Sports Zone

Anderson somersaults her way to hurdles title 

EUGENE – Thurston’s Brooklyn Anderson etched her spot in the history books this weekend at the 2025 OSAA Track & Field State Championships with one of the most iconic finishes at the famed Hayward Field. 

Fans and officials from the Oregon State Activities Association (OSAA) called it “one of the most memorable finishes to a state championship race” when – after tripping on her last hurdle and well in front of the field – Anderson somersaulted her way across the finish line and won the state title in the 100 meter hurdles at 14.93.

“I think it was all muscle memory,” said Anderson, an ex-gymnast. “The first roll, I think, was just from the initial hit of the hurdle, but the second one, I just knew I needed to do something to get that gold medal honestly.”

Winning wasn’t a surprise. Anderson entered state as the No. 1 seed and a double Midwestern League district champion in the 100 meters and 100-meter hurdles. This was her first time back in her “main event” since freshman year, when she suffered from a shin fracture and couldn’t compete the rest of the season.

Last year, in her sophomore year, she decided to focus her season on sprinting.  Despite missing out on the hurdles, she still impressed at the 2024 state meet. Anderson finished second in the 100 meters, seventh in the 200 meters, and anchored the 8th-place 4×100 relay team.

This year, she placed fourth in the 100 meters, third in the long jump, and first in the 100-meter hurdles. She earned 21 total points for the Colts.

At the start of the 100-meter hurdles, everything was going as expected. Anderson cruised to the front early and left the pack behind. 

Things took a turn for the worse, however, when she clipped the last hurdle, 10 meters before the finish line, sending the hurdle flying toward the ground and her body lurched forward, head first.

For most athletes, this would be a sad end to the race. And the crowd gasped as they watched events unfold; however, instead of spreading out her hands to catch her fall, Anderson shrank into a circle and rolled twice to cross the finish line. It turned Hayward into a roaring force of monstrous applause.  

“My main goal today was to actually PR in the hurdles, but that kind of stopped me there a little bit,” she laughed. “But I’m still super proud of myself and really glad that I recovered.”

Anderson was able to use her 11 years of experience in gymnastics –  where learning how to fall is everything – she was able to recover from her tumble. 

Anderson has also leaned on her gymnastics background in the past. Last year, she noted that gymnastics helped calm herself during the state meet. She said she’s “used to being on stage and having a lot of people watching her, so that really helped her out a lot.”

Anderson hopes to build on her success by continuing to do “what she does but on a higher level” with more PRs, state titles, and faster times. After all, track is her main sport. 

“The main goal is college track, of course,” she said. “I quit my gymnastics career because I joined track.”

More Thurston results:

■ The boys team took 12th overall and the girls shared 6th. Kelsie Raven was 8th in the 100-meter hurdles (16.14), 4th in high jump (1.54m), and 3rd in triple jump (10.70m). Tyler Raven was 3rd in the 110-meter hurdles (15.15), 8th in the 300-meter hurdles (41.17), 7th in the long jump (6.38m), and 2nd in triple jump (13.80m). Carson Buergey was 6th in the 800 meters (1.56.13) and 9th in the 1500 meters (3.59.36). Addison Nelson was 11th in the high jump (1.48m), 6th in the long jump (5.15m), and 6th in the triple jump (10.44m). Ryan Roser 6th in long jump (6.40m). 

Springfield results:

■ The boys were 26th and the girls were 25th. Sailor Hall earned 5th in the shot put (11.07m). Noah Solo was 7th in shot put (6.01m). Leila Kammerzelt-Murphy was 10th in discus (31.97m). Amar’e Viquelia was 11th in the long jump (6.01m). Audrey Sommerville was 12th in the triple jump (9.94m). Lastly, Violet Moran was 14th in javelin (31.97m).

Noah Solo of Springfield throws 14.44m to finish 7th in shot put.
CRAIG STROBECK / THE CHRONICLE PHOTO

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