St. Mary’s senior Mackenzie Walker sets 3A state meet record in 1 event, places in 2 others before heading to Washington University
By Dan Brood
Most state track and field champions, when their event comes to an end, get to revel in the moment and accept congratulations and pats on the back.
Not so much for Mackenzie Walker.
Walker, a St. Mary’s (Medford) High School senior, not only triumphed in the girls pole vault competition at the Class 3A championships Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene, she also set a meet record in the process.
But she didn’t get much of a chance to enjoy the moment.
“I pretty much had to run straight from the pole vault to the beginning of the 400,” Walker said. “It was exciting and fun. I was happy to be here for three events. It was crazier, but I’ll take it.”
Walker will compete at the collegiate level for Washington University in St. Louis.
“Honestly, it’s my last meet as a senior, so it’s a memory I can take with me to college vaulting,” she said.
Walker entered the competition with the bar set at 9 feet, 6 inches. She cleared that height on her first try, leaving just her and Nyssa sophomore Ambrie Draper remaining.
With the bar at 10-6, Walker again got over on her first attempt. Draper failed in all three attempts, leaving Walker as the state champion. But she didn’t stop there. Walker cleared 11-0 on her first attempt and then got over 11-9 on her first try, setting a meet record — besting the mark of 11-6 set in 1998.
“The meet record wasn’t necessarily on my radar,” Walker said. “I was mainly trying to better myself and get a new personal record.”
Walker got over 12-0 on her second try at that height.
“Twelve foot was definitely a barrier for me, because last year I hit 11-6 as my PR multiple times, so I definitely hit a mental block,” she said. “So, I had a bit of a breakout meet, this meet, where I finally got past 12. I was in a good mental place.”
Walker tried 12-7.25, but she missed on her three tries.
Then, it was off to the 400-meter dash.
Walker placed fourth in that race in a time of 1:02.07.
She ended her meet by running to second place in the 300 low hurdles in a personal-best time of 47.87.
“It’s bittersweet,” Walker said of finishing her senior-season state meet. “But I’m happy I got to run my last race at Hayward under the lights. This was my first time running at Hayward, so that was probably the cherry on top of my season. I didn’t really care how my races went, as long as I got to run them here.”
Walker helped the St. Mary’s girls finish in second place in the Class 3A team standings with 70 points. Nyssa claimed the team title with a score of 71.5.
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