Photo Credit: Ken Martinez, WestCoastXC

Prior to last week, Blackfoot's Owen Gregory had never competed at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.

The historic venue in Eugene, Ore., i.e. Tracktown USA, provided several awestruck moments for Gregory, Idaho's two-time 5A boys 800 state champion who just completed his sophomore year.

"It was just a lot," Gregory said Saturday evening by phone. "You see it all over the internet. You see it in the newspaper. Actually being there the first time, it doesn't feel real. The vibe there is great. Good energy. It was an awesome experience walking through the tunnel for the first time."

His first Hayward Field appearance proved to be a memorable one indeed.

Gregory ran a personal best 1:50.61 to place third overall in Friday's boys 800 championship final at Nike Outdoor Nationals, making the podium in his first year competing at the meet. That time puts him at No. 3 all-time on record in Idaho for the boys 800 behind 2016 Rocky Mountain graduate Michael Slagowski (1:48.36) and 2024 Boise graduate Noe Kemper (1:49.62), lowers his Blackfoot school record and gives him two sub-1:51 times for the 800 so far in his career.

Due to the number of athletes registered for the boys 800 championship, the race was divided into nine sections and the times compiled upon conclusion of the nine sections. Gregory was in the second fastest section--eight of nine--and his time held up as the third fastest overall.

Gregory was one of five athletes to break 1:51 in the race.

"I was thinking 53 (second) first lap in my head," Gregory said. "I came through the first 400 in 53 with the lead. I wanted to lead the race all the way through and make a name for myself. I came in the next lap with a 57. I was hoping for 56, 55, 54, but I'm still proud of it. I'm satisfied with the PR and my placement, but part of me still wishes I could've dug a little bit deeper at that 600 mark."

Additionally, Gregory was the fastest member of the class of 2028 in the race, and his time is No. 1 in the U.S. for the boys 800 for the class of 2028 as of Sunday on athletic.net. He said he took six days off following last month's Idaho state championship meet, then resumed training for Nike Outdoor Nationals.

On Sunday, Gregory teamed up with Century's Ethan Hansen, Centennial graduate Stephen Crow and Centennial graduate Drew Donahue to represent Idaho and place third in the boys 4,000 distance medley relay state final in 10:14.15.

Gregory said he will take two and a half weeks off now that Nike Outdoor Nationals has concluded and will then turn his attention to his junior cross country season.

Looking ahead, he said he has big goals to work toward, including reaching the top of the Nike Outdoor Nationals podium and joining the sub-1:50 club.

Gregory added that Nike Outdoor Nationals was a great opportunity to represent Idaho and Blackfoot on a national stage.

"Gotta represent the hometown, you know," Gregory said. "Coming from a town in Idaho which probably most people have never heard of and coming out here to nationals, it's really great."

Gregory's Blackfoot teammate and recent Blackfoot graduate, 5A girls discus state champion and Utah Valley signee Eva Grimm, won the girls hammer throw emerging elite title with a personal best mark of 157-1 on Saturday. In that same final, Firth's Madison Torgerson, Idaho's two-time 3A girls shot put state champion, placed fifth with a mark of 141-2.

Recent Coeur d'Alene Charter graduate, four-time Idaho 4A girls 800 state champion and Idaho's all-time girls 800 record holder, Oregon signee Annabelle Carr, was part of Spokane Speed Academy's winning girls 4x800 club final team with Addisyn Storm, Emery Sevy and Allie Knoop in 9:13.25.

Boise's Luke Bruce placed fourth in Friday's boys 2k steeplechase final in a personal best 5:58.05.

Representing Orchard Athletix, recent Kuna graduate Aubri Minnick placed third in Saturday's girls 400 emerging elite finals in a personal best 56.22. Also representing Orchard Athletix, Mountain View's Behr Scott placed eighth in Sunday's boys emerging elite 200 final in 21.91. His Orchard Athletix teammates, Vallivue graduate Dawson Mann, Boise's Quinton Williams, Moscow graduate Connor Horne and Vallivue's Jakobe Davis finished eighth in Sunday's boys club 4x400 final in 3:15.78. Boise's Lauren Smith represented Orchard Athletix in Monday's freshman girls 100 final, finishing in eighth place in 12.33.

North Idaho Distance project, consisting of recent Coeur d'Alene Charter graduate Helen Oyler, Coeur d'Alene's Gracie McVey, Coeur d'Alene's Victoria Howard and Coeur d'Alene's Anna Christman, placed fourth in Thursday's girls championship 4,000 distance medley relay final in 12:07.75. Their North Idaho Distance project teammates, Coeur d'Alene's Rowan Henry, Emmett McLachlan, Wyatt Morgenstern and Wyatt Carr, placed eighth in the boys championship 4,000 distance medley relay finals in 10:18.03. Oyler placed 10th in Sunday's girls emerging elite 1-mile final in a personal best 4:59.94.

Representing McCall-Donnelly, the quartet of Esti Summerfield, Layla Mihlfeith, Lyric Garber-Salas and Teagan Mascheroni placed fifth in Thursday's girls emerging elite sprint medley relay in 4:27.39.

Moscow's Mattea Nuhn, a three-time Idaho state champion in 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and high jump (twice in 5A, once in 4A), placed 10th in Saturday's girls 100 hurdles championship final in a personal best 14.05. Her Moscow teammate, Saskia Hohenlohe, cleared 5-3 to tie for eighth place in Friday's girls emerging elite high jump final.

Rocky Mountain's Carly Hartman cleared 11-3 to place fifth in Saturday's girls emerging elite pole vault final.

Cole Valley Christian's Aiden Shanks, Ethan Minegar, Lucas Reddy and Kruger Sipe placed sixth in Sunday's boys championship 4x100 in 42.91.

Overlapping with Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field were the USA Track and Field Under-20 championships. Kimberly's Karlie Bair, Snake River's Paetyn Polatis, recent Fruitland graduate Ezekiel Van Hofwegen and recent Marsh Valley graduate Lydia Townsend all competed in U-20 events, which draw the nation's top high school athletes as well as athletes who recently completed their freshman year of collegiate track. These championships determined who will make Team USA for the World Athletics U-20 Championships scheduled for August 5-9 in Eugene. Athletes had to qualify for U-20s with marks and times achieved earlier in the spring, and, as such, each event final had fewer competitors than the Nike Outdoor Nationals finals due to those qualifying standards. For example, only 16 women from around the nation competed in the U-20 heptathlon taking place Thursday and Friday and 15 women competed in Thursday's U-20 women's pole vault final.

Representing TNT Track Club, two-time 4A Idaho girls 100 and 200 state champion Bair competed in U-20 heptathlon. She ultimately finished in 10th place with 4,856 points over two days, including winning shot put with a mark of 38-0.75. Polatis also competed in the U-20 heptathlon, placing 14th with 4,553 points.

Van Hofwegen, a three-time Idaho long jump state champion (2x 4A, 1x 3A) and Weber State signee whose personal best 23-10.5 is No. 5 all-time on record in Idaho for boys long jump, placed 10th in Thursday's men's U-20 long jump final with 22-6.5. He also competed in Sunday's Nike Outdoor Nationals boys long jump championship final, placing 16th with 22-10.5.

Townsend, a BYU signee who won her third state title in pole vault at Idaho's 4A state meet in May and is currently No. 7 in the U.S. in girls pole vault as of Sunday on athletic.net, concluded her high school career with 11th place in Thursday's women's U-20 pole vault championship upon clearing 12-11.5, eighth place in Saturday's Nike Outdoor Nationals championship girls pole vault final (12-8.75) and 27th place in Saturday's girls championship 100 hurdles (14.62).

Townsend said she 'grinded through' the last month since the Idaho state meet in preparation for U-20s and Nike Outdoor and prepared for a starting height of 12-0 for U-20s. Thursday's U-20 pole vault final featured the highest starting height of any meet she had competed in thus far in her career (12-5.5). The top two placers, Tennessee's Hannah Grace and Florida International's Kylie Neira, were the only competitors remaining at 13-11.25. Grace went on to win upon clearing a meet record 14-7.25 and attempted 15-0, while Neira placed second upon clearing 13-11.25.

"It was so fun," Townsend said Sunday morning by phone. "There was definitely a lot of maturity on the field. With the practices leading up to U-20s and Nike Nationals, I've had a lot of mental blocks. I was finally on big poles again."

While Townsend said the meet did not go as she had hoped, she is grateful for the perspective she has gained over the last year. Her junior season was plagued by injuries--a pinched nerve in her neck and a bruised navicular bone in her foot--which limited her to competing only in pole vault at state. Townsend said track was her identity prior to her senior year, and her junior season and the summer that followed brought feelings of despair and frustration. Her worth had been tied to her track results, and she was ready to quit track entirely until her dad and coach, Eli, suggested she take a month off at the end of last summer. She spent that month going to physical therapy, and when she and Eli returned to training, they started from scratch and Townsend had a newfound passion for track.  

Townsend, who leaves later this summer to begin her LDS mission in Honolulu, Hawaii, concludes her high school track career as No. 2 all-time on record in Idaho in girls pole vault (13-8), three-time girls pole vault state champion (2x 4A, 1x 3A), two-time girls 100 hurdles state champion (1x 3A, 1x 4A), and two-time 3A girls high jump state champion. She won girls pole vault at the Arcadia Invitational in April and along with Bair, broke 14 seconds in the 100 hurdles at last month's 4A state meet. Due to the strong tailwind at the state meet, Bair's personal best of 13.86 and Townsend's personal best 13.79 will not count as official Idaho all-time or state meet records, but they will always be the first Idaho girls to have ever run sub-14.

Townsend competed healthy throughout her senior season, and said most importantly, she has gained more consistent self worth since the trials of her junior season.

"I'm so grateful for the hard times and I'm grateful for this year and kinda seeing the light at the end of the tunnel," Townsend said. "At nationals, I didn't do as well as I'd hoped, but I have gained a new perspective where I'm not gonna PR at every meet. I am gonna go out there and do the best I can that meet. I am so grateful for the good times and especially the bad times because I would not be the person I am without them."

Townsend also had numerous people in her corner to thank for being by her side throughout her high school career, and especially throughout this last year.

"I've had so much help throughout the years," Townsend said. "I wouldn't be able to be here if not for my family, my coaches, my physical trainers. I'm happy to be here, happy to represent Idaho and happy to represent my family name."