In photo finish, Jason Padgett edges Brennen Murphy for 4A 200 title — 1 of 3 gold medals for North Bend junior

By René Ferrán 

EUGENE — One of the closest finishes of the weekend at Hayward Field was in Saturday’s Class 4A boys 200 meters, which came down to the narrowest of margins between North Bend junior Jason Padgett and Cottage Grove senior Brennen Murphy.

Padgett ended up the winner by one-hundredth of a second in 22.17, but as they crossed the line in adjoining lanes, he wasn’t so sure.

“Honestly, I thought I lost at the very end,” he said. “But I won by a hundredth of a second, so I’m pretty good about that.”

Padgett took home three gold medals and a silver from the weekend for the Bulldogs in their return to the 4A ranks.

He started the day by anchoring their 4x100 relay team to victory — the third consecutive time they won the title at an OSAA state meet.

He came back about an hour later to win the 100 in a personal-best 10.92. Last year, he finished second to North Salem’s DeMari Thompson in the 5A final.

After the 200, he closed the meet by leading off the 4x400 relay that finished second to nearby rival Marshfield, helping the Bulldogs secure the fourth-place trophy.

“It’s been a really blessed year for me,” Padgett said. “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be here again, and hopefully next year, we’ll see what happens, break some meet records.”