There exists within the track and field world a spirit unique that sets it apart from most other sports. A camraderie among contestants as if their event is their personal fraternity or sorority. Perhaps this is why I found such sanctuary wandering the NWOC District Track Meet on a gorgeous Wednesday and a sweltering Friday taking in every event like a child taking in a bowl of Jelly Belly jellybeans. Guessing but never knowing what flavor you'd find but relishing every single one.

The two sweetest words for any trackophile is hearings "I PR'd." There were plenty set over the two day meet but maybe my favorite was over on the javelin field (AKA..the leper colony). Of the 24 boys throwing, Century sophomore Alex Tran had the 24th best mark. He'd thrown 106-2 earlier in the seaon but on Friday in the heat of the day, Tran would pad his lifetime best an additional two inches. When a friend yelled to ask how he'd done he happily yelled "I PR'd!" The smile on his face said it all. The beauty of a personal record is it doesn't matter if you finished first or last, with a PR you still finish first.

      A few years ago, it was Estacada's Trubachick and Rozell and this years version is Wilsonville's Jesse Staub and Sean MacKelvie who seperated from the rest of the throwers and battled each other in the 180's while the rest of the pack lagged 30 feet back. I'm sure they were disappointed with their marks but its next week for them when the throws will really count. Popping onto the radar was Sherwoods Michael Smith who threw 149'3 and PR'd over 12 feet and reached the finals having only thrown the spear a few weeks. Its clear a good quarterback knows release point and effort and this freshman seems to have the package to be a 200+ thrower in the next couple of years.

Last year, St. Helens Candace Lloyd provided some excitement in the girls high jump pit at Hillsboro during districts when she reset her PR three times and all on the third jump to grab the second sport away from Sherwood's Kristin Oenning who looked like a shoo-in behind teammate Frances Pavao. Oenning would get revenge as both would clear 5'0 on Friday but win on fewer misses. The scene that captured the moment was Lloyds's last jump. With a heavily taped plant ankle, the stillness in the air as she made her approach was broken with the sound of a 'snap' as she prepared to take-off and she badly missed and started rolling around the pit clutching the ankle. Minutes later we would watch Pavao running across the infield with a bag of ice to get on Lloyd's ankle. I tried to count the times I'd seen a kid on the football field or basketball court sprain an ankle or injure a knee and watch an opponent sprint to the trainers table or snack shack to fetch a bag of ice for their fallen foe. Florence Nightengale Pavao would win with a jump of 5'4 and return to Hayward next week to defend her state title.

There is nothing more fun than watching a great anchor leg in the relays and Century's Logan Kotzian provided the excitement with a memorable finish in the 400 Meter relay and a trip for his team to state. As the anchor legs took off, Liberty had made three great exchanges and had a nice lead and Century looked dead in the water in sixth place. Enter Kotzian who ran well as a sophomore at state last year. Through the final turn, nothing indicated Kotzian could do much more than maybe third or fourth when suddenly there was that moment when a runner seems to flip a switch and move in a different gear than the runners around him. Down the stretch with 60 meters left it looked like the other runners were in soft sand as Kotzian started mowing them down one by one. The sound coming from the grandstands is the noise trackophiles covet. First a buzz of excitement and suddenly it sounds like a thousand village idiots babbling excitedly as if they are trying to make a shock wave made of noise in an attempt to knock the runners off their feet. Century would finish second behind Liberty as both ran mid 44's.

There are those runners that are painful to watch. Their faces are a mask of total angst as if they've been constipated for weeks on end or maybe they're running for the commode with precious seconds elapsing before its too late. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Wilsonville's Kelsey Starr who emits a Tao of Joy when running. She ran an impressive 12.68 in the 100 and won by half a second and then ran 25.8 in the 200 with a second margin. Her style and form are a work of art. Built low to the ground with a machine gun turnover and arms that look like she's racing in a rope pull she reminds me of a young Gail Devers before the 14 inch nails. And the expression in her face is one of passioned joy. After the 200 semi win I told her 'good race' and she gushed, "Did you hear Katy PR'd!" (Katy Brown is a senior on the Wilsonville team throwing the shot put and made the finals.) Odds are long that anyone unseats Summit's speedy Kellie Schueler. Yet there are times when the moon aligns just right and Lady Luck is sitting on a runners shoulder to create the unexpected. If Lady Luck is riding the pollen filled winds in Hayward next week, I couldn't tell her there's a better filly than Kelsey to ride with.

Parkrose didn't bring many athletes, maybe four of five and no girls that I saw but they brought the unity as every member of the team shaved their head in the mohawk fashion. Austin Beck PR'd in the javelin and proudly strutted in front of the gallery and rubbed his head and said "Its the aerodynamics!"

Not sure if they awarded a Male and Female Athlete of the Meet. Mine were Starr and Sherwood's Kole Krieger who PR'd and won the High Hurdles with a respectable 15.26 and PR'd and won the Pole Vault with a 14'0 vault. Krieger is a 16'0 vaulter in the mold of Ben Cogdill waiting to happen. He's got two of the toughest decathlon events down, he'd make a great one as would Staub and MacKelvie. You can argue Staub is equally deserving as he won the shot, discus and javelin.

All week the buzz in the 3000M Run was the Michael Dueker and Dan Sprinkle were gonna bust off a series of 69's and Century would be looking at a 1-2 finish. Others thought Sherwood senior and sentimental favorite Joel Hale could ruin the Jag Party. I remember many many years ago when Salazar, Biily McChesney and Chapa were ruling the 5K collegiate world and on a nice Spring Day at Hayward we watched in amazement as they continued to try to dust a young BYU runner who refused to lose contact. With the Duck runners, they all had 13:30's to their name and the BYU kid was just over 14 minutes. In Eugene on that day, he'd take down his 14 minute PR with an ax and finish just behind Chapa and Salazar. On Wedensday, Wilsonville's sophomore Andrew Booth reminded me of Doug Padilla, the BYU runner who had a breakthrough day some 30 years ago. In the final half mile, Booth would seperate out in a small pack with the Century duo and St. Helens Larry Smuin before taking off with 300 yards and not letting go of the lead. Sprinkle and Dueker would close quickly down the final 100 yards but not enough to overtake Booth who pared 12 seconds off his PR and a chance to race the fabled track in Eugene where he'll need another similar feat to race with the big dogs. And he looks capable of doing it. Regardless of the place or finish next week, here's hoping every kid can finish their race or event and say "Hey, I PR'd!"