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PREP TRACK AND FIELD AHS decathlete Thompson-Siporen overcomes knee surgery to shine at districts Ashland High's Thompson-Siporen overcomes knee surgery to qualify for state meet in three events, earn track scholarship Comment By Tim Trower For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Tim Trower For the Tidings Posted May. 18, 2015 at 11:56 AM By Tim Trower For the Tidings Posted May. 18, 2015 at 11:56 AM » Social News Four years ago, Wyatt Thompson-Siporen couldn't do something as simple as walk to the mailbox. Three weeks ago, he received a college scholarship in the one athletic pursuit that requires you to do everything, the event that has historically defined the greatest athletes, the one whose components cover the spectrum: speed, agility, strength, technique. Thompson-Siporen is a decathlete The irony of where he was and where he is is not lost on the Ashland High senior, who signed a letter of intent with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and now is preparing for the Class 5A state meet Friday and Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene. He suffered Osgood-Schlatter disease as an eighth-grader, tearing a growth plate in his left knee, then re-tearing it five months later and undergoing surgery in the winter of 2011. “The experience was obviously horrible while going through it,” says Thompson-Siporen, who last Thursday won three events at the Midwestern League championships. “But I've come out of it stronger, and it helped me find the decathlon and what I wanted to do in college.” The decathlon is not for the frail, yet it was his frailty that led to opportunity. He couldn't run and jump, so as he gradually returned to health as an underclassman, he focused on throws and the requisite weight training. He now can do a variety of disciplines with the best of them. The encouragement of his father, Brent, was constant. “My dad basically kept saying to me, 'One door shuts and a couple more doors open,'” says Thompson-Siporen. “That was always good to keep in my mind during the time I was hurt. I definitely wouldn't be a decathlete if I hadn't gotten hurt. At least, not yet.” He has battled other ailments throughout high school but has managed to compete in one event or another. If his ankle bothered him, he could do the javelin. When a rotator cuff issue surfaced from throwing, he had the long jump to fall back on. It was because of the shoulder injury last year that he was limited to one event at the state meet, the discus. He placed fifth and rated going to state in a new discipline a success. “That was sort of the first little gratification or success I had in track after a lot of hard work,” he says. More figures to come. Thompson-Siporen, who is 6-foot-2, 187 pounds, is ranked in the top 10 in Class 5A in five events: No. 1 in the long jump (22 feet, 11 inches), No. 2 in the pole vault (14-6), No. 4 in the javelin (179-0), No. 4 in the discus (165-10) and No. 10 in the 110-meter hurdles (15.54 seconds). Further, his best shot put mark (48-4 ¾) is few inches outside the top 10, and he's also competed in the 100 and 4x400 relay in non-decathlon meets. In a grueling district schedule that made it seem like a distance race for him, says coach Hans Voskes, all four of his event finals were close together on Thursday. He qualified for state in the three he won — the long jump, javelin and discus — but came up short in the pole vault when he didn't clear his opening height. Prior to the district meet, Thompson-Siporen said the vault is "relatively all or nothing" for him, depending on his speed and the spring he gets off the runway. That proved true at the district meet, when he had plenty of height to get over the bar at 12-6 but couldn't extend over it and “get into the pit.” He was far more despondent over that miss than he was joyous over three victories. “I expect a lot of myself and didn't quite deliver,” he says. That said, he's improved 4 1/2 feet since last season. It’s safe to assume he didn’t stay in a funk. This is a young man who dyed his hair blue because he “wanted to stand out for track and have some fun while I was doing it. Mostly, it’s just about having fun and remembering not to get too serious.” Being involved in a variety of events brings with it challenges, both in practice when he's figuring out what to work on and in meets when his events overlap. "It's unique to have an athlete be that good in all those events," says Voskes, noting that the overlapping speaks not to a goof by event schedulers but to Thompson-Siporen’s abilities. At district, he added, “Those finals are all on the first day because they most often don't affect a lot of people." Thompson-Siporen likes to be tested. Of the decathlon, he says, “It's just hard for me to pick a favorite between running, jumping and throwing. It embodies everything I love about athletics. I've definitely found my calling and interest.” His first decathlon was unceremonious. It was an unattached meet at Sweet Home in early spring his junior year. The opening event was the 100 meters. “I kicked the blocks out from under me and fell down on a rainy track,” he laughs. “That was the beginning of my decathlon career.” It got better in the Junior Olympics last summer at Willamette University in Salem, and again in his lone decathlon this spring at the Summit Unattached meet in Bend, where he set personal bests in six events. He finished second with 6,543 points and qualified for the New Balance nationals. Grant Shurtliff, of Thurston, won with 6,587 points. A particular thrill was knocking two-tenths of a second off his 100 time. It was an indication he had the speed to do well in the decathlon in college. The performance at Summit also beefed up his profile on athletic.net , a popular website devoted to the sport, and it prompted a number of colleges to contact him. Thompson-Siporen began his own college search as a junior and reached out to UC Santa Barbara, among others. He was an unknown, and rightly so. “None of my marks were impressive at all, except in the discus, and that was only mediocre,” he says. When other schools came calling after the Summit meet, he settled on UCSB over Idaho and Lane Community College in Eugene. Before he gets on with his decathlon career — his next one is the junior nationals next month in Eugene — there's work to be done as a Grizzly. His goals for the state meet are 190 feet in the javelin, 170 feet in the discus and 23 feet in the long jump. Conventional thought, he says, is that it “won’t probably go like that, but I can hope for it, at least.” It wouldn’t be the first time he overcame the odds. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479, or email [email protected] By Tim Trower For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Tim Trower For the Tidings Posted May. 18, 2015 at 11:56 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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