Murray, DeBoer go 1-2 in long jump at 3A state meet

Danny Penza, Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
·5 min read

May 20—With a scratch right out of the gate on her first jump Thursday afternoon, Cascade Christian junior Autumn Murray knew that she couldn't let the nerves take over.

"It was really nerve-wracking for me just knowing that I had two more jumps left to get into the finals," recalled Murray. "So, my goal was just to get into the finals and go from there."

Go from there she did.

Murray's third jump proved to be the attempt that got her to the top of the leaderboard at the Class 3A track and field state championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.

Murray's mark of 16 feet, 10.75 inches stood from there on out, as she finished ahead of St. Mary's Sidney DeBoer in second to capture gold.

"I was nervous again," Murray said of the pair's final couple of jumps. "It wasn't the best day for me, but I'm happy where that jump got me."

DeBoer, also a junior, finished runner-up at 16-5.75. Murray's teammate, sophomore Sierra Samhammer, finished fifth.

"They're great competitors," Cascade Christian coach Mike Schaan said.

"They're good athletes, great kids and they're fun to be around and fun to work with."

DeBoer was in the lead after the second round of jumps, passing Sutherlin's Page Edmonson — who finished third — with her top mark of the day.

But Murray, who was right behind DeBoer after the second round, jumped in front of her crosstown rival minutes later.

"She just focused up," Schaan said. "She's been pretty focused all season and just competed within herself, just did what she had to do without trying to do more."

Murray and DeBoer had to break away from the long jump to run preliminary races in other events, causing a unique twist for both as they battled for a state title.

"I just try not to think about it too much and just think about where I am in the moment," said DeBoer. "I think it was super close, for sure. If I would have topped my PR I would have gotten first, but I'm still happy with the mark that I got. My legs are pretty tired after all of the sprinting. I'm happy with how I performed."

DeBoer scratched on her fourth and fifth attempt before hitting 16-5.5 on her final jump. One of those scratches was on a jump over 17 feet that would have put her into the lead, said St. Mary's coach Joe Volk.

That's when it started to sink in a little bit for Murray, who set Cascade's school record in the long jump (17-9) at last weekend's district meet.

"I was really happy that my hard work this season paid off," she said.

Murray could potentially add another two state titles to her name today as the 3A state meet wraps up, as she's running in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

Same goes for DeBoer, who's in the 100, 200 and the triple jump.

"It's cool that we're so close to each other with our schools," said DeBoer. "I see her, too, at all of our other meets, so it's been nice to have somebody who is pretty close to me to compete."

Another Crusader earned a second-place medal Thursday in the boys shot put in the form of junior Kyan Hidde, whose throw of 46-4 trailed only Stephen Machin of La Pine. Cascade Christian junior Matthew Moses finished fourth in the event (42-9.5).

Hidde and Moses recorded their top marks of the day on their fifth attempt.

Hidde's throw topped his previous personal record of 45-5 set last week. During his abbreviated sophomore season last spring, Hidde didn't record a throw further than 38 feet. This spring, the St. Mary's junior threw over 42 feet on six different occasions.

"We knew that kid from La Pine was essentially untouchable," said Volk, "so it was like, 'OK, let's see what you can do, this is your junior year and give it your best.' Sure enough, he comes home with a silver medal and puts himself in position for next year."

Kelsey Dunn of St. Mary's finished fourth in the girls discus (112-5), eclipsing her previous PR by nearly 2 feet.

In 2A action, Rogue River's Ayrica Hansen finished seventh in the girls long jump at 14-10.

The Class 3A, 2A and 1A meets wrap up today at Hayward Field.

CLASS 3A

BOYS

TEAM SCORES (Top 10): Harrisburg 25, La Pine 21, Warrenton 11, Oregon Episcopal 12, Westside Christian 11, Riverdale 10, Scio 9, Santiam Christian 8, St. Mary's 8, Catlin Gabel 8.

Other Local Scores

12, Cascade Christian, 5.

3,000 — 1, Zander Moha, Warrenton, 8:57.15; 11, Cody Arnold, St. Mary's, 10:12.29.

SHOT PUT — 1, Stephen Machin, La Pin, 50-6.25; 2, Kyan Hidde, St. Mary's, 46-4; 4, Matthew Moses, Cascade Christian, 42-9.5.

POLE VAULT — 1, Terek Logan, Harrisburg, 12-6.

LONG JUMP — 1, Sam Veverka, Riverdale, 20-2.75.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES (Top 10): Catlin Gabel, 22.5, Sutherlin 22, Willamina 20, Cascade Christian 16, Nyssa 14.5, St. Mary's 13, Creswell 13, Blanchet Catholic 12, Umatilla 10, Horizon Christian 8.

3,000 — 1, Megan Cover, Catlin Gabel, 11:06.52; 7, Saige Griffin, Cascade Christian, 12:00.19.

DISCUS — 1, Hallee Hughes, Willamina, 128-10; 4, Kelsey Dunn, St. Mary's, 112-5.

JAVELIN — 1, Hallee Hughes, Willamina, 138-1.

HIGH JUMP — 1, Caroline Mauro, Catlin Gabel, 5-3.

LONG JUMP — 1, Autumn Murray, Cascade Christian, 16-10.75; 2, Sidney DeBoer, St. Mary's, 16-5.75; 5, Sierra Samhammer, Cascade Christian, 15-2.25.

Reach reporter Danny Penza at 541-776-4469 or dpenza@rosebudmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @penzatopaper.