From just another guy to a 6A double-champion — ‘it all just came together’ this season for Tigard’s Elijah Jackman
By René Ferrán
A year ago, Elijah Jackman was just another thrower coming through the Tigard track and field program.
Friday afternoon at the OSAA state championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Jackman was the thrower to beat in the Class 6A shot put and discus, earning both titles in a three-hour window.
He became the first Tigard athlete to win either title and the second state champion thrower in school history, joining Jeremy Asher (1991, javelin).
“That sounds pretty good,” Jackman said. “Now, I’m waiting for my javelin teammate, Pat Vialva, to get first. I know he’s going to get it, and that’ll be three state champs in three events for our team.”
Jackman gives much of the credit for his meteoric rise — a 10-foot improvement in the shot with his personal-best throw of 59-3½ on Friday that moved him to No. 46 on the all-time state list, and a 40½-foot improvement in the discus that tied him for 11th all-time — to finally getting time to work with Tigers throws coach Bruce Flaker and hone his craft.
“Honestly, like 99% of the credit goes to him,” Jackman said. “I have a great coach, and we finally got the time to mentally figure out what I needed to do and get into positions to get it done. I mean, we only had our freshman season, and as a freshman, you don’t take it too seriously. I only threw 106 that year.
“Then, we had no sophomore season at all because of COVID, and then junior year was short and wacky with all the COVID stuff. But that year got me pumped to just go hard for discus and shot and just improve. Then, it was about being in the weight room and just practicing and getting reps.”
All that work paid off first in the shot put ring, where although he couldn’t get Jeremy Moore’s school-record 60-3, he was happy to get off to a good start to the meet.
That also helped him shrug off the memory of his previous trip to Hayward Field, when he had a season-worst performance in the discus at the Oregon Relays. His warmups didn’t go as well as he’d hoped, but he stepped into the ring for his first throw and went 166-7 to take the lead.
He built off that throw throughout his series, eventually getting his winning throw of 175-7 in the fifth round — well off the 193-2 he threw at the Wilsonville Invitational last month, but still a solid effort.
“That’s something I’ve been working on this season when I’ve had a rough warmup — coming through in actual competition,” he said. “My last time here was really bad, so mentally, I had to get over that hump, come out here and get a decent throw and keep trying to get a better one.”
Jackman will spend the next couple of weeks finalizing his college situation. Montana State has offered him a full-ride scholarship, but he’s also heard from a couple other schools.
Where once he thought football would be his future — he was an all-Three Rivers tight end and defensive end — he knows track is the better option going forward.
“Definitely, this track season has been one of my best high school experiences,” he said. “Football was fun, but I had good marks this spring and had all my friends out. It all just came together.”
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