Mihaly Akpamgbo tops DeMari Thompson in district sprint showdown ahead of state meet
In the final Central Valley Conference Championship meet of their decorated careers, West Salem’s Mihaly Akpamgbo and North Salem’s DeMari Thompson squared off one last time ahead of the state meet.
This time around, Akpamgbo got the better of his crosstown rival — and set the stage for one final showdown at Hayward Field.
Akpamgbo won the 100 meters in 10.63 seconds to capture his third consecutive district title in the event Friday at McCulloch Stadium. A little over 90 minutes later, he completed the sprint double for the second year in a row and won the 200 in 21.65.
The West Salem senior shattered his personal-best in the 100 preliminary on Wednesday with a time of 10.49 that ranks second in the state this season. But he's also been battling through a nagging injury and took a somewhat pragmatic approach ahead of Friday's finals.
"I guess the more you mature, you realize that some meets are important and some meets aren't that important," Akpamgbo said. "This one was just about getting through. Not every single race can be a PR always; it's just how it is. ... For me, it was just staying focused enough to get to state, really. That's really all it was. I do like to collect my first place medals; I don't have to get first place, but would obviously prefer to."
Thompson took second in both events, clocking 10.73 seconds in the 100 and 22.10 seconds in the 200. He also began the day by anchoring North Salem's 4x100 meter relay team to a first-place finish, and ended it by anchoring the Vikings to a 4x400 meter victory.
"As a senior, being able to round out my year like this, it's great," Thompson said. "Also having one of the top athletes in the state in Mihaly Akpamgbo, having him as someone who can push me and someone I can chase after, it feels really good. ... It just pushes me to get better. He's a great sprinter himself, family man, and I think it's really good to compete with him."
When the two meet again at the state meet in Eugene next weekend, there will be plenty at stake.
Thompson is a two-time defending state champ in the 100; he won the 6A meet as a junior last spring and the 5A meet as a sophomore in 2022. Akpamgbo is the defending 6A champion in the 200 and finished as runner up to Thompson in the 100 last spring.
Both will enter the meet with a bit of a chip on their shoulders; for all their success, neither owns a state-best time in 2024. Lake Oswego senior James Bauman leads all Oregon athletes in the 100 (10.46) and 200 (21.34).
"(Bauman) and I trained together in the winter leading up to this season. So, I always saw him as somebody who was gonna be there, always knew he was a threat," Thompson said. "You can't avoid it; he's going to show up and give his best effort every time. He's got that sort of attitude that it's business. As much as we want to be friends, it's still business."
Akpamgbo has never gone head-to-head with Bauman, who won the 5A 100 title last spring while attending Rex Putnam.
"We should have raced at the Oregon Relays, but I was injured," Akpamgbo said. "But for me, I tend to perform at my best when I'm pushed by somebody. So if I were to PR, it's going to be because I'm pushed by somebody who's as good as me. So I'm excited."
West Salem sweeps team titles
The Titans left nothing to doubt in the team title race. They won the boys championship with 145.5 points — 70.5 more than runner-up North Salem. On the girls side, West Salem racked up 129 points. Sprague finished second with 72 points.
West Salem senior Olivia Jolivette won titles in the girls 100 (12.42 seconds), 200 (26.11 seconds), and long jump (17 feet, 2 inches). She also ran the second leg of the Titans' first-place 4x100 relay team.
West Salem senior Makai DeBerry won the boys javelin with a personal-best throw of 169 feet, 9 inches, and also won the shot put with a mark of 51 feet, 6.25 inches. He placed second in the discus with a throw of 129 feet, 1 inch.
Titans' junior Logan Hilty swept the boys horizontal jumps, winning the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 2.25 inches, and the triple jump with a mark of 44 feet, 2.5 inches. His long jump distance was a personal-best and the 10th-best distance in the state this season.
Avery Meier, Jack Meier double up on distance titles
In the girls 1,500, West Salem’s Avery Meier led wire-to-wire to capture her second consecutive district title in the event. The Titans’ sophomore finished with a time of 4 minutes, 36.50 seconds — just narrowly slower than the personal-best of 4:36.3 she ran at the Jesuit Twilight Relays on April 26.
On Wednesday, Meier clocked the seventh-fastest 3,000 time in the state this season, winning in 9:52.26.
West Salem senior Jack Meier also won the boys 1,500 meters on Friday and captured the fourth individual district title of his career in the process. With 300 meters to go, Meier used a strong kick to pull away from McNary junior Vince Estrada and win in 3:58.63 — the 16th-fastest time in the state this season.
His big kick came two days after he also won the 3,000 in 8:44.53.
Pawat Potisuk's dramatic finish
In the boys 400 meter, McNary senior Pawat Potisuk busted the form charts and delivered a personal-best of 50.90 seconds to capture his first-ever district title.
Coming into this week, Potisuk's previous season best of 52.87 ranked just fourth among athletes who were slated to compete in the event. But he ended with a strong final 100 meters and edged past West Salem's Jerett Peil (50.90 seconds) to earn the win in a photo finish.
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: West Salem's Mihaly Akpamgbo captures pair of CVC district titles
