It didn't take long for Lake Oswego junior Mia Brahe-Pedersen to make a big splash in the outdoor track season.
Competing in the prestigious Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational on Saturday, Brahe-Pedersen reset her state record in the 100 meters by winning in 11.17 seconds. She also won the 200 and helped the Lakers take third place in the 4x400 relay.
Her previous record in the 100 was 11.25 seconds, set last summer at the USATF U-20 Outdoor Championships.
“We are pleased with the start, to open with a PR and a state record,” Lake Oswego coach John Parks said of Brahe-Pedersen, the two-time 6A champion in both the 100 and 200. “She was very pleased with where we are and what lies ahead. We know that there's a lot more. We're very excited.”
Brahe-Pedersen's time in the 100 is particularly impressive considering her workouts have been focused more on conditioning. Her training also was set back about three weeks due to a heel injury she suffered during the winter indoor season.
“We knew that we have had limited training,” Parks said. “We've done no speed work of note in a month, no significant high-speed running. We hadn't done starts in eight or nine days. Going into it, I knew her fitness level was pretty decent, it was just a matter of maintaining her mechanics.”
Brahe-Pedersen came back one hour after the 100 to win the 200 in 23.01, just off her personal best of 22.95, which is tied for the state record with Margaret Johnson-Bailes (Churchill, 1968).
The meet was a chance for Brahe-Pedersen to compete in warmer weather. The temperature was about 75 degrees at the start of the meet and was in the mid-60s during the 200. It dropped into the high 50s for the 4x400.
“It was the first day we've had over 56 degrees that we've practiced or competed in,” Parks said.
In the 4x400, Brahe-Pedersen teamed with junior Riley Ha, sophomore Marina Turpen and junior Josie Donelson to finish third in 3:50.27. The time is No. 3 all-time in Oregon behind Benson (3:49.97 in 2003) and Jesuit (3:50.13 in 2019).
Brahe-Pedersen ran the second leg, moving Lake Oswego from ninth place to third with a 53.7 split. Parks said her split would have been in the high 51s or low 52s had she stayed wide and not ran up the back of a runner on the inside.
“It was just a learning experience where she made a mistake,” Parks said. “She lost all her momentum.”
Donelson took the baton from Turpen and moved the Lakers from a distant fourth place to third with a 54-second leg.
The relay has much room to improve, according to Parks. Ha is coming off a stress fracture from basketball and Donelson has been recovering from tightness in her hamstring. Turpen, who filled in for sophomore Ana Peters (health issue) on Saturday, is dealing with a tight hip flexor.
Still, the Lakers nearly got the state record.
“If Mia doesn't run up the back of the girls, we shatter it,” Parks said. “We run 3:48.”
The same lineup also finished eighth in the 4x100 at Arcadia, clocking 47.82, the top time in the state this season.
Donelson, the reigning 6A 400 champion, placed third in the 400 with a time of 55.00. She improved on her previous best of 55.71, set at state last year, and moved up to No. 9 on the state's all-time list.
“I'm ecstatic with her,” Parks said. “Because with Mia, I've been working with her for nearly two years. But with Josie, I've only been working with her for basically eight, nine weeks. I'm just beginning to address some training and technical deficiencies that she's had.”
Add Arcadia
Several other Oregon athletes stood out at the Arcadia Invitational.
Roosevelt senior William Heslam, the 6A runner-up in the 1,500 last year, won the invitational mile in 4:12.20.
Wilsonville senior Carter Cutting, who placed third in the 5A cross country meet last fall, took fourth in the invitational 800 in 1:50.27. He improved on his personal best by more than one second and climbed to No. 4 on the state's all-time list.
South Medford senior Andrew Walker, the reigning 6A champion in the 100 and 200, placed third in the invitational 200 in 21.73.
Jesuit's boys and girls finished second and fourth, respectively in the 4xmile.
The boys finished in 17:16.89 with Caden Swanson, Gus Clevenger, Jacob Nenow and Joshua Augustine. The girls clocked 20:57.16 with Amelie Beil, Maggie Bennett, Liliana Hudnut and Emma Bennett.
Brewster moves up
Sandy senior Sydney Brewster won the shot and discus at the Sandy Invitational on Saturday, recording the best marks in the state this season.
Brewster threw the shot 44 feet, 4 inches, beating her previous best of 44-0 from last year. She hurled the discus 150-2 to eclipse her best of 149-7 ½ from last season.
In last year's 6A championships, Brewster won the discus and was third in the shot.
Gorze improves in 1,500
Crater senior distance standout Tyrone Gorze made his season debut with a personal best in the 1,500.
Gorze ran 3:49.70 to place first in the Medford Rotary Relays on Saturday. The time beat his previous best of 3:50.31 and moves him to No. 14 on the state's all-time list.
The Washington-bound Gorze won the 3,000 and was second in the 1,500 in the 5A championships last year.
jerryu@osaa.org
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