Crazy! Wells sophomore Avery Coker is the 6A champion in the 100 hurdles

“I didn’t even qualify (for state) last year, and this is just kind of surreal. I’m soaking it in. I still can’t believe it.”

By René Ferrán 

EUGENE — Back in January, Avery Coker finished second in the 60-meter hurdles at the Spokane High School Invitational indoor track and field meet. 

As she stepped off the podium, her coach said to her, I think you might be able to potentially win state this year. 

Coker’s reaction?

“I was like, ‘No way. That’s crazy,’” she recalled.

Flash forward four months to a sunny Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field, and what seemed crazy then became reality.

The Ida B. Wells sophomore edged South Eugene’s Sarah Money by seven-hundredths of a second to win the Class 6A 100-meter hurdles title at the OSAA state championships, crossing the finish line in a personal-best 14.85 seconds.

“The buildup to this has been crazy,” Coker said. “I didn’t even qualify (for state) last year, and this is just kind of surreal. I’m soaking it in. I still can’t believe it.”

Coker broke 17 seconds once during her freshman season, which ended with her finishing third at the PIL district meet in the 100 and 300 hurdles, with her times not fast enough to earn a wild-card entry. 

The disappointment of failing to qualify prompted her to join the Resolute Track Club. By mid-July, she was a regional 15-16-year-old champion in the high hurdles — just the start of the journey that continued with a victory over 5A champion Sara Rivas of Bend at last month’s Jesuit Twilight Relays and concluded with Saturday’s victory.

“I’ve got to think all that really built a base that helped me carry momentum into the season,” said Coker, who finished fifth in the 300 hurdles later in the meet. “But without having Sarah to push me, I wouldn’t have been able to run that fast. I’m really grateful for that. That really helped a lot.”