Micah Perry of Barlow sweeps 6A hurdles titles, still chasing that elusive 13
By René Ferrán
EUGENE — Around Micah Perry’s neck, he wears a small chain with a “13” pendant on it.
The pendant serves as a constant reminder of the Barlow senior’s goal of becoming the second Oregon high school hurdler to run in the 13s, joining David Douglas’ Bob Gray, who ran 13.73 seconds during his senior season in 1988.
Perry still has that goal to shoot for during his final summer campaign before heading to Boston University.
He did check one important item off his list Saturday at the OSAA track and field state championships, winning a third consecutive 6A title in the 110-meter hurdles in a season-best time of 14.10.
“It’s a lot of pressure, just knowing this is what I’ve been working on to win,” Perry said. “Feeling the pressure to win was pretty big, but I’ve competed against some really good competitors before, so I just had to channel it and go out and run the time I know I can run.”
On top of that, Perry added a state title in the 300 hurdles — an event he hadn’t run before this season. He ran it for the first time in a meet in mid-March, then brought it back at the Dean Nice Invitational in early May.
Saturday’s race, in which he ran 38.58 to defeat Oregon City’s Eron Harvey by more than a half-second, was just the sixth of his career.
“From the start, I wanted to run 4x400 with my team,” Perry said. “The whole year, I’ve been kind of going back and forth, but I came to a decision with my coaches that I had a chance to win (the 300s), so I might as well do it.”
Perry finished fifth in the 100 and ran the 4x100 relay Saturday — a grueling schedule that might have cost him a chance at going sub-14 in the highs, but one he wouldn’t have traded for a measly 11-hundredths of a second.
“A little bit of disappointment, because it’s what I’ve been going for this whole season,” he said. “I’m a little bit tired today — I ran three races yesterday, and I’ve got four today. But I love being able to compete in multiple events and be competitive, so that kind of trumps everything else. I’m so happy I ran the time I ran because I get to do so many other events.”
The race itself played out as perfectly as Perry could have wanted. He was first to the first hurdles and clean over the 10 hurdles.
“It just comes down to the middle and end of the race,” he said. “Just a little more energy, and it’s right there. So, I’ve got a few more meets to get it, and I’m going to keep chasing it.”
