As Women’s History Month celebrates female accomplishments, three Lincoln athletes are making history. Junior Ellery Lincoln broke the Oregon girls mile record, while junior Skye Schwartz and sophomore Sofia Patterson won state titles in swimming and wrestling.
On Saturday, Feb. 21, San Diego State University commit Skye Schwartz became one of many athletes at Lincoln to compete, winning the state title in the 100-meter breaststroke with a time of 1:03.08. Schwartz swims for the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC) when she’s not with Lincoln and says she has been in the water since she was three months old. She began competing at eight and remembers dreaming of winning a state title.
“When I was eight years old, I went to my first state meet. Because I competed in the eight-and-under division [a category for swimmers ages eight and younger], I think I won the whole thing,” said Schwartz.
She said women’s swimming is gaining more recognition and pointed to athletes like Katie Ledecky as inspiration.
The following Saturday, Feb. 28, Patterson and Lincoln brought two more historic moments for Lincoln. Sophomore Patterson didn’t expect to become a state champion when she first started wrestling her freshman year, but with determination and support from her coaches and teammates, she proved otherwise.
After dropping to 105 pounds for a better chance at state, Patterson defeated an opponent who had previously beaten her twice.
“I didn’t think I’d ever get there,” she said, “but now I realize I can achieve the same things as [other female champions.]”
Finally, University of Oregon running commit Ellery Lincoln broke the Oregon girls high school mile record, finishing with a time of 4:35.55. Lincoln credited Wildwood Running, an organization focused on empowering female runners, with helping her grow as an athlete and person.
“Wildwood … educates girls on what it means to be a well-rounded person outside of running and how to stay healthy. They’re doing so much to keep girls in sports,” said Lincoln.
Lincoln described the final lap as the moment she realized the record was within reach and pushed even harder to finish strong.
“I saw the clock with about 400 meters to go and realized I was on pace for around 4:40. As I picked it up on the backstretch, I heard my coach calling out 4:35, so I started running really hard because I wanted it badly. When I crossed the line and saw the clock, I was really excited because I’ve wanted to run that time for a while,” said Lincoln.
The achievements of Schwartz, Patterson and Lincoln highlight a strong moment for girls athletics at Lincoln and will continue to inspire the next generation of female competitors.
