Tyrone Gorze, Sophia Beckmon, Mia Brahe-Pedersen among the standouts on Day 1 of 6A, 5A, 4A Oregon track and field championships
By René Ferrán
The Class 6A, 5A and 4A Oregon high school track and field state championships got underway Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene.
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EUGENE — Add perfect conditions with fresh legs, and you get the ideal combination for an unparalleled first day of the Class 6A/5A/4A portion of the OSAA track and field state championships Friday at Hayward Field.
Eight meet records were tied or broken, and four state records faced serious threats on Day 1. Crater senior Tyrone Gorze moved between Galen Rupp and Steve Prefontaine in the all-time 3,000-meter list, and two girls went over 40 feet in the same triple jump competition for the first time in state meet history.
“To be that close, it’s a little frustrating,” Gorze said after running the second-fastest 3,000 in state history, finishing in 8 minutes, 4.60 seconds, to come up less than a second shy of Rupp’s state-record 8:03.67. “But it’s also a PR, and, you know, I’m satisfied.”
So, what can we expect for an encore when the three-day championships conclude Saturday?
“Everybody here today, they’ve all been doing very, very well,” said Oregon City senior Sophia Beckmon, who ran a career-best 11.33 seconds in the 100 prelims (No. 3 all-time) ahead of going after her state-record 22 feet, 4 inches, in Saturday’s long jump.
“So, I’m excited. I feel like I’m seeing the signs. I feel like I’m getting good vibes today, and I’ll probably get them tomorrow as well. I’m really excited to see what I could do tomorrow. I’m hoping for something very unexpected.”
6A Girls
Anika Sukumar and Maleigha Canaday-Elliott had been chasing 40 feet in the triple jump for the past two seasons.
Then, in a 10-minute span, first Sukumar — a West Linn senior and the defending state champion — and then Canaday-Elliott, a McDaniel junior, broke the barrier.
Sukumar went 40-4¼ on her second-round attempt, prompting a shriek of delight from the Cornell University commit.
One round later, it was Canaday-Elliott’s turn. The Portland Thorns Academy product, who started taking jumping seriously last spring, tied the 31-year-old meet record held by Sunset’s Keeoma Wardford by jumping 40-6¾ to take the lead.
Each jumper had one more 40-footer, but Canaday-Elliott’s jump held up for the victory.
“I had never done the clap before, and when I didn’t do it last year, i regretted it,” she said. “So, I did it this year, and I felt so much better because, you know, it’s like people are watching you because of all the echoes and all that good stuff. This is huge for me.”
Lake Oswego’s junior sprint sensations — Mia Brahe-Pedersen and Josie Donelson — combined to break three meet records.
Brahe-Pedersen rewrote the marks she set last spring by running 11.11 in the 100 and 22.71 in the 200 (just off the state records she set this spring), and Donelson moved to No. 4 on the all-time state list in the 400 while breaking a 21-year-old meet record, going 54.51.
“The goal was to cruise through it, and I definitely did that in the 100,” Brahe-Pedersen said. “I got out and held my form, focused on lifting my knees and pulling my arms. The 200, I pushed a little harder, but it was a smooth day. I realize now I know how to get through rounds properly, and being able to coast in 11.11 and 22.7 just shows how much I’ve grown.”
Tualatin junior Lauren Ayers, who hadn’t run a 3,000 until six weeks ago and toed the line for the third time ever, escaped getting boxed in early in the race and pulled away over the final two laps to win in 10:01.57.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, where it would be very slow and tactical and come down to the last couple of laps or if somebody would go out fast,” Ayers said. “Luckily, it played out because I definitely have more 800 speed. It just doesn’t feel real. I’m just really grateful.”
Ayers’ victory helped Tualatin take the overnight lead in the team standings with 21 points, just ahead of Three Rivers League rival West Linn with 19.5.
Central Catholic senior Kyeese Hollands repeated as javelin champion, throwing 149-6 on her third and sixth attempts to win by 16 feet. She’ll look to become the first 6A girl in 31 years to win the discus and javelin in the same year Saturday.
“I was hoping for one in the 150s,” Hollands said. “But compared to last year, I started off stronger this year. Last year, it was rocky up until finals. I was not as nervous. I had pretty good consistency.”
Tigard sophomore Alexa Anderson made a pressure vault to dethrone Lincoln senior Nicole Prall, clearing 12-6 on her third attempt with Prall holding the tiebreaker if she’d missed that vault.
“I thought we’d have to jump off, possibly,” Anderson said. “So, it was a stressful one, but it was really exciting.”
6A Boys
While Anderson was finishing her victory on one runway, Tigers senior Kevin Swindler was on an adjoining runway, putting the finishing touches on his victory by clearing an outdoor personal-best 15-3 after he’d wrapped up the title.
“I like the adrenaline of the competition,” Swindler said. “But I think the adrenaline of winning the meet kind of pushed me over that edge.”
Grants Pass senior Parker Jarvis led the shot put wire-to-wire, but it wasn’t until his final throw of 59-0 that he approached the distances he’d been throwing all season.
“I was a little nervous because my district meet also wasn’t that good,” Jarvis said. “I was under a lot of stress getting classes in and finishing up assignments, so it was just an overall tiredness. That last throw was definitely a lot freer. I was relaxed, and that was a big part of it.”
The discus competition, as expected, came down to the final throws, with North Medford senior David Tuiava — who fouled on his first two attempts before finally finding the sector — following Sandy’s Lander Marak’s go-ahead 154-4 throw by topping him with a 155-8.
He then sweated out a final throw from Roosevelt’s Nywaun Campbell, who went 154-0 to finish third.
“Coming in, I knew it was going to be a tough competition, and I didn’t want to take it lightly,” Tuiava said. “I did struggle at the beginning of my throws and during the finals, but I came through and was victorious.”
Lincoln senior Grant Nyhus also had to sweat out a final attempt from PIL rival Benati Louvouezo in the triple jump, but the Grant junior came up just shy on that final jump as Nyhus won the title with a best of 44-0½.
“It was definitely a battle,” Nyhus said. “We push each other to go farther, and thankfully, he would not beat my top mark, which I was really happy about.”
Jesuit senior Jacob Nenow added the 3,000 title to the cross country championship he won in November, grabbing the lead from the start and fending off a late challenge from West Salem’s Jack Meier to win in 8:17.07.
“I didn’t want it to come down to the final sprint,” Nenow said. “So, I just was running a 66 (second) pace the whole way, just keep it going as long as I could.”
Nenow’s victory, combined with Joshua Augustine and Gus Clevenger finishing third and fourth, gave Jesuit the Day 1 lead with 22 points.
5A Girls
While Gorze took his shot at Rupp’s record, Crescent Valley sophomore Emily Wisniewski shattered the girls meet record in the 3,000 and moved to third on the all-time state list by running 9:28.52.
“My goal was to possibly go under 9:30 or somewhere around there,” she said. “But it hasn’t sunk in yet. It was an awesome race.”
About the same time as Wisniewski put up her stellar race, Thurston senior Breanna Raven was matching the meet record in the triple jump, moving to the top 15 on the all-time list by going 38-10½ to successfully defend her title.
“I was just hoping for a PR and hoping to have fun, and I did just that,” Raven said.
Other Day 1 champions were Summit senior Isabella Sanderi in the high jump and Ridgeview sophomore Zowie Nunes, who repeated in the javelin. The Storm grabbed the overnight lead in the team race with 26 points.
5A Boys
Gorze looked back at his penultimate lap as the one that might have cost him breaking Rupp’s record, also noting that he had hoped to run a 60-second final lap — instead, he closed with a 63.
Still, after running 8:05 indoors against a field of collegiate and pro runners, he was determined in his final high school 3K to beat that time.
“On this day, 8:04 was my best,” Gorze said. “I was hoping to run a little faster, but I’m satisfied with what I did.”
Summit got victories from senior Spencer Elliott in the shot put and junior Noah Goodrich in the triple jump to take a big lead to the meet’s second day.
Elliott, the 5A leader in the event entering the meet, struggled throughout the competition before improving by five feet on his final throw, going a personal-best 52-9¼ to win the title.
“Not a good day for me,” Elliott said. “But all that mattered was that last throw.”
Goodrich didn’t take the lead for good until the fifth round, then improved to 45-7¾ on his final jump to seal the victory.
“It means a ton,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to do this, especially after last year, I came into state and got last. So, this was super cool.”
Central sophomore Gabriel Haines was the day’s other champion, winning the discus with a throw of 147-7.
4A Girls
La Grande’s Brooke Perry won a duel of freshmen with Philomath’s Ana Candanoza to take home the 3,000 title in 10:32.23.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Perry said. “I love it here.”
Klamath Union sophomore Andi Harmon (high jump), Hidden Valley junior Aja LaPan (triple jump) and North Bend sophomore Drew Hood (javelin) also won titles on Day 1. Candanoza was one of four Warriors to post top-three finishes, helping them take the overnight lead in the team standings.
4A Boys
Marshfield senior Alexander Garcia-Silver, running in memory of his recently departed grandmother, won the 3,000 in a meet-record 8:31.08, setting a blistering pace and running solo to beat his nearest rival by 21 seconds.
“It was rough, but I knew going into it that I was going to get my mind ready,” he said. “It’s hard to solo, but I knew I could do it. As long as I believe in myself, it doesn’t matter what anyone else says.”
Marshfield junior Jonathan Parks, who’s still not 100% from a collarbone injury sustained in a motorcycle accident five months ago, was able to repeat as champion in the pole vault by clearing 15-0 on his first attempt to beat classmate Trent Summers.
“The doctor definitely did not recommend me to do anything like this,” Parks said. “I pushed myself as hard as I could. I didn’t even think I’d be here. Just dedication. I don’t think I would have gone anywhere without dedication.”
The Pirates are well-positioned to defend their team title after Day 1 with 32.5 points, followed by Pendleton with 26, with Buckaroos junior Nolan Mead winning the triple jump.
Estacada senior Cody White bounced back from finishing third to La Grande’s Myer Whitmore in the shot put to win the discus title — with his best event, the javelin, still to go Saturday.
