Blanchet's Molly Mucken wins 2A girls discus at OSAA state track and field championships
EUGENE — Coming into this season, Molly Mucken had plenty of lofty goals — none bigger than capturing her first state title.
On Thursday, the Blanchet Catholic junior did exactly that and notched a somewhat unexpected personal-best in the process.
Mucken won the 2A girls discus title with a throw of 121 feet, 9 inches. That eclipsed her previous best of 121, which came last spring.
“It’s really special to me,” Mucken said. “Because I’m only a junior and I still have bigger plans next year. I’m going to get in the weight room and hopefully take first again.”
Mucken admits that she didn’t necessarily think a PR was in the cards on Thursday. Prior to this week, her best throw of the year was 117-5, and that came on March 20.
So, what clicked during the biggest meet of the season?
“I don’t know, I just got a little angry,” Mucken said with a smile.
Her winning throw came on her final attempt of the day — although her previous best of 116-7 would have been good enough to hold off Kennedy junior Tia Allen, who placed second with a throw of 114-11.
Based strictly on the form charts, Allen entered the meet as a heavy favorite. Her personal-best of 124-6 is the best in the state this season among 2A athletes and the 12th best regardless of classification.
“I took it to heart — I just wanted to beat her,” Mucken said.
Willamina freshman Hadley Hughes finished sixth with a mark of 110-08 and Gervais senior Mia Garcia finished 10th with a throw of 90-02.
Earlier in the day, Mucken finished 15th in the javelin with a throw of 90 feet, 4 inches that was well below her season-best. She only began competing in javelin this year and said she shifted much of her focus to that and the shot put midway through the spring. But a rotator cuff injury limited her ability to throw this week.
Mucken will be back at Hayward Friday for the shot put with hopes of notching a second title. She owns the top mark in the state among 2A athletes in that event with a personal-best of 36 feet, 2 inches.
Thursday results: Salem-area athletes who captured podium finishes
3A Boys
Amity junior Brody Horne uncorked a personal-best throw of 46 feet, ¾ inch to take third place in the shot put.
Amity junior Kiyan Vrell placed seventh in the long jump with a mark of 20 feet, 2 ½ inches.
3A Girls
Amity sophomore Kylie Wilson finished second in the javelin with a throw of 116 feet, 8 inches. She also took ninth in the discus with a mark of 91 feet, 7 inches. Amity junior Riley Vanderzanden placed eighth in the javelin (101-02).
2A Boys
Salem Academy senior Caleb McGraw placed second in the shot put with a throw of 45-06 ¼. He finished narrowly behind Knappa senior Parker Stevens, who won with a mark of 45-09. Blanchet Catholic sophomore James Barnett (41-11 ½) placed fifth, Santiam sophomore Colt Twede placed sixth (41-06 ½) and Blanchet senior Elijah Halfman (41-01 ½) finished seventh.
Kennedy senior Johnathan Kintz placed third in the 3,000 meter run with a personal-best time of 9 minutes, 18.59.
Gervais senior Isaiah Martushev took third place in the pole vault with a mark of 12 feet, ¾ inch.
2A Girls
Willamina freshman Hadley Hughes placed third in the javelin with a throw of 123 feet, 3 inches. Blanchet Catholic’s Sarah Naegeli (116-03) took fifth.
Kennedy senior Alyse Williams finished second in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 9 ½ inches. Blanchet Catholic junior Tatum Fleming (15-2) took fourth, and Willamina junior Nichole Goodwin took sixth (14-09 ¾)
Salem Academy sophomore Emma Brewer placed fourth in the high jump with a mark of 4 feet, 9 ½ inches. Blanchet Catholic junior Horte Gemedo took sixth place (4-7 ½).
Kennedy junior Yulissa Chavez Cortes took eighth in the 3,000 meter run with a personal-best time of 11:29.43.
1A Boys
St. Paul senior James Davidson placed seventh in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 44 feet, 9 ½ inches.
St. Paul sophomore Branson Cook took fourth in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 11 ¼ inches. Willamette Valley Christian junior Caleb Reichelt (5-8) placed eighth. Reichelt also took eighth place in the long jump with a mark of 19 feet, 7 inches.
1A Girls
Crosshill Christian senior Claire Fish took eighth place in the long jump with a mark of 15 feet, 2 inches.
Crosshill Christian freshman Kasey Zuidema placed fifth in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 109 feet, 11 inches.
Jarrid Denney covers high school sports and Oregon State for the Statesman Journal. He can be reached at JDenney@salem.gannett.com or on X @jarrid_denney
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Blanchet's Molly Mucken wins 2A girls discus at OSAA championships
