High school track and field athletes from Oregon to watch at Nike Outdoor Nationals

Another summer weekend, another high-level track and field meet at Hayward Field.

It began in May with the Pac-12 Championships, followed a week later by the OSAA State Championships, the Prefontaine Classic and then the NCAA Championships last weekend. Looking ahead, the USATF Outdoor Championships are scheduled for next weekend and then, of course, the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 comes to Eugene in July.

That’s a lot of track meets, even for a city that proudly calls itself “Track Town USA.”

This weekend it’s the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field, featuring elite high school talent from across the country, plus an 800-meter race Friday night where Olympic middle-distance runners will chase the World Championship “A” standard and a spot at July's World meet.

The meet kicked off on Thursday with events for middle schoolers and rising freshmen, plus some decathlon events, and those younger age groups will finish Friday along with some events in the “Emerging Elite” category. Friday’s meet will conclude with the boys and girls championship distance medley relays at 5:15 p.m..

Then The Road to OR22 elite men’s 800 meters will be run at 6:30 p.m.

The field in that event will feature Oregon alum Charlie Hunter, who is looking to hit the World Championships qualifying standard of 1 minute, 45.20 seconds to compete for his native Australia. He will be joined by former Duck teammates Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker, who are contenders to represent the U.S. in both the 1,500 and 5,000 at the World meet.

Championship-level events begin Saturday morning with preliminaries on the track and finals in select field events, and the meet concludes Sunday with a full slate of events, capped by the boys and girls 4x400 relays at 5:30 p.m.

Girls from Oregon to watch

While the meet draws top-level talent from across the country, there will also be some local storylines to watch.

Portland-area sprinters Mia Brahe-Pedersen and Lily Jones put on quite a show at the Class 6A state championships in May, and they will renew their friendly rivalry in both the 100 and 200 this weekend.

Brahe-Pedersen, a Lake Oswego sophomore, ran the fastest all-conditions time in the country this season with a wind-aided 11.09 seconds to win the 100. Jones, a Roosevelt senior who is committed to run at Oregon next year, ran 11.30 to finish second. That time by Brahe-Pedersen equaled the No. 4 all-time prep mark and tied her with Jasmine Montgomery, who won the 100 at last year’s Nike Outdoor Nationals and recently wrapped up an All-American freshman season for the Ducks.

No Oregon high school sprinter has ever won a national title in the 100, and that duo will be challenged by Autumn Wilson of St. Dominic Savio (Texas), a Georgia signee who handed Brahe-Pedersen her only sprint loss of the season at the Arcadia Invitational in April. Wilson’s season best is a wind-legal 11.19 back in March.

Brahe-Pederson’s best time in the 200 this season is 23.23 at the Oregon Relays, while Jones ran 23.75 at the 6A state meet. Wilson is not entered in the 200 this weekend, but the local sprinters will be challenged by Lauren Lewis of Prosper (Tex.), who ran a wind-legal 23.15 in April, and Adaejah Hodge of Alexander (Ga.), who ran 23.25 in March.

Another Oregon athlete with lofty expectations is Oregon City senior Sophia Beckmon, who won the long jump title at last year’s Nike Outdoor Championships and set a state all-classification record with her jump of 20 feet, 1½ inches at the 6A state meet in May.

One of the younger competitors in a championship event this weekend will be rising freshman Addison Kleinke of Willamette Connections Academy, who is considered one of the best up-and-coming pole vaulters in the nation.

South Eugene freshman Ansley Johnston is entered in the girls emerging elite 800 and the freshman 2-mile race. She set a PR of 2:16.22 while finishing fourth in the 800 at the 6A state meet and she also PR’d in the 3,000 with a 12th-place finish in 10:06.32.

The 14-year-old, who will be a freshman at Churchill next year, set a national age group record by clearing 13-6 at the Florence Street Vault in March, and she will be competing against a field that includes five vaulters who have cleared 14 feet this season.

Hannah Moll of Capital (Washington) won the pole vault title at last year’s Nike Outdoor Nationals by clearing 14-4 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in March, and her twin sister, Amanda, is the national record holder with a mark of 14-9½. Skyler Schuller of Coppell (Texas), Jathiyah Muhammad of Dublin (California) and Lexi Evans of Scripps Ranch (California) have also gone over the 14-foot mark this year.

Boys from Oregon to watch

On the boys side, Churchill senior Nathan Fields will compete in the boys championship triple jump and the emerging elite long jump. Fields swept the jumping titles at last month’s 5A state meet, establishing personal bests in both events with marks of 47-1 in the triple jump and 22-5½ in the long jump.

Fields will be up against some stiff competition, with three competitors going beyond 25 feet in the long jump and four jumpers topping 49 feet in the triple jump.

Aaron Davis of Humble Summer Creek (Texas) and Ashton Torns of Austin Westlake (Texas) both jumped 25-3¾ at the Texas state championships in May, and Christian Barker of Shiloh (Georgia) hit 25-3 in March. Jaylen Lloyd of Omaha Central (Nebraska), Miles Jones of Mansfield Lake Ridge (Texas) and Dash Sirmon of Walla Walla (Washington) have all gone over 24 feet.

In the triple jump, Lloyd posted a wind-aided 50-3½ at the Nebraska state meet in May, while national leader Damilare Olukosi of Fort Bend Travis (Texas) won a state title last month with a leap of 51-8¾. Karson Gordon of Fort Bend Ridge Point (Texas) has a top mark of 49-11½ this season and Eli Lawrence of Meridian (Indiana) has a wind-legal 49-9¼.

Another local athlete who will be competing this weekend is Sheldon senior Ben Collins, who will run in both the boys championship mile and 2-mile races. Collins set PRs in the 800 (1:56.61), 1,500 (3:57.12) and 3,000 (8:27.48) this season.

Sheldon teammate Jacob Nash will compete in the boys championship javelin throw on Saturday. Nash won a Southwest Conference title and finished seventh at the 6A state meet last month, and he has a lifetime best throw of 187-6.

Follow Zack Palmer on Twitter @zpalmer_11 or email at zpalmer@registerguard.com.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: High school athletes from Oregon to watch at Nike Outdoor Nationals Eugene