East County roundup: Centennial’s Khen San wins 5A boys 300 meter hurdles state title

Published 12:19 am Sunday, May 19, 2024

Centennial junior Khen San couldn’t quite put a finger on why he felt the vibes were off coming into the final day of the Oregon high school state track and field championships Saturday, May 18 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

The Eagles hurdler came into the day with top five preliminary times in both the 110 and 300 meter races, so on paper the junior was in a strong position to challenge for the titles.

Up first was the 110 hurdles, which didn’t go San’s way as Crescent Valley’s Tate Herber won in a time of 14.74 seconds while San crossed in fourth at 15.15.

San stayed in the game though and came back for the 300 hurdles, which he won in a time of 39.74.

“Today just doesn’t seem real,” San said. “It’s my first time (winning state) so it just doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel real to be a state champ.”

San is no stranger to the state championships though as he made state in both his freshman and sophomore years.

As a freshman, he made the 6A state meet in the 300 hurdles and finished in 14th before going the next year in 2023 and taking fourth.

Now in 2024, San has fully climbed the ladder to become the best in the state at 5A.

“I just had to think about how all my family and friends are supporting me,” San said. “I just always think about them and that’s what drives me.”

The win made San the first Eagle to claim individual gold since 2019 when Madison McHone won the girls 100 and 300 hurdles, and the high jump, along with Savannah Schultz winning the pole vault.

San is the first boy to stand atop the podium since Zechariah McLaurin won the 6A long jump in 2011.

The 2024 300 hurdles race was an eventful one as Central’s Ryan Burgett pulled away from the field coming down the final stretch.

However, Burgett hit the second to last hurdle and tumbled to the track, opening the door for San to swoop in and cross the line in first.

“I kind of stayed relaxed like the first couple of hurdles,” San said. “Then everyone started speeding up and I was like ‘OK, I’ll start speeding up too.’ At the homestretch, one of the guys started tripping on the hurdles and I was like, ‘Oh OK, I got this.’”

San helped the Centennial 4×400 relay team take 12th place in a time of 3:37.25. The Eagles 4×100 boys team wasn’t able to finish in the finals.

The next best finisher for the Eagles was Elizabeth Lancaster who took home second place in the 5A girls pole vault after clearing 11 feet, 2.5 inches.

Staying on the girls side, senior Mia Baczko finished in eighth in the 300 hurdles as the top Eagles trackster with a time of 47.77. Sophomore Grace Chienku finished in eighth in the girls high jump after clearing 4-11.5, a new PR.

Gabe Welch landed in the top 10 for the 5A boys 100, running an 11.16 in the final to place sixth. Sebastian Phillips false started in the 300 hurdles prelims and was disqualified.

Finally for the Eagles, Micah Castillo took home third in the boys pole vault, clearing a new PR of 14-feet, helping Centennial finish with 24 points as a team and tying for 12th place.

The girls scored 9.5 points and finished in 26th.More East County big school resultsBarlow sent a handful of athletes down to Eugene for the state meet with sophomore Giovanni Bogarin highlighting the weekend.

Borgarin had the top prelim time in the 6A boys 400 with a new PR of 48.57. In the finals, he finished in a time of 49.30 to take home fourth place.

Caleb Perry competed in the field, bringing home fourth in the boys javelin with a top toss of 179-04, a new PR. Hayden Jones no-heighted in the boys pole vault.

The boys 4×100 and 4×400 relay squads each finished in 11th in times of 43.05 and 3:25.76.

On the girl’s side, Maggie Zielinski finished in seventh in the girls pole vault with a top mark of 10-06. Keely Chard also competed but wasn’t able to post a mark.

Gresham sent two girls throwers to the state meet in senior Ava Hanson and junior Alithia Lam Tiang.

Hanson competed in all three throws, finishing the best in the shot put with a sixth place mark. Hanson’s top toss 35-1.75 while Lam Tiang took home third with a mark of 36-7, a new PR.

Hanson finished in 13th for the discus and 15th in the javelin, putting up marks of 98-10 and 101-10, respectively. Lam Tiang finished fourth in the discus with a personal best throw of 117 flat.

Reynolds was highlighted by Salahedin Callier winning the boys long jump with a leap of 22-8.5, a new personal best. Alexus Hudson-Williams took 12th and 14th in the girls 100 and 200 in times of 12.69 and 25.84.

Sandy had a few student-athletes reach the state championships. Senior Lander Marak was the best highlight taking third in the boys discus with a throw of 148-09. He also took sixth in the shot put thanks to a PR toss of 48-1.25.

Jasiah Cochran took fifth in the boys triple jump, landing at a new personal record of 42-11.75. Grayson Brown took home 12th in discus, led by a throw of 126-04.

Nikolas Gibson took ninth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.11 and Topher Gabel competed in the high jump, but wasn’t able to make a mark.

On the girls side for the Pioneers, Claire Parks finished in 12th in the 800 with a time of 2:21.19 while Susan McGaughey finished in 19th in the 3000 with a time of 11:34.76.

Estacada landed a couple state champions at 4A in with senior Hayden Slaughter winning the discus with a toss of 175-04. He finished eighth in the shot put with a mark of 46-5.5.

Abby Behrman led the Rangers on the girls side, winning the discus with a throw of 126-06 and taking second in the shot put at 39-2.5. Liadan Stone took 13th in the 300 hurdles with a personal best time of 51.21.