Oregon high school track and field: 10 events to watch at 24th Jesuit Twilight Relays

Two elite milers look to break 4-minute mark outdoors for first time to highlight one of the Pacific Northwest's top invitationals

Crater senior Josiah Tostenson broke the state 1,500-meter record last month and now looks to become the state's first sub-4-minute miler outdoors at Friday's Jesuit Twilight Relays. / Brynn Kleinke, for SBLive Oregon

The 24th edition of the Jesuit Twilight Relays, which started in 2000 but missed two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, takes place Friday at Cronin Field in Southwest Portland.

The highlight of the meet, one of the top high school invitationals in the Pacific Northwest, figures to come toward the start of the twilight portion of the competition, when two milers who broke 4 minutes indoors look to do so for the first time outdoors.

Here are 10 individual events that should draw plenty of attention from meet-goers Friday evening.

Boys Elite 100 (6:15 p.m.)

Curtis senior Nicholas Altheimer, an Emerald Ridge transfer, missed almost two seasons but is back with a vengeance for his final season, running a Washington-best 10.49 at the Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational two weeks ago. He’ll challenge a deep field that includes Clover Park senior Eli Peters, Washington’s 2A runner-up last year, and Oregon state leader Keaton Moore of Oregon City.

Girls Elite 100 (6:10 p.m.)

Lake Oswego legend Mia Brahe-Pedersen ran the fastest legal time in meet history three years ago, going 11.45 to edge Roosevelt’s Lily Jones by one-hundredth of a second in a thrilling race. Now, Jones’ younger sister, Aster, has a chance to break that mark (Brahe-Pedersen ran a wind-aided 11.07 a year later for the meet record), with two sub-12-second Washington stars (Skyview junior Paris Ackerman and Emerald Ridge sophomore Iren Derricks) pushing her.

Boys Elite Mile (6:40 p.m.)

Only one runner has broken the 4-minute barrier at the Twilight Relays (Michael Slagowski of Rocky Mountain (Idaho) went 3:59.53 nine years ago), and no Oregon prepster has accomplished the feat outdoors. An elite West Coast field will put both to the test as Mercer Island’s Owen Powell — who ran 3:56.66 at February's Terrier DMR Challenge in Boston to set the high school indoor mile record — and Crater’s Josiah Tostenson — who ran 3:57.47 right behind Powell in Boston — toe the start line.

Girls Elite Mile (6:25 p.m.)

Lincoln sophomore Ellery Lincoln broke the meet record last year at her Twilight debut, running 4:43.00 to blow away a talented field. Later that spring, she ran 4:40.75 at the Hoka Festival of Miles to move to No. 3 on the all-time state list, but Lakeridge senior Chloe Huyler (runner-up to Lincoln last year) and Lake Washington senior Alexa Matora will make it an honest pursuit of becoming the second Oregon girl to break a 4:40 mile.

Boys High Jump (2 p.m.)

Oregon’s top four jumpers this season — South Salem junior Calvin Stewart (6 feet, 9¾ inches), Sandy sophomore Topher Gabel (6-9), and seniors Sean Ward of Dallas and Camren Thompson of South Albany (both at 6-8) — will gather at the same place for the first time this season to decide bragging rights.

Girls 100 Hurdles (2 p.m.)

Show up early for this one. Seniors Avery Coker of Ida B. Wells and Campbell Brintnall of Tualatin dueled two weeks ago at the Need for Speed Invitational in Sherwood, with two-time 6A state champion Coker edging Brintnall by two-hundredths of a second. Throw in promising sophomore Leilani Mays of Union (Vancouver), and it could be a three-way blanket finish.

Boys Bowerman 3200 (5:40 p.m.)

The meet record of 8:55.25 set three years ago by Maximilian Girardet of Central Catholic will be under serious jeopardy in the finale of the meet's afternoon session, thanks to a blockbuster field led by BYU-bound Crater senior Tayvon Kitchen, who ran 8:43.94 at Arcadia, along with Tahoma’s Cooper Boyle (8:52.33 at Arcadia) and South Kitsap’s Isaac Benjamin (8:52.79 at Arcadia).

Girls Discus (2 p.m.)

Venture to the southeast corner of the facility by the varsity softball field to catch what should be a duel between the reigning Oregon 6A (Tigard junior Marissa Johnson) and 4A (Estacada senior Abby Behrman) state champions, with both going over 150 feet for the first time last week — Berhman throwing a state-leading 153-3 at a Tri-Valley Conference dual meet and Johnson 150-3 to win the Sunset Team Challenge.

Boys Long Jump (2 p.m.)

The title could be an interstate showdown between Oregon’s top jumper, Central Catholic junior Joseph Donnelly (23-8¼), and Washington leader Josiah Alanis of Evergreen of Vancouver (23-8). 

Girls Javelin (5 p.m.)

A year ago, West Linn’s Hayden Williams-Downing broke the meet record by throwing a personal-best 165-7 to move to No. 6 on the all-time state list. The Lions senior has come close to that mark several times since, including a 163-8 at the school’s Icebreaker meet in mid-March, and she’ll look to catch those good vibes again on the Jesuit runway.

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