Tualatin OR senior sweeps 60 and 200 meters, along with anchoring winning 4x200 relay to lead several multiple-event winners; Halladay lowers own girls mile meet record

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Kwabena Lynn knows the path to an Oregon 6A state sprinting championship goes through Benson junior Micah Williams.

So Lynn, a Tualatin High senior, is using the winter to compete against as many talented athletes from other states as possible in order to challenge himself in preparation for upcoming spring showdowns back home with Williams, along with West Salem senior Anthony Gould and Centennial junior Jimmie Barton.

Lynn demonstrated his improvement Saturday at the ninth annual Nike Boise Indoor, representing the Oregon-based club Step Ur Game Up as the only athlete at the two-day meet to capture three gold medals.

RESULTS | RACE VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS

Lynn ran a personal-best 6.90 seconds in the 60-meter dash, prevailed in the 200 in 22.48 and anchored a victorious 4x200 relay that included Jake Follett, Luke Marion and Giuliani Roberti to clock 1:31.82 at Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“I’m pretty excited with how I progressed from last year to this year. I ran 7.06 last year in the 60 and I already improved to 6.90, so I’m happy about that,” said Lynn, who placed in the top eight in May in the 100 and 200 at the Oregon 6A outdoor state final.

“I hope to see the biggest gains later on in the 100 and 200, going under 22 and running 10.6 or 10.5.”

Williams, who produced a national-leading 6.67 effort Jan. 12 at the Washington Indoor Preview, ran wind-legal marks of 10.37 in the 100 and 21.19 in the 200 as a sophomore.

“It keeps me from getting complacent because I always know that I have somebody to look up to,” Lynn said. “If I run a 10.6 or 10.7 (in the 100), I can’t just be happy with that, I have to keep improving in order to even finish closer to him because he is probably going to run 10.2 or 10.1 this year, so there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Lynn led a strong showcase by Step Ur Game Up, including a victory in the girls 4x200 relay in 1:44.05 from Lake Oswego seventh-grader Mia Brahe-Pedersen and seniors Maddie DeBorde, Erica Chiang and Alysah Hickey.

Hickey, the reigning California state long jump champion competing for Coronado HIgh, won her indoor opener with a fourth-round leap of 19-3.75 (5.88m). She also placed fifth in the 60 in 7.87, with DeBorde finishing third in 7.85, in addition to the Lake Oswego OR standout placing third in the long jump with an effort of 18-4.25 (5.59m).

Along with Lynn and Hickey, there were several other multiple-event winners, including sweeps of both throwing events.

Following his national-leading performance and meet-record 80-5 (24.51m) in the 25-pound weight throw, Ridgefield WA junior Trey Knight also won the shot put with a fifth-round mark of 57-10 (17.62m).

Lake Oswego junior Ava David, representing Super Thrower Track Club, won the 20-pound weight throw with a performance of 48-7.50 (14.82m) and prevailed in the shot put with a mark of 35-8.50 (10.88m).

Sheldon CA junior Imani Dupree doubled in the 60-meter dash in 7.62 and 200 in 24.96.
After anchoring the Menlo i Greyhounds with a 2:13 split in the girls 4x800 relay to victory in 9:23.94, Menlo CA junior Charlotte Tomkinson won the 800 in 2:13.54.

Kuna ID junior Autumn Kidd prevailed in the girls triple jump with a first-round leap of 36-2.75 (11.04m) and added a win in the 400 in 1:00.24.

Emmett ID freshman Landon Helms, representing YMCA Team Idaho, produced the top marks in the country by a ninth-grader this season to win the 60-meter hurdles in 8.40 and clear 15 feet (4.57m) to emerge victorious in the pole vault.

Mountain View ID junior Lexy Halladay, also representing YMCA Team Idaho, eclipsed her own meet record in the mile from 2016 by clocking 4:53.77.

Borah ID sophomore Nathan Green, competing for YMCA Team Idaho, prevailed in the boys mile in 4:18.97.

Leigh CA senior Nathan Yoder, representing Heritage Track Club, secured victory in the boys triple jump with a fifth-round effort of 45-3.25 (13.79m).

Branham CA senior Meagan Kiefer ran a personal-best 9.00 seconds to win the girls 60 hurdles.

A pair of Utah seniors, Herriman’s Austin Peterson and Bingham’s Dylan Tidwell, won the 400 and 800, respectively. Peterson clocked 51.42 and Tidwell prevailed in 1:58.12.