National High School Records Through the Years

Girls Outdoor Record – 300-meter hurdles

Teri Wierson (Cedar Park Junior High School, Beaverton, Oregon) 

Performance – 43.9

Date – June 14, 1975

Place – Aloha High, Beaverton, Oregon

Meet – Oregon State AAU Championships

Previous Record – 44.6 by Clydine Crowder (Los Alamitos, La Mirada, California) in Cypress, California, on March 18, 1972

In one of the first races held in the U.S. for girls in the 300 hurdles, the 15-year-old Wierson ran 43.9 50 years ago this week to set the national high school record. She later broke 60 seconds for the 400 hurdles and won state championships in the 800, the 110 and 200 hurdles and as part of the 4x400. Though a ninth-grade student at Cedar Park JHS in 1975, by state rules she was allowed to represent neighboring Sunset High at that year’s state meet, where she won the 110-yard low hurdles in 14.37w. She was runnerup in that event as a sophomore in 1976, won the hurdles and 880 in ’77 and the inaugural 200 hurdles and the 800 in ’78, leading Sunset to the state AAA team title those last two seasons, where she was joined by her younger sister, Marchi, and the distance standout Eryn Forbes. The Wierson sisters finished 1-2 both years in the half. Teri finished her high school career with Oregon all-time bests in the 110 lows (14.1), 200 lows (28.32), 400 hurdles (59.27) and 800 (2:05.3). She later ran for Iowa State and Arizona, in the fall of ’78 as a member of Iowa State’s NCAA championship cross country team.  

Photo above courtesy The Oregonian

National High School Records Through the Years appears once a week, compiled and written by a track historian, Jack Pfeifer (Lake Oswego, Oregon). Inquiries may be directed to him by email (jack.pfeifer@gmail.com).