Special to the Reporter

Mercer Island High School (MIHS) track and field co-head coach Amy Posner Wolf said it was exhilarating to watch the eight Islander runners leave everything they had on the track at the Oregon Relays on April 4-5.

In girls individual races at Hayward Field in Eugene, Victoria Rodriguez and Sophia Rodriguez both claimed gold in their events: the 2,000-meter steeplechase (6:41.62) and the two-mile run (10:17.34), respectively. Victoria’s stunning mark is a United States No. 1 time.

In the thrilling boys distance medley relay, Matthew Lawrence, Alexander Dusseau and Matthew Greer passed the baton to Owen Powell for the final 1,600 meters. Powell picked off seven runners one by one and crossed the finish line to give the team a first-place time of 10:04.01.

On the girls’ side in the distance medley relay, Victoria Rodriguez, Lauren Balousek, Katie Kolpa and Sophia Rodriguez finished in second place and broke the Washington state record by 15 seconds in 11:39.79.

In the distance medley relay, teams of four runners compete in a 4,000-meter race, with each leg covering a different distance: 1,200 meters (three laps), 400 meters (one lap), 800 meters (two laps) and 1,600 meters (four laps).

Overall, 26 Islander high-schoolers competed at the relays and set personal records and season bests in hurdles, throws, high jump, pole vault, sprints and distance events.

This is the third consecutive year that MIHS athletes have competed at the Oregon Relays.