Passion for the sport of track and field seeps out of the pores of Catlin Gabel's Joshua Widdows.
"This sport means a lot to me," Widdows said. "I knew that this was my main sport after my sophomore year, it was just like, 'Wow, I really have potential for this,' But at the same time I still have to put in the work for it ... It's not easy. You have to work a lot, you have to eat healthy, too, and it's also a mental game. Having all of those combined is really important."
The senior bleeds a love for the sport and it's translated to success on the course. Widdows claimed a pair of 3A state championships in both the 300 meter intermediate hurdles and the 110 high hurdles on Friday, May 17, at Hayward Field in Eugene.
"(It was) one of the biggest days of my life," Windows said. "This was really important to me. A thing I've been thinking about is that this sets me up for college. I'm going to be hurdling next year and (hopefully) a few more years after that. It's getting to know my endurance level and improving on that, especially when I have all my events in (the span of) three hours."
Both of Widdows' championship winning hurdles runs were personal records, running 14.23 seconds in the 110 to improve from his previous PR of 14.39 and going 38.40 in the 300 after previously having been at 39.27.
His 110 run came with some complications. Widdows knocked over the final three hurdles of the run, but managed to keep his balance through the finish line. Widdows' head coach Greg Hess joked that had Widdows avoided hitting the hurdles he'd have broken the 14-second mark, but he secured the record anyway.
"At the start, especially the first five, I was focusing on building my momentum and running as fast as I can," Widdows said, walking through the process of the race. "I know I can step it down, but I have to figure out how to push in between the hurdles, which is really important. Later we can worry about the last hurdles."
Widdows turned around and just an hour later competed in the 300 hurdles, saying he entered the race nervous about how he'd perform following the short break. Hess shared his insight into coaching Widdows through the race by walking his senior through every step.
"We had a chat before he ran and I told him what was going to happen before the race," Head coach Gregory Hess said. " I told him, '(You have) to go out and win the first hurdle and then bust it all the way through. When it comes to about the 200 (meter) mark, they're going to come past you. As soon as you get into the last 100 meters, you're going to see him and chase him down and just pass him.'"
Alongside the pair of hurdles wins, Widdows took fourth place in the 100 m final as well as second in the 200 m final as all three of his events took place within a two and a half hour window between 6 and 8:30 p.m. In total, he netted the Eagles 33 of their 49 points en route to a fourth place team finish.
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