Beard achieves third-round effort of 176-1 (53.68m) to surpass 2007 standard of 173-4 (52.84m) set by Kraychir and repeat as girls 15-16 division champion, with Marak winning men’s 17-18 hammer title in home state with 197-7 (60.23m) mark; Downer, Schroder capture 13-14 pentathlon crowns

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

EUGENE, Ore. – Whether it was a return trip to the hammer throw cage adjacent to Hayward Field or another opportunity to add to her legacy at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships, Kimberly Beard had plenty of inspiration Monday to not only secure back-to-back titles in the 15-16 division, but also accomplish a feat that had not been achieved during her lifetime.

Beard, who recently completed her freshman season at King’s High in Washington, represented Get Strong First Track Club with a third-round throw of 176 feet, 1 inch (53.68m) with the 4-kilogram hammer to capture back-to-back national titles.

Beard also eclipsed the national freshman class record of 173-4 (52.84m) achieved at the 2007 Claremont Classic by Casey Kraychir of Twentynine Palms High in California.

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Beard, who won the Nike Outdoor Nationals title June 18 by throwing 168-1 (51.23m) in the same ring, wasn’t born until December 2007, six months after Kraychir produced the record.

Beard secured the 15-16 title last year as an eighth-grader with a 154-6 (47.11m) effort at Sacramento State.

She elevated to the No. 4 all-time Washington prep competitor Monday, just behind King’s teammate Adrianna Coleman, who produced a July 8 mark of 177 feet (53.96m) at the USATF U20 Championships at Hayward Field.

Coleman and Beard are also Nos. 2 and 3 in the country this year among high school athletes, with No. 4 national competitor Angela Schykerynec of Orland High in California and the Golden State Throwers scheduled to participate in the 17-18 division final.

Isabella Piette, who recently completed her sophomore season at Woonsocket High in Rhode Island and represented the Ocean State Hammerheads, placed second in the 15-16 final with a sixth-round effort of 154-2 (47.01m).

Lander Marak, representing SuperThrower Track Club, won the men’s 17-18 hammer championship with an opening-round mark of 197-7 (60.23m).

Despite recording fouls on his final five attempts, Marak – who recently completed his junior year at Sandy High in Oregon – was able to hold off Carmichael Jesuit High of California graduate Benjamin Condrin, who achieved a sixth-round performance of 196-4 (59.85m) for Rancho Cordova Track Club.

Rylee Lydon, a graduate of Prairie RIdge High in Illinois and a Texas A&M signee competing for TNT Track and Field Academy, produced the best opening-day performance in her career in pursuit of back-to-back women’s heptathlon titles in the 17-18 division.

Lydon cleared 5-8.75 (1.75m) in the high jump, achieved a 35-3.25 (10.75m) in the shot put and ran a wind-legal 24.99 in the 200 to accumulate 3,218 points following four events, a 92-point improvement on her first-day score from June 16 at Nike Outdoor Nationals, when Lydon finished with a lifetime-best 5,152 points.

Tomeko Cates of Mary Walker High in Washington secured the opening-day advantage in the men’s 17-18 decathlon with 3,708 points. Cates had 3,532 points at the midway point June 15 at Nike Outdoor Nationals en route to placing seventh with 6,298 points.

Winston Schroder, representing Iron Wood Track Club in Idaho but planning to attend IMG Academy in Florida in the fall as a freshman, produced one of the most impressive comebacks in meet history in the boys 13-14 division pentathlon to emerge victorious with 2,870 points.

Schroder trailed James Hawkins, Jr. by a 117-point margin entering the 1,500 meters.

But Schroder, who ran 15.35 in the 110-meter hurdles, achieved a 42-3.25 (12.88m) mark in the shot put, cleared 5-3 (1.60m) in the high jump and produced a 17-7 (5.36m) long jump, lowered his 1,500 personal best by nearly 30 seconds to clock 4:49.20.

Hawkins Jr., who built on his lead with an 18-2.25 (5.54m) effort in the long jump, ran 5:10.55 and finished with 2,865 points.

Claire Downer, an incoming freshman at Chaminade Julienne High in Ohio, won the pentathlon title in the girls 13-14 division for Crossroads Track and Field with 3,014 points.

Downer, who ran 2:34.62 in the 800, benefited from clearing 5-1 (1.55m) in the high jump and achieving a leap of 17-1.50 (5.22m) in the long jump to hold off Frankie Huether of Turbo Track Club in Iowa with 2,998 points.

Frankie Huether, who will attend North Polk High as a freshman this fall and will compete in 2024 for the Comets under the guidance of her father and head coach Scott Huether, ran 15.97 in the 100 hurdles, achieved a long jump of 16-9.75 (5.12m) and ran a personal-best 2:34.66 in the 800.

A pair of Washington athletes celebrated national titles in the girls 2,000-meter steeplechase.

Sydney Collier, who recently concluded her sophomore year at Skyline High, represented the Cascade Striders and prevailed in the girls 15-16 division in 7:13.51.

Hadley Hanchett, an incoming seventh-grader from Yakima representing Sun City Track Club, captured the girls 13-14 division championship in 7:15.17.

Mark Barajas, who completed his junior year at Pebble Hills High in El Paso, Texas, triumphed in the men’s 17-18 final of the 2,000 steeplechase in 6:13.48. Barajas, representing El Paso Wings Track Club, improved from a second-place finish in the 15-16 division final last year in 6:21.27.

Ryland Levander, competing for Arizona Speedstars Track and Field Club, secured the 2,000 steeplechase crown in the boys 15-16 division in 6:22.71. Levander is an incoming junior at American Leadership High in Arizona who finished sixth in last year’s 15-16 final in 6:58.08.

Charley Hamilton, who recently completed her junior year at Rockwall High, emerged victorious in the women’s 17-18 division 2,000 steeplechase championship race for Texas Titans Track Club in 7:30.72.

Joshua Loera, also competing for Texas Titans Track Club and an eighth-grader representing Vanston Middle School, won the 2,000 steeplechase crown in the boys 13-14 division in 6:42.78.

Oakland Cubs teammates Ava Torgersen and Nicolas Leduc swept the 3,000 race walk titles in the 13-14 division. Torgersen, a seventh-grader, clocked 15:48.59 to capture the girls championship and Leduc won the boys crown in 16:43.36.