Drew Klopcic had an outstanding junior season for Valley Catholic ... and he's on track to surpass it in 2025

Klopcic has the top marks in the state at the 3A level in the 200, the 400 and the triple jump

Valley Catholic senior Drew Klopcic lands in the pit during the triple jump competition in last week’s meet at Valley Catholic. Klopcic triumphed with a mark of 44 feet, 8 inches. / Dan Brood

BEAVERTON — Without a doubt, Drew Klopcic had an amazing 2024 track and field season.

Klopcic, then a Valley Catholic junior, claimed Class 3A state championships in the 400-meter dash, the long jump and the triple jump, and he was part of the Valiants’ state title-winning 4x400-meter relay team.

Oh yeah, he also helped the Valley Catholic boys win the team championship.

Yeah, Klopcic had an absolutely amazing junior track and field campaign.

Only one problem: How does Klopcic follow that this year, as a Valley Catholic senior?

“I’ve been feeling the pressure, I’ll be honest. I’m a very transparent person,” Klopcic said. “It’s kind of hard, thinking that’s what I’ve got to live up to.”

But as he stood on the turf field at Valley Catholic High School last Wednesday, when the Valiants hosted a Lewis & Clark League track and field meet, Klopcic certainly didn’t look like someone bogged down with the stress and pressure of having to live up to his outstanding standards.

No, it appeared to be quite the opposite.

He was smiling while soaking in the sunshine, joking with and cheering on his Valiant teammates, hugging opponents and obviously enjoying every single moment of the competition.

“The big thing, not just with me and my coach, but with me and my parents and the school counselors, is that this is my last hurrah here, and I want to savor every moment and enjoy it. I want to make the most of it all,” Klopcic said. “I’ve committed to Marquette (University, located in Milwaukee, Wisc.), got all that stuff done. So, it’s just about making the most of this final year.”

So far, so good — in very impressive style.

As of Monday morning, according to Athletic.net, Klopcic held the top marks in the state at the Class 3A level in the 200-meter dash, the 400 and the triple jump. He has the second-best mark in the 300 hurdles and the third-best mark in the long jump.

Valley Catholic senior Drew Klopcic takes off in the triple jump event at last week’s meet. Klopcic holds the state’s top Class 3A mark in the event at 46 feet, 2 inches. / Dan Brood

“It’s going really well,” Klopcic said. “I just want to keep up with this energy. I’ve seen so much positiveness from everyone. If this carries on, it’s going to be hard to stop us in May.”

Yes, Klopcic is looking for a big finish to his senior season, not just for himself, but for the entire Valley Catholic squad.

“The team culture here is something that I think is super special,” he said. “I know it’s not the biggest school with the most people, but it’s just a close-knit community.”

And that close-knit community is glad Klopcic is part of it.

“Having him here helps a lot, having someone to look up to,” Valley Catholic junior Elijah Schaal said. “We both do the triple jump, and I’m always striving to do it as well as he does, and he’s always pushing himself.”

Klopcic’s fondness of Valley Catholic made Wednesday’s meet a bit more special, as it was his final regular-season meet at the school.

“It’s going to be an emotional day over the next couple of hours,” Klopcic said.

Well, that emotional day turned out to be a heck of a day for the friendly senior.

One of his highlights was running to victory in the 200 in a personal-best time of 22.25 seconds, which ranks as the top Class 3A time in the state.

Valley Catholic senior Drew Klopcic ran to victory in the 200-meter dash in last week’s meet in a school-record time of 22.25 seconds. / Dan Brood

“That was really, really good,” Klopcic said. “I want to try to get under 22 by the end of the season. That would be ideal. The goal today was to get the school record, which I think was 22.44. So, I crushed that one, and it was nice to do it at home on Senior Night.”

After the race, Klopcic congratulated his teammates as well as Oregon Episcopal School sophomore Brady Mason.

“I’ve got a buddy on OES. We do club track together. I love seeing him, and he got 22.6. It warms my heart because he’s only a sophomore,” Klopcic said. “It helps racing with friends. It’s more even before the race, relieving some of my nerves, knowing I’ve got a buddy there. We lift each other up. It’s something unique to this season because I formed a lot of bonds over the offseason.”

Valley Catholic senior Drew Klopcic (right) hugs OES sophomore Brady Mason after the 200-meter dash during last week’s meet at Valley Catholic. / Dan Brood

Klopcic also triumphed in the triple jump at the home meet, winning the event with a distance of 44 feet, 8 inches.

“I was doing it with kind of an ankle question mark, so it was really good to pop one out there,” Klopcic said. “It’s really good for my confidence, because a couple weeks ago at Sherwood, at the Need for Speed Classic, I went out and it was not good. So, it was nice to go out and get some confidence, put be back on top of the 3A. I feel like I belong.”

If there were any doubt Klopcic belonged in the triple jump event, he most certainly erased that Friday at the prestigious Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays, where he won the triple jump competition with a personal-best distance of 46-2, which is the top 3A mark in the state.

At last week’s meet at Valley Catholic, Klopcic didn’t win in the long jump event — and he was totally OK with that.

That’s because his teammate, junior Marcos Mueller, triumphed in the event with a school-record leap of 22-1.25.

“That’s No. 1 in the state and big points for us looking forward. I’m super happy for him,” Klopcic said. “That gets the school record for him. He broke mine by about five inches. That’s awesome. He’s a hell of a competitor. He’s on our basketball team (football, as well), and he’s a super nice guy. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Klopcic finished in third place in the long jump event with a mark of 21-5.

“There was some insane competition today,” he said. “To see four guys go over 21, for 3A, that’s really exciting.”

It turned out to be quite a day for Valley Catholic jumpers, as Schaal triumphed in the high jump with a school-record and Class 3A state-best mark of 6-6.

“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it, but I always knew I was going to shoot for the school record,” Schaal said. “I came in (to the competition) at 5-4, then I did 5-8 and 6 feet. I usually tap out around then.”

Not only did Schaal not tap out at six feet, he cleared 6-3 and 6-6 on his first attempt at those heights.

Valley Catholic junior Elijah Schaal cleared 6 feet, 6 inches, to win the high jump competition at last week’s meet at Valley Catholic. That mark is a school record and the top Class 3A mark in the state. / Dan Brood

“I closed my eyes about two steps before I launched, so it’s like, every single time I go over I’m hoping and praying it works out,” Schaal said. “It’s actually funny because I’m pretty sick right now. I’ve got a bad cough. Because I was sick, I guess I just had to run around. I’m on my home turf and it’s a nice day. It’s an amazing day to jump, so I just went for it. It felt really good going over the bar.”

So, the long jump, the triple jump and the high jump — in all three events, a Valley Catholic competitor has the top 3A mark in the state. Klopcic thinks he knows one of the reasons for that.

“We have the most positive coach (Bret Cope). I like to focus on him,” Klopcic said. “He really stepped up. Our head coach was our distance coach, and he stepped down to focus on the distance group, and (Cope) took it graciously to step up to the head coach role. He’s also the jumps coach and the hurdles coach, so he’s all over the place, but he never lets that smile off his face. He’s the first person to pick you up. He’s the first person to be there for you. It’s just infectious.”

Klopcic seems to love talking about the Valley Catholic team — a team, he says, that could challenge for state meet glory again this year.

“For me, it’s really been an awakening,” Klopcic said. “We’re going to challenge again — for back-to-back state championships. We kind of viewed it as a little bit of a long shot because we’ve been crunching the numbers. But we’ve had some really big performances today, with Elijah clearing 6-6. He got third place in the triple jump last year as a sophomore who never really did it. So, this year, we’re hoping to pop him out there.”

“We have a really good jumping squad going into state,” Schaal said. “I think we might have a shot.”

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App