Kimberly Sweeps 4A State Track Titles; Twin Falls Girls Claim 5A Bronze
The 2026 Idaho high school state track and field season wrapped up this past weekend with Kimberly High School standing above every other program in the 4A classification, sweeping both the boys and girls team titles. Meanwhile, Twin Falls High School’s girls program added a bronze-medal finish in the 5A division to a strong showing from Magic Valley schools across all classifications.
Kimberly Claims Back-to-Back 4A Team Championships
The Kimberly Bulldogs made history by winning both the boys and girls team trophies at the 4A state meet — the second consecutive year the program has accomplished the double in that classification. The sweep marks a dominant stretch for the Kimberly athletic program, with student-athletes competing across 19 events on the girls side and a matching slate on the boys side throughout the two-day competition held at the Treasure Valley venue.
Leading the charge on the girls side was junior Karlie Bair, who turned in one of the most complete individual performances of the entire state meet. Bair captured gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, finishing first in all eight of her 100-meter sprint competitions throughout the season and taking seven of eight in the 200. The Kimberly girls also won the 4×100-meter relay and the 800-meter medley relay. Sisters Renetta Welch and Sariah Welch each competed on both relay teams, making them two-event individual state champions in their own right. Brie Black added a highlight of her own, recording a personal-best javelin throw of 127 feet, 8 inches — the longest throw among all girls in the 4A competition.
On the boys side, Joshua Sonderegger headlined Kimberly’s effort with gold medals in both the shot put and discus. His discus throw of 182 feet, 1 inch bested the second-place finish by a commanding margin of 16 feet, 8 inches. The Bulldogs also claimed gold in the 4×400-meter relay and the 1600-meter medley relay, with Teven Robertson and Benjamin Munchow among those contributing to both relay victories.
Twin Falls and Magic Valley Schools Shine at 5A
Kimberly’s dominance did not overshadow a strong collective performance from Magic Valley schools at the 5A level. Twenty-nine schools from the region sent student-athletes to compete, with teams combining to win 25 individual event gold medals across all five school classifications.
Twin Falls High School’s girls team earned third place overall in the 5A division — the bronze finish representing a strong close to the season for the Bruins program. Twin Falls girls picked up individual wins in the 400-meter dash, courtesy of Isabelle Pelayo’s personal-best run, and the 1600-meter relay, where Raelee Richardson posted a time just over five minutes and six seconds. The Bruins also claimed first in the girls 800-meter medley relay.
Twin Falls boys contributed additional hardware to the school’s haul. Eli Thompson took gold in the boys 300-meter hurdles, while Henry Patterson claimed the boys triple jump with a personal-best distance of 44 feet, 7.75 inches — narrowly holding off a challenge from Burley’s Tieg Mitchell. Patterson’s winning mark was 13 feet, 6 inches farther than the seventh-place finisher, underscoring the depth of competition at the top of the event.
Gooding’s Cougar Stockham contributed to the Magic Valley gold-medal total as well, winning both the triple jump and an additional field event on the boys side of the 4A meet.
The performances at state serve as a culmination of a competitive district qualifying process. Earlier this month, 75 athletes from the region punched their tickets to state through the District IV qualifying meet. For a look back at those qualifying results, see our 5A District IV track and field meet recap.
What Comes Next
With the state meet concluded, the track and field season is officially closed for Idaho high school student-athletes. For many competitors, attention now shifts to summer training and preparation for the 2026-27 academic year. Seniors who earned state medals will carry their performances into the college recruiting process. Magic Valley’s athletic pipeline continues to draw attention at the next level — Burley’s Nash Gillette recently signed his letter of intent to join the CSI basketball program, reflecting the region’s ongoing commitment to developing competitive student-athletes beyond the high school level.