Oregon 3A, 2A, 1A state track notebook: Jace and Addy Martin, Malcolm Grant, Mia Rhodes, Isaiah Rodriguez, Gracie Vohs grab headlines

By René Ferrán | Photo by Brynn Kleinke 

EUGENE — The first family of the OSAA track and field state championships didn’t disappoint this weekend at Hayward Field. 

Adrian’s brother-sister duo of Jace and Addy Martin came to Eugene and dominated the Class 1A meet like few others ever have. Between them, they swept the sprint titles, each trading the 400-meter relay for the open 400. 

Jace anchored the 4x400 relay to a gold medal for good measure — Addy had to settle for silver in her final race, giving big brother bragging rights for the long drive home.

Jace, a senior who will attend the Air Force Academy in the fall, followed younger sister Addy in every event, making sure to sneak a peak from the tunnel where he awaited his races to see how she did.

“I was just more anxious to see if she won or not,” he said. “I mean, we’re down below when they’re running, so I’m always coming out after my race, like, ‘How did Addy do?’ We’re just competitive, so it’s fun. And, you know, she’s just a sophomore, so it’s really cool that she got to win all those.”

Addy could feel his support coming through the bowels of the stadium and lifting her performances.

“I know my family supports me, the staff, the community, no matter how I do,” she said. “But for myself, yeah, I feel I’ve got to keep up there with my brothers. But he’s been a great help, too. He supports me and helps me, gives me tips. I mean, it’s got me this far, so I’m grateful.”

Adrian’s track is still just a gravel strip, so once a week, the Antelopes travel to nearby Nyssa to train. The rest of the time, they gather in the gym to do their sprint workouts.

“There’s definitely some hurdles, you could say,” Jace said. “But overall, it worked out for the best, so I can’t complain.”

Fortunately for Addy, the track should be ready by next season.

“The gym has been interesting,” she said. “But I’m really excited for our track coming in.”

*****

The Martin siblings weren’t the only sprinters to leave Hayward Field with three gold medals draping their necks. 

Catlin Gabel senior Malcolm Grant did the same in the 3A boys meet, coming back this spring after placing second in the 200 and 400 as a junior.

“I had kind of a slow build-up season,” Grant said. “I wasn’t running very many PRs early in the season, and I was kind of wondering whether my endurance would hold up. I know how much effort it takes to win any one of those races.

“But as the season went on, I ran a few of those triples in a few meets, including a relay, so running four events really hard. I got a couple of practices in before I came here, so I wasn’t entirely unaware of what it was I was coming up against.”

Grant ran both relays along with the 200 and 400 last season, but when the Eagles decided not to field a 4x400 this spring, it freed him to add the 100 to his repertoire.

“I was mostly a longer sprinter over the past couple of years,” he said. “But I’m really getting into the 100 this year. I had a great time at the (Jesuit) Twilight — not a wind-legal time, but I’m still pretty proud of that. And I was like, hey, I guess I can win the 100. I just kept it up, and now I’m here.”

In adding the 100, Grant was able to match former Catlin Gabel great Juma Sei, the 3A record-holder in the 200 and 400, who did the same in 2018 before competing at Yale University.

And now, Grant will follow Sei in enrolling at Yale and hoping to run for the Bulldogs.

“Every time I walk in the Catlin gym, going up to the weight room, I see the record board with Juma up at the top,” Grant said. “He was just an unbelievable athlete. I don’t know how many people could have achieved what he did. He’s really a role model for me. Just following in his footsteps, I guess.” 

*****

A year ago, Mia Rhodes tumbled to the Hayward Field track during her 100 prelim in the 3A meet, breaking her collarbone.

The De La Salle North Catholic sprinter somehow managed to finish the race before immediately heading under the stands, where a medic tried to pop the bone back into place. 

Instead, she had to sit for six weeks to let the bone heal, upsetting her offseason training — but giving her plenty of motivation for her junior season.

“I feel redemption, for sure,” Rhodes said after returning to Hayward Field and winning the 100 and 200 titles. “But coming back from that injury, it was just a blessing. This year was a comeback season.” 

Rhodes comfortably won her 100 title, running a personal-best 12.58 to keep the title in the Knights family after teammate DaNasia Stephens won in her absence last May.

The 200 turned into more of a challenge. Rhodes led coming off the corner, but off to her right, defending champion Sidney DeBoer of St. Mary’s (Medford) made a charge.

“Honestly, I started to die out a little bit,” said Rhodes, whose 26.24 winning time was four-hundredths ahead of DeBoer. “But I can see people in my peripheral, and I was like, ‘This is state. You can’t let up.’ So, I started digging, and as soon as I saw the line, I just flew forward.” 

*****

When Isaiah Rodriguez started running in the seventh grade, he dreamed of the day he would be a state champion.

On Friday, the Knappa senior finally made his dream come true — twice.

First, he broke away from 3,000 champion Trevor Nichols of Heppner on the final lap of the 1,500, closing with a 56-second lap to win in 4:12.11.

“I knew that race was going to be tactical and that I had to stick with the plan in order to win,” Rodriguez said. “I waited until 250 to go, and I just gave it all the last 200 and managed to pull it off.”

A couple of hours later, he doubled his fun in the 800, leading from the start and winning by nearly four seconds in 2:00.24. 

After seven top-four finishes across cross country and track, the Western Oregon signee wore a huge smile as he held his two gold medals.

“After the 1,500, I really started my recovery, and I just got in the zone again,” Rodriguez said. “I just envisioned what I wanted, and I stuck to that plan and went after it the first lap. I was just shy of a sub-2, but nonetheless, I’m proud and happy and just grateful to be here.”

*****

Sisters senior Gracie Vohs wants you to know something about her.

“Volleyball is my main sport,” she said. “But I love track just as much as I love volleyball.” 

Vohs was the 3A state player of the year last fall for the Outlaws and has signed with Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., but she’ll have a shiny gold medal from the state meet to hang on her dorm room wall in the fall after surprising herself by winning the 400 in a personal-best 1:00.25.

“It’s my first year running the 400, and I was really not expecting to win today,” she said. “I was just trying to go for a PR, run 60 or below, and I had some great competition to really push me to get to where I am today.”