Winners throw personal bests at last.

Byline: Rob Moseley The Register-Guard

Saving the best for last proved a successful strategy for two state champions Friday.

Shot put winner Katherine Tripp of Douglas and javelin champ Jessica Clemens of Burns each unleashed her winning throw on her final attempt, propelling them to OSAA Class 3A titles during the first day of action in the state meet at Hayward Field.

Also crowned as state champs Friday were Amy Skofstad of Gladstone in the long jump and Taylor Wallace of Henley in the 3,000 meters.

In the team race, heavy favorite Marist kept itself in position for the title when the meet concludes today.

Tripp essentially repeated as state champ on her first attempt, which sailed 41 feet, 7 inches. But having qualified for the meet at 42-10, Tripp wasn't satisfied, particularly after failing to improve on her next four attempts.

"I just got mad," she said.

The psych job worked.

Tripp ended her series with a toss of 43-5 1/2 , a personal best.

"It's hard to PR at the state track meet, so it's exciting," she said. "There's just a lot more pressure, a lot more people watching you."

Just as Tripp overcame that pressure to PR, Clemens also exceeded her previous best by throwing the javelin 131-11. That also came on her final throw, although, unlike Tripp, Clemens wasn't leading the event before her sixth attempt.

Her fifth throw, in fact, went down as a scratch. Had it counted, Clemens admitted, it would have measured well under 100 feet.

"I just had to tell myself to calm down," she said. "My steps weren't right. I was just like, `What are you doing? Just go out there and chuck it.' '

She did just that, sailing past the rest of the field to lock up the title.

Skofstad sailed to a title of her own, leaping 17-8 3/4 to win the long jump.

Having surpassed 18 feet this season, she was unimpressed with the mark, though pleased to win.

"For how far behind the board I was and considering the weather, I'm pretty happy with it," she said.

Skofstad, a junior, began long jumping only this year, which could help explain her inconsistency in hitting the board.

"I still have some learning to do," she said. "I still have to work on my form and everything. But I'm really happy."

Sky-Em League district champion Kate Wilkins of Marist took fourth, earning five points for the Spartans.

Wallace opened Friday's finals by outkicking Lauren Zaludek of Elmira to win the 3,000.

Zaludek led down the backstretch, but Wallace caught her to win in 10 minutes, 7.03 seconds.

"As it got down to three of us, I knew I had to go really hard because Taylor had a good kick," said Zaludek, who finished first in the 3,000 in 2004 and third last season. "I tried hard and got a PR, so I can't be frustrated."

Meghan Whalen finished fifth in the event to give the Spartans four team points.

CAPTION(S):

Jessica Clemens of Burns is all smiles after winning the Class 3A state javelin title with a PR of 131-11. Kevin Clark / The Register-Guard Marist's Laundrea da Silva leads off the 4x100 relay that qualified for today's finals. She also advanced to the 100 finals.