‘Hey, I’m still here.’ Central Catholic’s Max Girardet reminds everyone he’ll be a top contender at state with a 3,200 victory at Jesuit Twilight Relays

Girardet, who signed with the U.S. Naval Academy, didn't compete at the Oregon Relays — but he'll surely be at Hayward Field in mid-May.

By René Ferrán | Photo by Taylor Balkom

While some of the state’s best distance runners congregated at Hayward Field last weekend for one of the best high school 3,000-meter races ever, Max Girardet was 3,000 miles away participating in the 35th annual We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals in the DC area.

The Central Catholic senior helped his team win the Division C championship, but part of him still wished he were in Eugene. 

“It was a pretty cool, electric environment to be in on the more academic side,” he said. “Unfortunately, I missed out on the athletic side down at Oregon Relays, but it comes at a cost.”

On Friday at the 20th annual Jesuit Twilight Relays, Girardet showed that even with all the distance talent in the state this spring, his name deserves to be on the list of title contenders.

He came from behind to outkick Sunset’s Benjamin Balazs down the homestretch to win the 3,200 meters in 8 minutes, 55.25 seconds, edging Balazs by 33-hundredths of a second.

Girardet showed his distance chops in the fall, placing sixth at the OSAA 6A state cross country meet and 30th at the Garmin RunningLane Championships.

“I feel like people kind of buried me down in the name list for not showing up at Oregon Relays,” said Girardet, who signed with the U.S. Naval Academy. “I came back today at Jesuit and showed, ‘Hey, I’m still here.’”

And with the state championships returning to Hayward Field in mid-May after a four-year absence, he’s looking forward to making his presence felt in the 3K.

“Unfortunately, I was not at Hayward a week ago,” Girardet said. “But it’s going to be awesome to be at Hayward, just one and done for state.”

The girls 3,200 turned into a battle of the freshman phenoms, with Sydney Collier of Skyline in Sammamish pulling away from Crescent Valley’s Emily Wisniewski to win in 10:28.03.

Boys 3,200 Meters Podium

1, Max Girardet, Sr., Central Catholic, 8 minutes, 55.25 seconds.

2, Benjamin Balazs, Sr., Sunset, 8:55.58.

3, Jackson Keefer, Sr., Summit, 8:56.87.

4, Gus Clevenger, Jr., Jesuit, 8:57.92.

5, Brandon Moore, Sr., Arlington, 8:58.17.

6, Grayson Wilcott, Sr., Kamiakin, 9:00.65.

7, Logan Law, Jr., Milwaukie, 9:02.38.

8, Grady Mylander, Sr., Nampa Christian, 9:03.81.

Girls 3,200 Meters Podium

1, Sydney Collier, Fr., Skyline, 10:28.03.

2, Emily Wisniewski, Fr., Crescent Valley, 10:29.64.

3, Ella Thorsett, Jr., Summit, 10:35.80.

4, Chloe Overberg, Sr., Asotin, 10:38.01.

5, Paige Wiley, Jr., Sunset, 10:48.89.

6, Anna Lanigan, Sr., Roosevelt, 10:51.09.

7, Mahathi Sridhar, Sr., Tualatin, 10:52.12.

8, Josie Fale, So., Ida B. Wells, 10:53.72.

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Best photos from 2022 Jesuit Twilight Relays

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