Athletic News
Hayden has received multiply league honors over the last four years in Football. On the track, Hayden competed at the varsity level for four years and was part of relay teams that made three state appearances.
Riley has been a top players for soccer in our district and state and has earned multiply league honors and an all state honor this year.
2025/2026 Team of the Year
Under head coach Melissa Turner, the Salem Academy girls golf program has built a premier dynasties in Oregon high school athletics. The Crusaders captured the 2026 OSAA 4A/3A/2A/1A State Championship, completing a remarkable three-year run in which they have lost just one tournament overall. Their only defeat came at a state preview event in 2024. Salem Academy also repeated as state champions in 2025 and successfully defended the title again in 2026. What makes this run even more impressive is the dominance across classifications. According to iWanamaker rankings, Salem Academy entered the postseason ranked as the top girls golf team in the state.
May 29th 2026
Alex qualified for the state tournament all four years of her career for the Crusaders. As a freshman she qualified as an individual, then helped lead Salem Academy into one of the premier dynasties in Oregon girls golf over the next three seasons — years that all ended with State Championships.
A steady leader and key contributor throughout Salem Academy’s championship run, Alex also earned Salem Sports and Breakfast Club Athlete of the Week honors twice during her career
May 22nd 2026
Chloe opened the year by winning the Creekside tournament by seven strokes, followed that with a three-way tie for first at Pumpkin Ridge, captured another tournament title at McNary, and then delivered a dominant performance at districts at Mallard Creek in Lebanon—shooting 70 and 76 to win by ten strokes.
At State, Chloe put together two incredibly consistent rounds of 75, recording 22 pars and 4 birdies earning the state championship by a single stroke.
May 22nd 2026
Alex turned in one of the best rounds of her career, shooting an outstanding 83 at McNary Golf Course. Her strong play carried into the postseason. At districts, Alex shot rounds of 84 and 87 to finish fourth overall and helped lead Salem Academy to the team championship. At the State Championships at Eagle Crest, she opened with an 84 that included seven pars and a birdie on the 18th hole, then followed with a second-round 91 featuring five more pars to finish 10th in the state.
May 15th 2026
Adalin is a junior sprinter and hurdler for the Crusaders, continues to establish herself as one of the premier athletes in the PacWest Conference and the Salem-Keizer area. She currently holds top-five conference marks in four individual events — the 100 meters, 200 meters, 100-meter hurdles, and 300-meter hurdles — while also contributing to Salem Academy’s 4x400-meter relay team.
May 24th 2026
Ava, a freshman, plays shortstop for the Crusaders who are 7-6 on the season. Ava helped the team to a 3-1 record last week as they split with Gaston and beat Eddyville and Taft. Ava hit .500 during the week, going 6 of 12 with a .667 on base percentage. She recorded 7 RBIs and 10 runs scored, earning free passes on 3 walks and 3 times was hit-by-pitch. She also helps the cause in the field, recording 6 assists and 6 putouts from short. “Ava has stepped up as a freshman and is playing SS for us, but has the ability to play most any position on the field.”
May 24th 2026
Somto, a junior, is a sprinter, hurdler, and jumper for the Crusaders. After 3 weeks of league competition, Somto holds a top 5 mark in the PacWest conference in 6 events, and a top 3 mark in 4 of them. He holds a top 10 mark in 3A in the 200-meter sprint and currently has the top 200 and 300 meter hurdles marks for all Salem-Keizer athletes in the class of 2027. Additionally, he runs the anchor leg for both of the Crusader’s relay teams. “Somto’s marks also come after having not competed at all during his sophomore season, and has shown tremendous growth from his freshman year as well as throughout this junior season. He is also a three-sport varsity athlete in soccer and basketball and regularly spends time volunteering at Salem Hospital.”
April 27th
In our first 4 games of the season Baylie is hitting 0.714 and 0.600 with RISP to go along with an OPB of 0.867. Baylie has scored 9 runs, driven in 6, and walked 7 times. Defensively, Baylie is able to provide coverage in multiple positions, starting our 1st 3 games in 3 different positions, P, 1B, CF.
April 17th
So far every round we’ve played this year, Ellie has improved her score. She started with an 80, then shot 77 at Pumpkin Ridge, 76 at McNary, and finally a one over 73 at Mallard Creek this past Monday. Ellie works so hard on her game year-round, while still maintaining a 4.0, and being active in other sports. Ellie is an incredible all around person
April 3rd
Isaiah, a sophomore, is a first baseman/pitcher and a second year varsity player. In the first game of the season against Stayton he went 2-2, driving in all 3 runs for our team as well. He also threw 2 innings, collecting 5 strikeouts. In our second game, again versus Stayton, he collected another hit and threw 3 innings, striking out 8 hitters.
Boone Dunn, a forward and three-year varsity starter, eclipsed 1,000 career points last week in a win over Willamina, finishing with 19 points. He followed that performance with his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a win over Jefferson as Salem Academy clinched the regular-season league championship.
Boone is averaging 18 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season and has been a steady leader on both ends of the court, setting the tone with his physicality and relentless effort.
Ellie is a junior and co-team captain for the Crusaders. Ellie is a returning district champion who earned a 6th place finish in the 100-free at the 2025 state meet last season. Ellie swam the butterfly leg for her 200 medley relay team, leading them to a 1st place finish at the Cascade Invite and also at the district Sprint Meet held last week. Ellie was also a critical leg of the 200-free relay that placed first at the two meets as well. Early in the season she placed 1st in the 50-yard freestyle at the Newport Invite with a time of 28.59. The following meet she showed her versatility by winning the 200 IM and 400 freestyle at the Cascade Invitational – beating both the boys and girls in the 400-meter race with a converted time of 6:10.30.
Carson is a sophomore for the Crusaders. She qualified for two individual events and one relay at the 2025 state meet as a freshman. Carson is the leadoff backstroker for the 200 medly relay that earned 1st place finishes at both the Cascade Invitational in December and District Sprint Meet last week. She is also an instrumental leg of the 200-freestyle relay team that also won at both meets. Individually Carson also swam the 100-yard backstroke in 1:12.76 to earn 1st at the Newport Invite in December. A strong freestyler, she also placed 1st in the 100-yard freestyle at the Cascade Invitational, the Silverton Tri-meet, and the District Sprint Meet, all with times of 1:01 and change. She also won the 50-yard freestyle at Cascade with a 28.21 converted time.
Riley, a senior and team captain, plays right wing and midfielder for the Crusaders who are 4-3-1 on the season and 2-0-1 in conference play. She has been a varsity starter for each of her high school years. Riley scored against Blanchet and played solid defense as the Crusaders battled to a 1-1 tie forcing a 3-way tie for the conference lead. She then scored again in the next game as they ran away from Riverdale/Riverside with a 3-1 win.
Jordyn is a sophomore for the Crusaders who are 8-3 on the season, 5-1 in the PacWest Conference, and currently ranked #7 in 3A. In the straight set win over Santiam Christian, Jordyn contributed 11 kills, 14 digs, and 2½ blocks, and a 95% serving efficiency. She followed that with a career-level effort in the 5-set loss to Taft, where she had 31 kills on a 33% hitting efficiency, while also getting 27 digs and recording a 2.54 serve receive rating.