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Varsity 541 NEWS NOW Emergency Services, Sept. 13 ... Central Point woman who died in house fire identified ... Businesses regroup after Biomass fire ... Emergency Services, Sept. 13 ... Central Point woman who died in house fire identified ... Businesses regroup after Biomass fire ... PREP TRACK & FIELD Vail's Unveiling Comment By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted May. 23, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted May. 23, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News EUGENE — The last time Crater's Walter Vail went to the track and field state championships, it was nothing more than field trip. The Comets had only three competitors when they were a Class 6A school a year ago, so assistant coach Justin Loftus took a crew to spectate, Vail among them. “He texted me afterward and said, 'I want to go back there,'” Loftus said Saturday, moments after the 5A boys 3,000-meter final at Hayward Field. Come back Vail did. Despite taking up distance racing on a lark midway through last year — he sauntered over from the javelin and said what no one ever says: “That looks like fun.” — Vail put on a strong kick to overtake two others in the final 200 meters and win the state crown. Remembering the text of a year ago, Loftus said, “It just kind of fulfills all his wishes, I think, which is awesome.” Vail's time of 8 minutes, 37.37 seconds was a personal best by about 17 seconds. Freshman teammate Andy Monroe was a strong fourth with a nearly 12-second PR. Vail's victory was a highlight of the opening portion of the day's championships for local athletes. There were a few finals in the 6A, 5A and 4A ranks, plus preliminaries in most running events. The remaining finals are today. Vail had only run the 3,000 three other times this season, posting his previous best of 8:54.40 in the Crater Classic. He ran it twice last year. Clearly, it suits him. “It's amazing,” said Loftus. “Sometimes you see a twinkle in a kid's eye and you can see they've got something special.” Vail does not appear to have a gregarious personality. He's a bit aloof, likes to have fun, a “quirky guy,” said his coach. But he was an assassin in this race, keeping Summit's Alex Martin and Crescent Valley's Justice Lamer in his crosshairs until the penultimate turn, then firing past them. Loftus was prophetic when he told Vail the night before no one would beat him in the last stretch. “Coach just said hang on to the front and see what you can do the last couple laps,” said Vail. “That's what I did.” As the time to make his surge approached, he was ready. “I'm sitting there going, all right, I have a good amount left,” said Vail. “It was looking pretty good, but I didn't know what they could do, either.” He was infused with adrenaline as he raced in front of the grandstands to the finish, a stride or two ahead of the others. He thought, “Don't get caught. Go as fast as you can,” he said. “I was running for my life.” Vail threw his head back and gave an understated fist pump as he crossed the finish. “Honestly,” he grinned. “I was a little surprised.” And he no doubt wants to come back again. Martin was second in 8:37.95 and Lamer third in 8:38.67. Crater senior shot-putter Ryan Davis brought home a third with a throw of 51 feet, one-quarter inch. Comets junior Jordan Monroe was fourth in the 3,000. Her time of 10:14.90 was a personal best by nearly 20 seconds. Ashland had strong performances from Wyatt Thompson-Siporen, second in the long jump and third in the discus; Kelsey McKelvey, third in the javelin; and Dominic Meads, fourth in the discus. Thompson-Siporen is used to darting from event to event, the bane of a decathlete. He went from the discus prelims to the long jump prelims to the discus finals, then the long jump finals, where, with everyone else done, he did his jumps in succession. His best long jump was 21 feet, 4½ inches, and his top mark in the discus was 163-11. “I almost pulled it together but I couldn't quite do it,” said the senior, who will compete in the decathlon at UC Santa Barbara. “The long jump and discus were at the exact same time, and I just couldn't quite handle it today. I usually fare better running back and forth between events.” He had a state-leading long jump of 22-11 but couldn't get his steps right and didn't have time to adjust in the finals. McKelvey, who this week signed a letter of intent to compete for Cal State-Fullerton, accomplished her third-place throw on her next-to-last attempt, covering 125-11. Alexis Hassenger of Lebanon won at 130-7. Meads, a junior, uncorked a best of 157-1. North Medford sophomore Tre Holmes was sixth in the discus at 144-10, and senior teammate Mario Filippi placed eighth in the pole vault at 13-0. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 541-776-4479, or email [email protected] By Tim Trower Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Tim Trower Mail Tribune Posted May. 23, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction Schedules & Events --> Recent Scores --> Prep Notebook Kris Henry Challengers make it back on top in softball Winning the Southern Cascade League title seemed like a pretty bold goal this spring considering the recent history of the Cascade Christian... Varsity 541 Photos South Medford vs. North Medford Phoenix vs. Marshfield Ashland vs. Mountain View North vs Fortuna Coach K Summer Competition at SOU U19 Memorial Day Challenge » More Photo Galleries Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications | Contact Us | Advertise | © Copyright Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.