With her second throw of the Class 6A girls shot put at the OSAA track and field state championships on Friday at Hayward Field, Sandy’s Sydney Brewster recorded a throw of 43 feet, 1.5 inches. The throw was good for first in the competition for the time being.
In the fifth round, Tigard’s Marissa Johnson sent up a throw of 44-5.25 to take the lead.
Brewster, with one throw to go, looked ready to retake the lead on the final throw but the shot fell out of bounds, as Johnson — only a freshman — stunned the favorite coming into the state championship meet.
“I couldn’t believe I just won. I totally thought she was going to beat me,” Johnson said. “I know she could have.”
And after taking the lead, Johnson said she knew she wasn’t safe as Brewster still had a throw to go. But Brewster’s 43-1.5 throw was her only official throw of the day. Brewster fouled her other five attempts.
“I always think Sydney is going to pop something,” she said, laughing about how she was nervous going into the final frame. “She’s a great thrower.”
Knowing she was battling in Hayward Field with seniors like Brewster, Southridge’s Marilyn Ramirez Carmona and Central Catholic’s Kyeese Hollands, Johnson said she was definitely a little intimidated going into the event. But it actually played into her favor.
“I run off nerves,” she said. “I run off being energetic. Just being nervous and you definitely help with the amazing competition I’ve had.”
Another thing that played in her favor was making all of her throws. Johnson was the only competitor among the top four who didn’t have their best throw in the few two or three rounds. Her best throws came later in the morning.
“Originally, I was just, like, hit the first throw as hard as I could. It didn’t go to plan, but I generally get better as the event goes on,” she said. “I was getting pumped. I can do it.”
Ramirez Carmona finished in third with a throw of 38-4.75. Hollands was fourth with 35-5.25.
When she put down her final step in her 44-5.25 throw, Johnson said the shot came off her hand well, which is sometimes an issue as her hands are usually bigger than the shots. With the great throw, she put her hands to her face in awe of her own mark.
“I was in disbelief when I saw how far it went,” she said.
-- Nik Streng, nstreng@oregonian.com, @NikStreng
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