The first day of the Oregon State meet greeted fans with sunny skies & moderately warm temperatures. After a miserable spring with cool, if not cold temperatures, and seemingly perpetual rain it was almost a bit too much for the distance runners. The State added to the impact by placing the guys’ 3,000 Meter Race essentially at the beginning of the day, which meant that the 6A boys wound up running in conditions for which they had no acclimatization.
The 4A race was run first and the field was more than content to allow freshman Mitchell Butler of Siuslaw to set the pace. Butler continued to lead through the 800M, reached in 2:23.1, and was trailed by Philomath’s Josh Seekatz, while the rest of the pack bided its time. A 71 second lap made for little change, although Butler was then followed by Sean O'Hollearn of LaSalle Prep. Jorge Gil-Juarez of Phoenix moved into second after four laps (4:48) but Butler remained in the lead. During the fifth lap 4A State Champion Zorg Loustalet of Henley moved ahead of Butler & his lap time of 5:56 let everyone know that things were getting serious. Josh Seekatz was just off his shoulder and the duo sped through a 70 second lap, which broke up most of the chase pack. With 300 meters to go Sekatz made a move to pass Loustalet, while Taylor Steele of Sisters, who had moved into contention the previous lap, reined the duo back within striking distance. Coming out of the final turn there was little to choose between Steele & Loutalet as they dueled through the final straight and at the end it remained that way, but Steel earned the hard fought victory in a time of 8:49.03. Zorg was three-tenths of a second back while Gil-Juarez closed well to earn third (8:53.25) ahead of O’Hollearn (8:55.78) and Seekatz (8:56.37). The valiant Butler finished sixth in 8:58.
Ian Burgess of Franklin glided his way to a methodical dismantling of the field by moving the first lap in a time of 68.1 (the fastest lead split of the day by three seconds. His team mate Jackson Baker was the only runner to make an effort to stay with the leader, yet he was still a good eight meters back after a circuit. A split at 800 meters of 2:18 ended any real suspense as to the ultimate victor. In spite of the increasing temperature, and the Sun was really beginning to make its presence felt, Burgess loped long through splits of 4:36 at 1600M & 5:47.6 at 2K. Akiharu Kitagawa of Wilsonville & Tyler VanDyke of Eagle Point challenged Baker at this point and moved ahead of him shortly thereafter. Burgess was well on the lead through a split of 6:59 and Baker briefly moved back into second but a 1 – 2 Quaker finish was not to be. In end Ian won with a fine 8:39, while Kitagawa claimed second in 8:55.88. Van Dyke edged Baker for third with his time of 8:58.20 but Baker had the distinction to break nine minutes (8:58.96). Clay Stokes of Dallas placed fifth. Of note also was the finish of Hermiston’s two underclassmen, sophomore Eduardo Juarez & freshman Jose Macias, who garnered 7th & 8th.
Going into the 6A race the question seemed to be who would step forward in wide-open field? The opening lap saw everyone keeping their hands under their vest, as the field all but sauntered through the distance in a time of 71seconds. That type of pace was all but guaranteed to drop no one and a second split of 2:19.4 did nothing to help & in fact was a full second behind what Burgess had run by himself in the previous race. Still the race was not lacking for drama, as Max Runia of Crater and Andy Bennison of Central Catholic, two of the favorites, ran together at the front. Immediately behind the pair was Matt Melancon of Sheldon, who is the current XC champion. The trio ran as if linked through the next two laps which witnessed times of 3:29 and 4:36.8 and at that they were half a second behind the pace of Burgess. There was no change up front through splits of 5:47 & 6:59, which still were just off of Burgess’ time and everyone had to assume that something had to give. Of course we were well into the day and the Sun was a challenger as well, so the trio had to factor that into the race equation, as after all nobody was used to warm weather. With a lap to go it was still Runia & Bennison pursued by Melancon. One never knows about racing, for you can do everything seemingly right but somehow things do not work as they should. For Andy Bennison it was one of those days, although he did reflect on being in the lead all that time, and, as Runia and Melancon began to surge it was just one of those days for Andy to which all distance runners can relate. While his rivals drew away he was left to feel that “sting” of disappointment.
The final lap became a two-man contest between Runia & Melancon, yet even that did not go according to ‘script.’ The pair had raced at the Rotary Relays in Grants Pass & then twice last weekend in the District meet. Each time Runia seemed to inexorably edge ahead near the finish and on Friday it appeared as if history would repeat itself. Once again Max Runia came off the last turn and made his move but on this day it was the Sheldon runner, who had something in reserve and Melancon pulled away in dramatic fashion to win convincingly with a time of 8;30.78. It was a sprinter’s last quarter and after being behind Burgess’ time every split that afternoon, they were well ahead at race’s end. The Crater runner followed in second with 8:32 – eight seconds faster than the winning time last year but it was not his day. Aaron Back of Sunset ran a fine race to claim third in a fine time of 8:39.42, while sophomore Dan Oekerman of Beaverton overhauled the tired Bennison to nip him at the line for fourth. The good news for Andy, yet unknown, was the redemption would follow on Saturday. Nick Roche of Tigard placed sixth & West Linn’s Cullen Wannarka, who had missed more of the last few weeks with a stress reaction, earned seventh with 8:47. Right behind was Alex Foote of Aloha. Such was the pace of the last lap that a number of runners went into oxygen debt during the last lap and the wisdom of running in the heat was answered by a fair number of runners. Who made personal deposits in the nearby garbage can. It was a memorable edition to State track history.
Interspersed between the distance racing were some very high quality field events. Haley Crouser won the girls' 6A javelin competition with 169-07: a mark, which is one of the top marks in the nation. Jesuit’s Elizabeth Brenner secured second with a heave of 154-03 yet she barely topped Kaylie VanLoo of Glencoe, who went 154-01. Most years those marks would be good enough to win. Chancey Summers of Estacada leaped 5-10 in the 4A High Jump to easily defend her State title in the event. Her mark also is one of the top marks in the nation. She barely missed in her second jump at 6-00.5. Laura Sullivan of Madras finished second with 5-04. Chancey’s mark is one of the best in the nation but it would have easily won all divisions. Michelle Ellis of Hillsboro captured the 6A division on misses, as she and Krsitin Coffman of Tualatin cleared 5-05. Rachel Proteau of West Albany triumphed in 5A with a mark of 5-07, while Summit’s Lucinda Howard & Sarah Taylor both went 5-05 but were separated by misses.
J J Juliff of Sheldon was another successful defender of his title and he won6A with 16-04. Brandon Hooper of South Medford took 2nd with 15-06, while Alex Tardieu (15-00) of Grants Pass & Zach Crambit (14-09) of Thurston garnered third & fourth. At 5A Summit’s Erick Jorgensen & Evan Bassford, both with 14-06, secured the top two spots on the podium & Matt Hidalgo of Banks (15-06) topped Newport’s Oshay Dunmore (15-03).
Ryan Crouser, still hampered by a groin injury, claimed both the Shot Put and the Discus with marks of 65-07 and 179-01 despite throwing from a standing position without a spin. Oregon’s City’s Greg Skipper (165-09) and (56-09) took second & third in the Discus and Shot Put respectively. Skipper, of course, is one of the nation’s top prep throwers in the Hammer, which the state does not contest. Will Kunkle of North Medford placed third in the discus with 157-03, while Javan Gray of Thurston finished second in the Shot Put with 57-01. Dalton Milburn of Marshfield won the 5A Discus with 178-00 and Jacob Aguilar of Churchill was second with 167-10. Tyrone Holmes of Eagle Point scored in the 5A Shot Put with 56-03.
The top marks in all three upper divisions of the Long Jump were very close with the best jump of the day being recorded by Iris Anderson of North Eugene at 18-08. Mariah Delpierre of Hermiston was second in 5A with 17-03. Janesa White of South Salem, who soared 17-11.50, won the 6A Division. Ashante horsley of McMinnville was close behind in second with 17-10.50, while Alyssa Neal of North Salem (17-08.75) & Haley Crouser (17-06.75) were third & fourth. Chancey Summers of Estacada added the 4A title in the Long Jump to her collection of titles by going 17-08.50 to defeat Devyn Makin of Sweet Home (17-02.75.
Alisha Luna defeated Kellie Foley of Crook County, as the Klamath star followed up her victory last fall in Cross Country. As is her style she went out early to forge the lead. By the time she had reached the 1600 Meter mark in 5:24.7, she had opened up a significant lead over Foley, who had a sizable lead over Ally Manley. Although Klamath Union’s Foley cut into her lead over the last three laps, she could not overcome the early lead and placed second with 10:23. Ally Manley of Brookings-Harbor ran a fine third place effort of 10:33.76.
Megan Fristoe of Summit led the way with a lap of 76.7 and never had to look back, as she defended her title in the 5A with a time of 10:06 Her winning time was the best time of the day for all divisions and it was not far from the 2008 record in the event set by Michelly Foley of Crook County. While Megan essentially ran away & hid from her competition there was a spirited rivalry between Morgan Anderson of Silverton, Grace Viuhkula of Hood River and Shannon Susbauer of Milwaukie for second. The trio battle until the last lap, when Susbauer fell off the pace, while then Anderson & Viuhkula dueled all the way to the line. Anderson just was up for second with her time of 10.66 edging Grace by .02. Susbauer, who has made great strides this season, earned fourth with 10:35 and Mary Kate McGwire of Dallas claimed fifth with 10:46.28. Sara Fristoe closed well to place sixth in a time of 10:48 topping Kesley Hilsenteger, who placed seventh, by a second.
The last race of the day was girls’ 3K at the 6A level: a race that Annamarie Maag of Jesuit placed third in as a freshman before winning that last two years. Annamarie is also a three-time Cross Country champion, who has not been challenged at a distance 3K or over past few years, so going into the race she was the clear favorite. The race began as if script with Annamarie moving into the lead. She led after the first lap of 79.8 and had already established a gap over Payton Schutte and Erin Clark. Payton, of course is also a Jesuit runner and she has been a first-rate runner in her own right for years. Erin Clark on the other hand is a sophomore, who has been making great strides ever since the middle of the XC season. After one lap only Payton & Erin had a realistic shot of winning, as everyone else had drifted well behind and appeared designated to fourth.
Maag rolled through the 800M in 2:42 with her Crusader friend now alone in second about five meters ahead of Andrea Dettman of Centennial, who had made a move during the last lap, & Erin Clark, who had dropped back just a bit behind Schutte. Split of 4:03 gave evidence of a 15 meter lead over Schutte, who was followed by Clark, who ran another five meters behind. Dettman had faded by that time to fourth, while Kelly O’ Neill of Lakeridge was making a move after extricating herself from the pack. It would remain as such for over a lap but Clark, who had briefly moved into second, had fallen back behind Schutte and with two laps to go it seemed as if a pecking order to the finish had been established. Maag held a fifteen meter lead over Schutte, who in turn held close to a fifteen meter lead over Clark, while O’Neill was now a solid yet distant fourth.
Distance running can be a bit like a chess mass of strategy, which at the same time can experience an ebb and flow within each other and it appears looking back that such may have been the case here. Annamarie had a solid lead but it was not expanding. Beyond that she did not to seem to appear to have her normal fluidity. It may be looking to much into the story but one thing soon became evident and that was the fact that Payton Schutte was finding something in reserve. As the next lap was run she gained momentum and cut into the lead of her team mate. Clark for her part appeared to be working at first to remain in contact with Schutte but, while she was not gaining at first on Payton, Erin was getting closing to Maag simply by ‘holding on’ to Schutte. As the bell sounded Annamarie still had a lead but Payton was still gaining but even more importantly Clark seemed to be gaining strength. The pursuers reeled in their quarry on the back-stretch but Annamarie was still running at the same pace. As they went into the turn Payton passed her team but Clark began to make a surge of her own. By mid-turn Clark had caught & passed Schutte and then Maag responded. By the time they had entered the stretch Clark had opened a gap, which Maag was now attempting to close. Schutte finally feeling the pace was forced to back off it, so now the race was down to just two. At first it seemed that Annamarie might have the time and then energy but with fifty meters to go the South Eugene runner found something in reserve and she drew away to victory. Her winning time of 10:06.63 saw her finish almost two seconds in front of Maag. Payton earned third in 10:10 and collapsed once over the finish. Kelly O’ Neill came home alone in 10:18, while Jesuit’s third runner in the race, Adrienne Demaree, ran an inspiring race to claim fifth in 10:33 just ahead of Emily Weber of South Salem, Andrea Dettman of Centennial . Andrea’s freshman team mate Kirra Morally, who ran 10:41, garnered 8th ahead of Crater frosh Gracie Tostenson and Sarah Hastings, also from Crater, rounded off the top ten. In the end it was a brilliant victory for Clark, who holds such promise for the future but we should not forget or overlook this was one day in one weekend for both Annamarie Maag as well as Payton Schutte, who both responded like champions. It is the reason why we all have run and accepted the challenge to test ourselves over time and distance. We should not read too much into this other than it was a grand race and there are many ways to measure a champion.