Sophia Beckmon coasts to 6A girls high jump state championship

Despite jumping nearly two feet shorter than her season best mark of 22 feet, 4 inches, Oregon City senior Sophia Beckmon coasted to the 6A girls long jump state championship at Hayward Field on Saturday morning, besting all other competitors by more than two feet with her first jump of the day.

“It does mean a lot to me,” Beckmon. “It was nice, senior year, finishing strong-ish, but on a good note.”

To punctuate a season that saw Beckmon threaten national high school records, the Pioneer senior had to settle for a state meet record on Saturday, drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd on her first attempt, which measured 20-09 and ultimately proved to be the event-winner.

“When I looked at the weather this morning I was like, ‘Oh shoot, it’s gonna be a little chilly outside,” Beckmon said. “When I was actually on the runway I started feeling really good.”

Still, Beckmon’s championship-winning mark on Saturday was just her third longest jump this season. Where others may be perfectly satisfied, Beckmon, with an apparent future in track and field on the horizon, is still looking for ways to improve and remain consistent.

“I knew consistency was gonna be the biggest problem with me today, and that showed because I scratched a couple of times on two big ones, but that’s okay,” Beckmon said. “It felt good overall, it just didn’t happen today.”

The Pioneer also finished second in the 100 and 200-meter sprints on Saturday with times of 11.32 seconds and 23.16 seconds, respectively.

“Other than track, I’m always a people-pleaser, but when it comes to the sport, I’m the most selfish person ever,” Beckmon said. “I think about myself all the time when I’m on the runway, and I don’t know, it’s more of a mind game.”

As Beckmon heavily chipped in as both a jumper and a sprinter, Oregon City finished seventh in the girls team competition. The history-etching senior was also part of a third-place 4x100 relay team that featured Reese Weygandt, Mckenna Moore and Samara Lugo.

That foursome posted a time of 48.26 seconds to round out scoring for the Pioneer girls.

On the boys side, Oregon City was led by senior sprinter Jayce Bartley, who posted a 22.04-second 200-meter run to take second, and a 10.88-second 100 to take fourth.

Bartley also joined Keaton Moore, Eron Harvey and Thomas Borden on a 4x100 relay team that took fifth with a time of 42.57 seconds.

Harvey was the only other scorer for the Pioneer boys, taking second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 39.18 seconds.