Baker eighth grader top hurdler in nation
Jun. 1—Rasean Jones won't be eligible to compete for Baker High School's track team for almost a year, but he's already showed he can be a high-level competitor in multiple events in high school.
Jones, 14, finished his eighth grade track season with a dominating performance at the Oregon Middle School Meet of Champions May 26 at Corvallis High School.
Jones won two of the four events he entered and placed second in another.
(He could have qualified for twice as many, but was limited to entering four.)
Jones set a new Oregon middle school record with a time of 13.33 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles.
He also has the fastest time in the nation in that event this year.
Jones, who also plays basketball and football, said he likes track in part because it helps him improve his performance in other sports.
"It gets you faster for different sports," he said.
Rob Ferdig, who coached the BMS team along with Katie Kaaen, said Jones' performance in the hurdles prompted loud applause from the audience in Corvallis.
After Jones won his preliminary heat, the track announcer said Jones had set a new Meet of Champions record with a time of 13.57 seconds.
Ferdig said the announcer encouraged spectators to watch Jones race in the finals.
After Jones also won that race, trimming nearly a quarter-second from his previous state record (and personal best) time, the announcer noted that Jones was the fastest middle school hurdler in the nation.
(There was, however, an asterisk attached to the record, Ferdig said, since some states use taller hurdles than the 30-inch version Oregon uses in middle school meets.)
Although Jones had already competed in other events before the hurdles final, he said he had some time to rest after winning the long jump.
"I just ran my hardest," he said.
Comparing Jones' time in the hurdles to high school standards is difficult because high school runners cover a 110-meter course and leap over 39-inch hurdles.
But there's no such statistical obstacles when it comes to other events in which Jones excels.
That includes the long jump, in which Jones won the Meet of Champions with a personal best leap of 20 feet, 4.5 inches, just half an inch short of the Oregon middle school record and the best mark in the state this year. He also ranks 18th nationally in the event.
Jones' leap would have placed second at the Greater Oregon League championships and third at the Class 4A state championships earlier in May.
Jones placed second in the 100-meter dash at the Meet of Championships with a personal best time of 11.61 seconds. That time would have been third-fastest at the GOL championships.
Jones said he has compared his times and distances with winning results from high school events. He's also aware of his state and national rankings in several events, but he doesn't pay much attention to those statistics.
He said his goal, as he enters high school next year, is to continue to improve.
Ferdig said Jones would have challenged for a third state title had he competed in the high jump, where his best leap of 5 feet, 10 inches ranks second in Oregon this year, and 25th nationally.
But instead Jones "went with his team," Ferdig said — choosing to compete with Baker's 4x400 relay team, which placed ninth.
Ferdig wasn't surprised that Jones decided to run with his teammates — Daniel Maldonado, Clayton Stevens and Richard Engstrom — rather than seek another state title in an individual event.
"He's a great kid," Ferdig said.
Jones said it was an easy choice to participate in the relay rather than compete in another individual event such as the high jump.
He said he wanted to help other teammates qualify for the Meet of Champions.
"It's about working together and seeing the end result as a team," Jones said.
Jones' performance led the BMS boys to a fourth-place team finish in the Meet of Champions. Baker had 28 points, behind team champion Rosemont Ridge (43 points), Orient-Damascus (40) and Lebanon (33).
Ferdig said Jones didn't even compete in hurdles last year as a seventh grader.
Ferdig said he and Kaaen encourage athletes to try multiple events, a good way to figure out what their strengths are.
This spring Jones decided to try hurdles. His combination of natural athleticism and willingness to heed advice from his coaches, including volunteer Dakotah Keys and Tish Henes, a former track standout at Baker High School and the University of Oregon, quickly made it clear that Jones excelled at the event.
"He works hard, and he's consistently asking the coaches questions," Ferdig said.
Jones said he decided to compete in the hurdles after working with Keys, who told him that hurdles combine multiple skills that a track athlete needs.
Jones said he tried hurdles and did well at a couple meets earlier this spring.
He said he enjoyed his final season in middle school and looks forward to competing in high school.
"I want to thank my coaches for helping me and my teammates for supporting me," Jones said.
Jones broke the BMS eighth grade records in the long jump, 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles and high jump this spring.
His teammate, Kane Hellberg, broke school records in the 3,000- and 1,500-meter runs.
Oregon Middle School Meet of Champions Baker individual results
Boys
100
Rasean Jones, 2nd, 11.61 (PR)
200
William Spriet, 42nd, 25.96
400
William Spriet, 11th, 56.16
3,000
Kane Hellberg, 10th, 10:18.22
100 hurdles
Rasean Jones, 1st, 13.33
4x100 relay
Baker, 19th, 50.14 (Richard Engstrom, Clayton Stevens, Chase Roy, William Spriet)
4x400 relay
Baker, 9th, 3:58.86 (Daniel Maldonado, Clayton Stevens, Rasean Jones, Richard Engstrom)
Javelin
Gerik Orszulak, 30th, 89-9
Long jump
Rasean Jones, 1st, 20-4.5 (PR)
Girls
100
Kyndal Chandler, 24th, 13.57
200
Kyndal Chandler, 21st, 28.22
Shot put
Madison Meyer, 32nd, 27-2
Discus
Gracie Spike, 13th, 73-8
