TD's Moorehouse Vaults to Top at Championship; others follow
Taylor Moorehouse clearing 15’ at Hayward Field in Eugene at the Oregon 5A Track and Field Championship on Saturday, May
Taylor congratulates Silverton’s Joel Rush (another proud moment- spectators and other coaches commented on TD athletes’ sportsmanship)
Story by Jill Pearson
Photos by Ashley Quisenberry
“My brain and my heart are on that track right now,” I found myself remarking to a meet photographer beside me, as our gaze tracked the far curve of the 5A boys’ 3000m race.
He nodded approvingly, the pack moving closer and into focus- not quite within shouting distance yet. Two familiar strides in maroon- Juan Diego Contreras in a trio behind Crater’s Tyrone Gorze, and still rounding the corner, another triad with Leo Lemann leading.
“That’s how it should be,” the photographer replied. “I’ll make sure I get some good shots of them.”
In what seemed like an eternity and an instant later- they had both crossed the line in under 9 minutes, two of only four TD runners to ever have run that fast, with Contreras’ 8:35.39 breaking the school’s 47-year-old record set by Steve Taylor.
Maybe there’s something to that “Hayward magic,” the boost of confidence that the new state-of-the-art facilities in Eugene offer; the warm-up fields are gorgeous, and the track itself is unbelievably bouncy and lush (5 stars- and it just makes you feel fast).
Or maybe it’s the adrenaline from breaking records with the top athletes in Oregon for the State Track & Field Meet. More likely, though, it’s that ethos of leaving your heart on the track; as Steve Prefontaine quipped at Hayward back in the 70s, it’s racing “to see who has the most guts.”
The eight Riverhawk athletes who went to State this weekend definitely had heart and guts; the girls went from placing 4th at districts to 7th in the entire state is indicative of that. From being a little awestruck and starstruck on Thursday, they raced and jumped tenaciously, as at home on a concrete track at Wahtonka, but this time in front of thousands.
Zoe Dunn’s triple jump landed a second place at State.
Zoe Dunn showed some phenomenal hops in the long jump on Friday, and again in the triple jump on Saturday. While she didn’t yet break 18 feet on Friday, she did land in second at 17’4”, a mere 8” behind fellow junior Breanna Raven from Thurston.
The next day, she saved her best jump for last, coming hot off her anchor leg for the 4x100 relay. With a final jump of 36’ 5.75”, she moved from third to second ahead of Pendleton’s Reilly Lovercheck, and exactly a foot behind Raven again. “I’d like to come back here,” she admitted, smiling, and then started making plans for offseason training.
Juan Diego’s 1500m, leading the pack in the first laps
While Dunn prepared to triple jump, Juan Diego Contreras led the first laps of the very tactical boys’ 1500m run. He finished sixth with a season record of 4:04.45, with Crater’s Josiah Toston passing lead and teammate Tyrone Gorze in the last meters of the home stretch to go just under four minutes. While others had been content to pace then kick, tough running from Contreras and others impacted the outcome significantly - you just can never tell how a race will turn out until it’s run.
Taylor Morehouse ended his senior season literally on top, with a fifteen-foot and state championship-winning jump in the pole vault, a half-foot ahead of Silverton’s Joel Rush.
With the entire stadium clapping, he barely missed his attempts at 15’9”, which would’ve broken The Dalles’ record. Still, he was pleased with his season- with an improvement of over a foot during the past few weeks; there are few that work harder- or stay longer at practice- than Morehouse, a legacy that current coach/former vaulter Garth Miller is proud of as well.
Lilly Adams out of the blocks for the 4x100m relay.
Amyrah Hill takes the baton from Madelyn Harrison for the third leg, just ahead of Crook Country.
The 4x100 podium Dunn, Hill, Harrison, and Adams
Lilly Adams’ nearly 1 second PR in the 200-meter prelim (27.58) was two-thirds of a second away from making finals, and she more than compensated with her starting legs in the 4x100 and 4x400 meter relays. The stands were electric as the girls raced, and the finish on the short relay was so close that first/second AND third/fourth had to be determined by a thousandth of a second. Ultimately, the girls’ team- Adams, Amyrah Hill, Madelyn Harrison, and Zoe Dunn- placed fourth with a time of 50.85, a little giddy in the knowledge that all four are underclassmen. The foursome, after a bit of rest and a proper warm-up- went on to place 2nd in the long relay that afternoon, with a nearly three-second PR at 4:12.12, just behind Crescent Valley’s 4:09 finish.
After the podiums, the drive home felt like a bit of a shock- unbelievable to have run at Hayward, and unbelievable that the season- the coldest in memory- was already finished, and ending on a warm and sunny day. Maybe that’s what it feels like to leave your heart and guts on the track- it might take a moment to get them back, and start dreaming again about next season, next year, the next race.
A note from Coach Jill Pearson
“We are so thankful to you, our community, for cheering us on and supporting us. Thank you!
To our athletes’ families- thank you for raising such delightful people to coach and work with.
And most importantly, to all our athletes- we are so incredibly proud of you! Well done!”
And after some rest- on to a 4th of July Run & Cross Country!
