of 1:05 to lead the way in the two-man blocking sled relay, and West Linn bested Nelson in a powerhouse showdown in the team tug-of war — leading to a big celebration for the Lions, who could be depending a lot on their experienced linemen this season, when they look to win their second consecutive Class 6A state championship.

“It’s great to be out here with the people you’re next to every day,” Del Giudice said. “We’ve been working hard in offseason. Now, it’s fun to be out here as a team, as one unit, working together.”

The same could be said for the other competitors at the event.

“This has been awesome. I love it out here,” Klostreich said. “We’ve really been focusing on our own team. It’s definitely been a bonding thing. We’ve really gotten closer together.”

“It’s been a great time,” Cleveland said. “A lot of guys are tired, it’s hot, but it’s been a lot of fun.”

West Linn was a close second to Tualatin in the team standings with 49 points. Lake Oswego was third with 47. 

Rounding out the top 10, Sherwood was fourth with 45 points, Nelson was fifth with 38, Tigard took sixth with 32, Liberty finished seventh with 21, Glencoe and Sunset tied for eighth, each with 17, and Jesuit was 10th with 15.