Six Sweet Home athletes competed June 19-22 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals held at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
The 4×400 relay team of Ryker Burr, Kasey Kast, Dillan Davis and Kolton Wilmarth finished 22nd in a field of 37 teams from as far away as New York and Alaska in the Emerging Elite division.
Also competing were seniors Jack Simmons and Peyton Markell, both in the javelin.
Markell finished 27th in a field of 50 competitors with a throw of 104-7, which was three inches over the mark she set in placing third at the Oregon West Conference, but well under the PR of 112-4 she set in early May. That throw would have placed her 14th in the competition.
The Emerging Elite competition was won by Jaedyn Swindall of Ardmore, Okla., who threw 134-4. The Championship Division competition winner was Naijah Harris of the Ironclad Throwers Academy of California, who threw 153-10.
Simmons was 23rd in a field of 48 competitors with a throw of 157-9, short of the 166-7 PR he threw at the state championships. That throw would have placed him 10th in the Emerging Elite division at Nike, which was won by Carter Johnson of the Phillips Exeter Academy Track Club of New Hampshire (182-5). The Championship Division was won by Bryson Jacobs of Drexel, Mo., who threw 220-3.
Sweet Home’s relay quartet finished in 3:30.37, a little slower than they did at state three weeks earlier at the 4a state championships on the same track (3:25.67). Splits for Nike were Burr 55.65, Kast 52.85, Davis 51.45 and Wilmarth 50.41. If they had been able to match their run at state, they would have been fifth in the Nike Emerging Elite competition. Eastwood (Ohio) Track Club won the race in 3:24.36. The Championship Division race was won by Cedar Falls (Iowa) Track Club in 3:15.15. Marshfield’s team was ninth in the Championship race, in 3:19.76, as anchor Bodey Lutes ran 46.63, the fastest leg of the day.