Wrestling standout Parker Jarvis of Grants Pass edges football star Devin Brooks of Clackamas to win 6A shot put state championship

By René Ferrán 

EUGENE — Grants Pass senior Parker Jarvis faced some unexpected competition in Friday’s Class 6A boys shot put battle at the OSAA track and field state championships at Hayward Field. 

It wasn’t Metro district champion Ethan Sanft of Southridge or PIL champion Nywaun Campbell of Roosevelt who pushed Jarvis, the only thrower in the field who’d gone over 60 feet. 

No, it was Clackamas junior Devin Brooks — better known as one of the top offensive line prospects on the West Coast — who stepped up in his first year taking track seriously. 

Brooks, who hadn’t thrown over 50 feet until a week ago at the Mt. Hood district meet, kept the pressure on Jarvis throughout. 

He closed the gap to within four inches in the fifth round, when Jarvis responded with a 56-1¼ to get some breathing room.

After Brooks closed with a 55-7½ (a personal best by almost 5 feet), Jarvis could relax on his final attempt, going 58-11¾ for his best throw of the competition.

“I’d been under a lot of stress with school wrapping up,” said Jarvis, who had struggled entering the state meet after his 60-foot throw at the Grants Pass Rotary. “With things lightening up again, I could get back up there today. I was relaxed, and that’s a big part of it.”

Jarvis finished second at state a year ago, then reached the heavyweight final of the 6A wrestling state tournament before forfeiting because a snowstorm in the Portland area delayed the final until Sunday — as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wrestling that day was not an option.

“I don’t judge what anyone else does,” he said at the time. “This is my personal choice.”

After graduation, he will head to Romania for his two-year mission before enrolling at BYU, where he will continue his track career.