Lake Oswego Sophomore Powers Her Team To Class 6A Title; Caleb Lakeman Runs The Table With 1,500 Meters Win; Chloe Foerster Guts Out 1,500/800 Double

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Kim Spir and Becky Holbrook

EUGENE -- Mia Brahe-Pedersen became the fourth-fastest high school girl in the 100 meters in all conditions on Saturday, clocking a wind-aided 11.09 seconds a the state championship meet in Oregon at Hayward Field. 

The Lake Oswego sophomore's performance in the 100 meters may be the greatest achievement ever at the OSAA State Championships, but she wasn't done there. 

Brahe-Pedersen won the 200 meters in a meet record 23.25 seconds, anchored the Lakers' winning 4x100 relay (46.87) and took the stick for the third leg of the winning 4x400 (3:50.64). 

And oh by the way, Lake Oswego won the 6A girls team title as well with 77 points. Oregon City, with two all-time state record-holders, was second with 62. 

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS | PHOTOS

But it's Brahe-Pedersen's 100 meters, aided by a +3.2 wind, that blew minds. Lily Jones of Roosevelt wasn't far behind, either, in 11.30. Oregon City's Sophie Beckmon was third in 11.74.

"Words can hardly describe it," Brahe-Pedersen said. "It was just complete shock. I've never felt that exact emotion before. Somebody needs to come up with a name for that."

Only Brianna Williams, Candace Hill and Angela Williams have run faster under any conditions. At 11.09, Brahe-Pedersen is tied with Jasmine Montgomery, who ran that time with a +4.6 wind at the 2021 Texas state meet.

Nothing encapsulated the fever dream of a state meet that wrapped up Saturday at Hayward Field better after the championships were absent from Eugene for four years. 

Some of the things on display were practically unimaginable for an Oregon state meet pre-pandemic:

In the boys 6A 1,500 meters final, with the intensity dialed up to 11, Caleb Lakeman of Tualatin managed to win another high-stakes race and led seven runners under 3:54 with a winning time of 3:50.78. 

Roosevelt's William Heslam timed his kick correctly and got up for second in 3:51.13. 

Twelve boys in Oregon have run 3:52.5 or better in the 1,500 meters this spring, including freshman Josiah Tostenson of Crater, who ran up behind teammate Tyrone Gorze and won the 5A race (3:59.74 to 4:00.04).

Tigard's Pat Vialva threw US#9 203-7 to win the 6A boys javelin, a personal best by more than nine feet. Teammate Elijah Jackman made it a clean sweep for the Tigers in the throws, with wins in the discus (175-7)  and shot (59-3.50).

Dede Norman of Clackamas became the second female high jumper to go higher than 5-10 in the high jump. A day after Emma Gates of Cascade won the 4A title with 5-11, Norman won the 6A title with US#10 5-10.25. 

Chloe Foerster of Jesuit cemented her status as a state meet legend by doubling back from a grueling 1,500 meters win, where she broke the 1981 state meet record of Kathy Hayes with 4:24.39. Later, she gamely fought off her freshman teammate Emma Bennett to win the 800 in 2:09.60. 

Foerster revealed that she had suffered a recent bout of COVID-19 and missed 10 days of training prior to last week's district meet. 

The Covid bug and/or another virus took a ravaging toll on several teams in the Portland area the past three weeks. Sunset standout Benjamin Balazs missed state with illness and so did Grant hurdler Caden McIlhenny, and Lincoln's Kendall York couldn't even compete at the district meet.

It didn't stop a stream of impressive performances. 

South Medford's Andrew Walker shook off a bad hand-off at the end of the 6A 4x100 relay and won the 100 meters in 10.61w and also the 200 in 21.33.

The Central Catholic won its first Class 6A team title with a group effort that relied heavily on sprinters Xavier Simpson and Stryder Todd-Fields, distance runners Wes Shipsey and Max Girardet and two relay victories. The Rams ran 42.21 to win the 4x100 and 3:21.44 in the 4x400.

In Class 5A, Churchill's Nathan Fields won the long jump (22-5.50), the triple jump (47-1) and the 300-meter hurdles (39.16) with three personal bests. He also took third in a rough 110-meter hurdles final where nearly everyone in the race was rubbing an arm or leg after hitting hurdles. (The hurdles are Hayward Field are less forgiving than the light-weight ones used at most high school meets). Fields scored 36 of his team's 37 points.

Pendleton's US#3 javelin thrower Samuel Jennings underwent a devastating injury in his district meet, breaking a bone in his pelvis and tearing muscles in his lower abdomin and groin. He could barely walk at the state meet but gamely took three painful attempts using only his arm strength. He managed to throw 151-11, which is 60 feet from his best.  

In the 6A hurdles races, Barlow's Micah Perry won the 110-meter hurdles in 14.34 seconds. Ida B. Wells senior Nolan Malcomson broke his coach Sol Sallos' school record with 37.48 seconds. 

Oregon City's Harley Daniel was another athlete with record-breaking potential. She won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.06 before giving chase to her own all-time best in the 300-meter hurdles (42.23), clocking 42.25.

Team Champions - 

Class 6A - Central Catholic boys 55 points, Lake Oswego girls 77 points - RESULTS

Class 5A - Silverton boys 79 points, Crescent Valley girls 69 points - RESULTS

Class 4A - Marshfield boys 57 points, Philomath girls 87 points -  RESULTS

Class 3A - Catlin Gabel boys 84 points, Nyssa girls 71.5 points - RESULTS

Class 2A - Bandon boys 56 points, Coquille girls 59 points  - RESULTS

Class 1A - Adrian boys 74 points, Damascus Christian girls 105.5 points - RESULTS