Lake Oswego Junior Runs US-Leading Wind-Legal Times of 11.08 and 22.61

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

BEND, Ore. -- Mia Brahe-Pedersen gets a thrill out of showing people something they've never seen before. 

And Saturday at the Secure Storage Summit Invitational, she showed them:

Running in a varsity final against top-seeded boys, the Lake Oswego junior won a competitive race and produced her fastest wind-legal time, 11.08 seconds. Only two high school girls in history have covered 100 meters faster with allowable wind: Briana Williams (10.94) and Candace Hill (10.98). 

There was a side bet on the line with one of her Lake Oswego teammates, Ethan Park: Loser picks up the dinner tab at next week's prom. 

Sorry, dude. (Park was fourth in 11.38).

RESULTS/VIDEOS | INTERVIEWS

Brahe-Pedersen was running even with Summit's Tadhg Brown for about 70 meters, and then pulled away from him late as a grandstand full of spectators erupted in cheers after being slightly puzzled during the pre-race introduction. 

"I am so grateful to the people who put on this meet, because they did everything they could to accommodate me and give me the opportunity to be the best and make history," Brahe-Pedersen said. "I love to make history. People love to watch history being made."

Two hours later in ever-shifting weather conditions, the start of the combined boys/girls 200 meters landed just a bit too late. Ominous dark clouds caught up to the track meet and began spitting ice pellets in the final minutes leading up to the race. 

It was hailing by the time the gun went off. In the bleachers and on the track, the ice was coming down from the sky and bouncing off the surface. The temperature plummeted from the upper 50s to 43 degrees. 

And yet, here came Brahe-Pedersen storming around the curve and caught in the middle of a tight race with Garrett Chaffee of Newberg and Treyden Lucas of Bend. She finished third behind them, in 22.61 seconds. Chaffee won it in 22.33, also securing a new personal best. 

That time was another personal best and made her the seventh-fastest high school girl of all-time, bumping ahead of Abby Steiner. 

The bad weather did not dim Brahe-Pedersen's outlook. 

"Hey, we're Oregonians," she said. "We can do anything."

Bend's elevation (3,600) was worth something in the performance, possibly canceled out by the pelting hail and cold temperature. 

But the opportunity to race athletes with comparable skills -- in this case, boys -- was everything. 

"The opportunity shows what competition brings out in any athlete," Lake Oswego coach John Parks said. "I was always a little fearful what it does to the guys, but my guys were on board and I'm thankful to (Summit coach) Dave Turnbull for letting us do this."

It was Turnbull who floated the idea and then sought permission from the Oregon Schools Activities Association. 

Because there is a precedent for meets that combine boys and girls in distance races like he 1,500 and 3,000, the OSAA signed off on the idea. 

Brahe-Pedersen is the first female athlete to come along in the 100 meters in Oregon where the idea would even make sense. She can beat a lot of varsity boys and her new set of personal bests would likely qualify her for the Class 6A championships in the boys sprints. 

For a bit more historical perspective, former Oregon high school record holder Margaret Johnson-Bailes, a 1968 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x100 at 17, once came to a workout at Hayward Field and raced the male sprinters on the University of Oregon track team. She beat enough of them that coach Bill Bowerman prevented her from coming back, feeling that it was demoralizing to his athletes.

Times have changed. 

Brahe-Pedersen has sought out higher competition this year, breaking the indoor 200-meter record against college athletes in New Mexico, and competing at Nike Indoor Nationals and the Arcadia Invitational. 

But for the most part, she's merely racing the clock in most meets. 

Saturday's 11.08/22.61 was one of the best female sprint doubles in U.S. history, and superior to anything ever seen in this part of the country. 

It whets her appetite for more. 

"It just makes me more hungry," she said. "I'm coming for those records."

Elsewhere, teammate Josie Donelson, a junior, broke meet record in the 400 meters with a personal-best 54.68, the fifth-fastest time in state history. Behind her, Newberg's Sophia Castaneda was second in 55.12, one of the fastest freshman times in state history. 

Summit's Ella Thorsett lopped more than three seconds from her best in the 800 meters, running 2:16.20 for the win. 

Chaffee, winner of the 200, also won the 400 in 48.72 seconds.