Lancers ready for a repeat.

Byline: CURTIS ANDERSON The Register-Guard

When Jordan Kent was a freshman at Churchill High School, he would often eat his breakfast while standing on a scale to see if he was gaining weight.

The idea was to get bigger and stronger.

The 6-foot-5, 193-pound Kent has filled out nicely since those days of barely cracking the 100-pound barrier, and he is now being counted upon to carry the burden of the Lancers' title hopes into the Class 4A state track and field championships, which open at Hayward Field today.

Churchill captured its first state track and field title last year with 58 points, including victories from Kent in the 200, 400 and long jump. His marks in the 200 (21.32) and long jump (25-1 1/4) are all-time bests in Oregon.

Today, the Lancer senior begins his quest for another record-setting performance as he attempts to become the first male athlete to win four individual events at the 4A state meet.

Not surprisingly, Kent is less interested in personal glory than scoring points for Churchill, which enters the meet as the team favorite. The Register-Guard form chart gives the Lancers a total of 57 points, followed by Benson (44), Grant (42), Westview (38), Klamath Union (37) and Sandy (32).

`If he was looking for a challenge, he found it,' Churchill track coach Jon Hays said. `It works out nice for the team because we have much more depth than we've had in past years, and even without Jordan, we can still field a competitive 4x100 relay.'

The Midwestern League district champion Lancers will bring nine athletes to the meet.

Kent is the top seed in all four of his events - the 100, 200, 400 and long jump - and junior Sol Rexius, second in the 110 high hurdles at last year's state meet, is the favorite in that event, and also a contender in the 300 intermediate hurdles.

Twin brother Caleb Rexius hopes to reach the final in the 100, and he will join Sol Rexius, junior Brian Walton and sophomore Travis Thomas on the 4x100 relay. Junior John Hoeck qualified in both the 1,500 and 3,000, while junior Chase Parnell made it in the 1,500. The 4x400 relay squad includes Walton, Thomas, Parnell and senior Josh Byerly. Junior Jordan Tittelfitz is an alternate.

Although the Lancers have more individuals in more events this year, the reality is that only Kent and Sol Rexius are solid bets to score. Kent hasn't lost a race since his sophomore season, and he is eager to test his skills against the best the state can offer.

`I'm looking forward to my last high school performance ... I hope I can make it a memorable one,' Kent said. `I want to defend my titles, but the primary goal is to defend our state championship.'

Kent's two-day grind begins with the long jump at 11 a.m. today, followed by preliminary heats in the 100, 400 and 200. Assuming he reaches all three finals, Saturday's schedule is packed with three races in 80 minutes, including a mere 20 minutes of rest between the start of the 100 and the 400.

`I can't take any event for granted,' Kent said. `The 100 takes the explosiveness out of the 400, so I have to run a smart and gutsy race because I won't have as good a start or kick as I'm used to.'

Kent will be hard to catch in the 200, 400 and long jump, but his wind-aided PR of 10.54 in the 100 could be challenged by Benson's Antwon Sherman (10.68) and Grant's T. Harris (10.85).

Sol Rexius comes into the state meet with PRs of 14.22 in the 110 high hurdles and 39.07 in the 300 intermediates. He is undefeated in the highs this year, but lost earlier in the season to Westview's Sam Hobbs in the 300 hurdles.

`I'd like to run faster than I did at district,' Sol Rexius said. `My goal is sub-14 and sub-39.'

Both hurdle fields are loaded. Three other high hurdlers have gone under 15 seconds this year, and the intermediate crew includes 10 competitors under 40 seconds, and two who have broken 39 seconds.

`I like Sol's chances in both events,' Hays said. `He's running well right now with a lot of confidence.'

There are several other outstanding athletes at this year's state meet, the most noteworthy being Sandy junior Tommy Skipper, who cleared 17-5 in the pole vault at the Mount Hood Conference district meet last week, which ranks No. 1 on the state's all-time list. Skipper is also favored to win the javelin and he should score well in both the 100 meters and 300 hurdles.

The distance events should be hotly contested with Lincoln junior Mike McGrath the top contender in both the 800 and 1,500, while Klamath Union junior Jacob Gomez is ranked No. 1 in the 3,000.

In the 800, McGrath will face stiff tests from KU junior Lauren Jesperson and Mountain View senior Ryan Flaherty, while the 1,500 field includes Jesperson and Gomez, Jesuit senior John Connolly and Grant junior Joaquin Chapa.

In the Class 3A meet, Wilsonville is a strong favorite to capture the team title behind sprinter Brandon Roosevelt, distance runners Kobi Daum and Emron Henry, thrower Joe Staub, high jumper Jarrett Axelrod and hurdler Zack Manning.

The Wildcats are projected to score 75 points even without a top-eight qualifying mark in the 4x100 relay, a race which Wilsonville won at last year's state meet. Those schools chasing the Wildcats include Marist, Newport, North Valley, Henley and Yamhill-Carlton.

Among local athletes, Elmira's Caleb Dysert is the top seed in the 110 high hurdles, and he is also a contender in the 300 hurdles and high jump.

Cottage Grove's Aaron Schwartz is expected to battle Estacada's Tyler Richardson in the javelin, while Reedsport's Nathan Baumgartner and Junction City's Brandon Nystrom are ranked 1-2 in the 400.

Marist comes into the meet with the state's fastest qualifying times in both relays, and the Spartans' top individuals are seniors Brian Gartland (4x100 relay, 100, long jump and triple jump) and Matt Hazard (800, 1,500 and 4x400 relay).

CAPTION(S):

Churchill's state team (from left): Sol Rexius, Brian Walton, Jordan Kent, Josh Byerly, Chase Parnell (at front), Jordan Tittelfitz, Travis Thomas, John Hoeck and Caleb Rexius.