Brahe-Pedersen, Gorze, Sahlman, Hana Moll and Mixed 4x800 Relay Intrigue On Tap At Hayward Field

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Tradition collides with experimentation this weekend at Hayward Field for the two-day run of the Oregon Relays presented by AthleticNET.

There will be record watches, fan involvement, innovative ways of presenting the action, and the exploration of a new event: 

The Mixed 4x800 relay. 

Building upon the early forays into the mixed gender 4x400, which is gaining traction as a part of the international track and field's time-honored lineup, the longer 4x800 has seldom been tried. 

On Friday evening, a quartet from the Brooks Beasts will lay down a marker for the rest of the world to follow. It is believed to be one of the first mixed 4x800s ever run by an elite group of athletes. 

Then on Saturday, there will be a high school section of the mixed 4x800 (male-female-male-female). 

The high school record, according to historian Jack Pfeifer, is 8:56.6 (4x880 yards) by William Penn High of New Castle, Del. at the A.I. Dupont Co-Ed Relays in Wilmington, Del. on April 29, 1978. That was a meet decades ahead of its time. 

WATCH LIVE WEBCAST APRIL 21-22 OF OREGON RELAYS PRESENTED BY ATHLETICNET

As always, the Oregon Relays will showcase many of the most talented high school athletes in the Northwest, with strong supporting pieces coming in from California, Colorado and Idaho. 

Five members of the U.S. U20 national team for last summer's World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia will compete this weekend. 

Lake Oswego OR junior Mia Brahe-Pedersen, the fastest female sprinter in Oregon history and the national leader in the 100 and 200 meters, will contest both of those events on Friday. 

In the 100 meters, additional timing cameras will be set at 40 yards and 100 yards. Brahe-Pedersen could break the national high school record in the 100 yards that has been on the books since 1979: Benita Fitzgerald's 10.60 auto time. Michele Glover registered a hand-time of 10.2 in 1980. 

Brahe-Pedersen ran a wind-legal personal best of 11.17 two weeks ago at the Arcadia Invitational. 

"Obviously, the 100-yard dash is kind of a fazed-out thing, but being able to bring some life to it and get the crowd excited, I'm looking forward to it," she said. 

Also Friday, in the boys 2-mile, Crater OR senior Tyrone Gorze will chase some history as he goes after Steve Prefontaine's legendary state record time of 8:41.5 from 1969. 

Gorze won the New Balance Nationals Indoor title in the 5,000 meters last month and could have what it takes to break the 54-year-old record. 

"I think Steve Prefontaine is one of the most inspirational runners of all-time," Gorze said. "He's inspired me a lot in my running. I have a poster of him up on my wall."

Gorze will be joined on the starting line by Brody Hartley of Walla Walla WA, Gus Clevenger of Jesuit OR, Alexander Garcia-Silver of Marshfield OR and his Crater teammate, Josiah Tostenson. 

National outdoor record holders in the girls pole vault Hana Moll of Capital WA is due to compete on Saturday. Hana Moll, the World U20 gold medalist, recently broke her sister Amanda's all-time outdoor mark when she cleared 15-0 at the Arcadia Invitational. Amanda, the indoor record holder, is a late scratch. 

Multi-talent JaiCieonna Gero-Holt of Emerald Ridge WA, another U.S. U20 team member, is entered in four events: the 100-meter hurdles, javelin, high jump and 4x400 relay. 

The boys 100 meters promises some fireworks as well. Gatlin Bair of Burley ID, the Texas Relays champion, ran a wind-aided 10.18 seconds in the prelims and 10.25 (wind-legal) in the finals. The all-time Idaho record-breaker is looking to wring the most he can out of a junior spring season that will likely be his last on the track. 

Bair is also visiting Oregon's football program this weekend and the Ducks are one of the four-star recruit's five finalists. 

Bair will face competition from Jordan Washington of Jordan High in Long Beach, Calif., who won the Chandler Rotary 100 meters (10.45), and Dominick Corley of Mead WA, who ran 10.45 last weekend at the Pasco Invitational in Washington. 

Newbury Park CA's Aaron Sahlman, the Nike Cross Nationals champion, is set to compete on Saturday evening in the Sub-Four Challenge mile, where he will look to join a select group of high school sub-four milers. That exclusive prep list includes his older brother Colin, who ran 3:56.24 last year at Hayward Field in the Prefontaine Classic. 

The Sub-Four Challenge is expected to include 2016 Olympic 1,500 meters champion Matthew Centrowitz and Charlie Hunter of Nike, Johnny Gregorek of ASICS, Kieran Lumb of On, Isaiah Harris of Brooks Beasts and Oregon Track Club teammates Jackson Mestler, Jack Yearian, Matt Wisner and Aidan Tooker, and David Timlin of Wannabeast.  

The women's mile features Ali Cash of ASICS, Nia Akins and Laurie Barton of Brooks Beasts, Rebecca Mehra of Oiselle/Little Wing and Jenn Randall, Emily Pomainville and Ashley Maton of Cascadia Elite. 

Joining the Molls in the field events is US#1 girls long jumper Sydnie Vanek of Clovis CA and defending javelin and discus champion Kyeese Hollands of Central Catholic OR. 

A pair of Saturday's events have been named for former RunnerSpace employee Matt Scherer and DyeStat founder John Dye. 

The Matt Scherer RunnerSpace 4x400 Boys Relay features defending champion Long Beach Wilson, which ran a meet record time of 3:17.65 last year. MEET RECORDS

The 4x400s could provide the final points and dramatic finish to the combined team championship competition that is in play over the two days. Eighty high school teams will stack up points and try to win the championship team title. 

The John Dye Girls Mile features a compelling matchup between junior Bethany Michalak of Air Academy CO, the third-place finisher at Nike Cross Nationals, and Canadian Ruby Broadbent, an Oregon State signee.

The boys mile includes defending champion Christopher Caudillo of Clovis, who ran a meet record 4:09.97 last year. 

A group of ex-Ducks will chase the clock and a world best in the men's 4xMile relay on Friday evening. Centrowitz, Hunter, Sam Prakel and Gregorek are confirmed as members of the team. World renowned pace-setter Eric Sowinski will be part of the effort in both the Sub-Four Mile and the 4xMile record attempt.

Additionally, fans will be allowed on the track in the outer lanes after 8:30 p.m. on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday to bring their energy and noise closer to the athletes. 

Last year, a different quartet, featuring Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker, ran the second-fastest time ever when it clocked 15:52.05. (The record, set by an Irish team in 1985, is 15:49.08).