Your guide to the Oregon 6A boys track and field championships: Favorite, contenders, darkhorse for every event
By René Ferrán
The OSAA track and field state championships take place this weekend at Hayward Field in Eugene. Here’s an event-by-event look at the 6A boys meet.
Adam Maxwell (West Linn) photo by Taylor Balkom
Earlier: Boys track preview | Girls track preview
—
100
Favorite: Landyn Dupper, Sr., Roseburg
Contenders: Andrew Walker, Jr., South Medford; Xavier Simpson, Sr., Central Catholic; Antony Ganz, Sr., Lincoln; Jayce Bartley, Jr., Oregon City
Darkhorse: Mihaly Akpamgbo, So., West Salem
Dupper, who signed with Western Oregon for football in March, has had a solid season, finishing in the top three at five invitationals before winning the Southwest district title with a state-leading time. Can he beat Jesuit Twilight Relays champion Walker one more time to claim the title of the state’s fastest sprinter? Or will Simpson celebrate his recent commitment to Montana State and upset the Southern Oregon duo?
200
Favorite: Andrew Walker, Jr., South Medford
Contenders: Nathan Rider, Sr., North Medford; Xavier Simpson, Sr., Central Catholic; Fuad Omer, Jr., Westview; Antony Ganz, Sr., Lincoln
Darkhorse: Edrees Jackson, Fr., Central Catholic
Walker moved to No. 5 on the all-time state list with his victory in 21.27 at the Oregon Relays last month. He’s back at Hayward this weekend — could he challenge Micah Williams’ state-record 21.03? It would help if challengers such as Simpson and Sacramento State signee Rider push him around the turn. One more name to watch — Clackamas senior Miles Williams, burnishing his credentials before heading to Eastern Washington to play football in the fall.
400
Favorite: Fuad Omer, Jr., Westview
Contenders: Enrico Ganz, Sr., Lincoln; Nathan Rider, Sr., North Medford; Stryder Todd-Fields, Sr., Central Catholic; Tyce Chaney, Sr., West Salem
Darkhorse: David Thomas, Sr., Beaverton
Omer ran the state-leading time in the prelims of the Metro district meet last week, then eased into the state meet with the No. 2 seed behind PIL champion Ganz. Lane assignments for the final will be critical, as the top contenders have all rounded into shape at the right time — the top seven times this season have all been run in the past three weeks.
800
Favorite: Parker Waugh, Sr., Barlow
Contenders: Tommy O’Neil, Sr., Canby; Cole Noretto, Sr., Tualatin; Braydon Lee, Jr., Barlow; William Heslam, Jr., Roosevelt
Darkhorse: Dominic Ricci, Sr., Jesuit
Waugh and O’Neil both ran in the 1:53s at their district meets, but Waugh gets the nod in part due to his consistency during the season — including a fifth-place finish at the Oregon Relays last month.
1,500
Favorite: Caleb Lakeman, Sr., Tualatin
Contenders: Charlie North, Sr., Franklin; Wesley Shipsey, Jr., Central Catholic; Ben Collins, Sr., Sheldon; Michael Maiorano II, Sr., South Medford
Darkhorse: Aaron Lakeman, Jr., Tualatin
Caleb Lakeman outkicked North twice this season — at the Chehalem Field and Track Classic and the Jesuit Twilight Relays, where he also beat a loaded field that included Shipsey, Maiorano and many others who will toe the starting line Saturday morning. Collins will have the advantage of fresh legs as the only top contender not doubling back from the 3K.
3,000
Favorite: Caleb Lakeman, Sr., Tualatin
Contenders: James Crabtree, Sr., Sherwood; Wesley Shipsey, Sr., Central Catholic; Benjamin Balazs, Sr., Sunset; Aiden Smith, Sr., Lincoln
Darkhorse: Max Girardet, Sr., Central Catholic
Other than Balazs at the Metro district meet, none of the top contenders posted times approaching the sizzling 3,000 they ran at last month’s Oregon Relays, when Lakeman ran the fourth-fastest time in state history. Could they challenge Galen Rupp’s record 8:03.67 from 2004? It could depend on if someone sacrifices their title hopes to serve as a rabbit.
110 Hurdles
Favorite: Micah Perry, Jr., Barlow
Contenders: Tyler Bradley, Sr., Lakeridge; Nolan Malcomson, Sr., Ida B. Wells; Adam Maxwell, Sr., West Linn; Caden McIlhenny, Sr., Grant
Darkhorse: KJ Johnson-Gibson, Sr., Clackamas
Perry and Malcomson have raced just once this season — Perry won by thousandths of a second at the Sherwood Need for Speed Classic, with both topping the state rankings at 14.41 seconds. They’ll likely face off twice this weekend as they got paired side-by-side in Heat 1 of Friday’s prelims.
300 Hurdles
Favorite: Nolan Malcomson, Sr., Ida B. Wells
Contenders: Adam Maxwell, Sr., West Linn; Caden McIlhenny, Sr., Grant; Zachary Larson, Sr., Lakeridge; Karson Boschma, Sr., Tigard
Darkhorse: Chase Limbocker, Sr., Sunset
Malcomson entered the state’s all-time top 50 with his winning time at the PIL district championships last weekend. He also ran 38.57 at Hayward Field last month in finishing second to Wilson (Long Beach) junior Isaac Lewis at the Oregon Relays.
4x100
Favorite: Central Catholic
Contenders: Roseburg, Lincoln, Sheldon, Grant
Darkhorse: South Medford
The Rams rate a slight edge thanks to their state-leading time giving them Lane 4 in the timed final, allowing them to chase Roseburg one lane to their right. Lincoln, which won the Jesuit Twilight Relays last month, gets to chase both from Lane 3.
4x400
Favorite: Central Catholic
Contenders: Barlow, Ida B. Wells, Lincoln, West Linn
Darkhorse: Tualatin
The top six teams in the 6A rankings are within 1.5 seconds of each other, with Jesuit Twilight Relays champion West Linn in sixth. Central Catholic held off Barlow by a quarter-second to win the Mt. Hood district title and take over the state lead.
Shot Put
Favorite: Elijah Jackman, Sr., Tigard
Contenders: Parker Jarvis, Jr., Grants Pass; Elias Martinez, Sr., Sandy; Ethan Sanft, Jr., Southridge; Drew McCarty, So., Mountainside
Darkhorse: Max von Arx, Sr., Grant
Jackman and Jarvis are the only throwers in the field who have gone farther than 52 feet this season. Jackman’s season best of 58-8 is just 2½ inches off the state’s all-time top 50, and he has thrown in the 50s at 10 of 11 meets this spring.
Discus
Favorite: Elijah Jackman, Sr., Tigard
Contenders: Drew McCarty, So., Mountainside; David Fuiava, Jr., North Medford; Samuel Larson, Sr., Mountain View; LanderMarak, So., Sandy
Darkhorse: Nywaun Campbell, Jr., Roosevelt
Is there a more improved 6A track and field athlete than Jackman this spring? A year ago, he was throwing in the low 150s. This weekend, he arrives at Hayward Field the 13th-best discus thrower in the nation, with his season-best 193-2 at last month’s Wilsonville Invitational tied for 12th on the state’s all-time list. If Campbell were to win, he’d be the first PIL discus champion since 1979.
Javelin
Favorite: Benjamin Moffett, Sr., Clackamas
Contenders: Pat Vialva, Sr., Tigard; Gavin Korkeakoski, Sr., Newberg; Austin Milton, Jr., Sherwood; Jacob Nash, Sr., Sheldon
Darkhorse: Ian Patton, Sr., Clackamas
Moffett took over the state lead at the Cavaliers’ final Mt. Hood meet, but Vialva comes in as the top seed after winning the Three Rivers district title. Vialva transferred to Tigard last summer from Long Beach Poly in California, which does not contest the javelin at high school meets, and moved to No. 2 on the Tigers’ all-time list with his 194-5 at district.
High Jump
Favorite: Adam Maxwell, Sr., West Linn
Contenders: Kalil Irby, Sr., Southridge; Liam Abbott, Sr., Sunset; Collin Moore, So., Summit; Dayvon Sanders, Sr., Sherwood
Darkhorse: Koby Kessler, Sr., Canby
Maxwell, a Montana signee who won the unofficial 6A state title last spring, overcame a mini-slump to clear a state-leading 6-6 for the third time this season at the Three Rivers district meet. Irby went over a personal-best 6-5 in winning the Metro district title, and four others in the field have gone 6-4 this spring.
Pole Vault
Favorite: Gavin Fleck, Sr., Summit
Contenders: Jenson Molebash, Sr., Bend; Christopher Gallinger-Long, Sr., Sherwood; Calvin Lewis, Sr., Mountain View; Kevin Swindler, Jr., Tigard
Darkhorse: Francis Anderson-Blankenship, Jr., South Eugene
Molebash owns the state lead by three-quarters of an inch over Fleck, but the Storm senior won the Mountain Valley district title and should have good memories of his last visit to Hayward Field, when he cleared his personal best and made the podium at the Oregon Relays.
Long Jump
Favorite: Austin Stampflee, Jr., Glencoe
Contenders: Colton Marsters, Sr., Roseburg; Dieumerci Migani, Sr., Roosevelt; Jackson Flatner, Sr., Roosevelt; Blake Smith, Sr., Newberg
Darkhorse: Brock Thomas, Jr., Sheldon
Stampflee has come on strong in the final month of the season, jumping a state-leading 22-5 (the first time he went past 22 feet in his career) at the Elden Kellar Invitational and then 22-1 in winning the Pacific district title. Marsters, the Southwest offensive player of the year in football, has won all but one meet this spring.
Triple Jump
Favorite: Oliver Reis, Jr., Gresham
Contenders: Stuart Goodbody, Sr., McDaniel; Eli Flamoe, Sr., Cleveland; Evens Peters, Jr., Summit; Alex Guymon, Sr., Grants Pass
Darkhorse: Khai Tong, Jr., Westview
Newberg senior Blake Smith won the 6A culminating-week state meet last season but has struggled throughout the spring, finally going over 42 feet in winning the Pacific district title last week. Even so, don’t count him out of a competition that has no dominant figure — Reis gets the favorite’s nod as the only jumper in the field to go over 44 feet more than once this spring, although he did lose to Goodbody in their only head-to-head meeting at the Dean Nice Invitational.
Team
Favorite: Central Catholic
Contenders: Sherwood, Summit, Tualatin, South Medford
Darkhorse: Lincoln
For the Rams to win the first state title in the program’s history, they’ll need to make hay on the track. Tualatin and Sherwood, which went 1-2 at the last OSAA state meet in 2019, also will need to maximize their points in the running events, although the Bowmen — who won the unofficial title last spring — have chances to snag a few points here and there in the field events, which could be enough to win their first OSAA crown.
—
Meet the state’s best track and field athletes:
—
