Dufur freshman Cole Kortge, left, hits the midway point in the 110-meter hurdles Saturday at the 1A District 3 Meet. Kortge had a personal-record time of 18.63 seconds to pick up second place and a state qualification. Along with Kortge, Keith Blake and Ezekiel Stelzer are headed to state in two events apiece. Dufur scored 47 points for seventh place. Ray Rodriguez photo
Dufur freshman Cole Kortge, left, hits the midway point in the 110-meter hurdles Saturday at the 1A District 3 Meet. Kortge had a personal-record time of 18.63 seconds to pick up second place and a state qualification. Along with Kortge, Keith Blake and Ezekiel Stelzer are headed to state in two events apiece. Dufur scored 47 points for seventh place. Ray Rodriguez photo
Coming in as a No. 4 seed and an underdog in the 110-meter hurdle event, Dufur freshman Cole Kortge was not sure how his day would end.
In the hurdles, Kortge had a personal record time of 18.63 for second place, a shade more than a second behind Horizon’s Luke Holste, who had a 17.33.
After he crossed the finish line in second place, Kortge jumped high in the air in celebration.
“I didn’t think I would be that close, but I was able to fight through everything and finish well. After that third hurdle, I got that rush of excitement that let me believe that I could get first or second,” Kortge said. “It is always a goal to go to state with the mindset of winning my event. At the same time, I am still a freshman and I still have more goals to accomplish. Hopefully, this is a four-year deal and I can get better and better.”
Blake picked up second place in discus with a throw of 122-6, and the senior got a wild card in the shotput, where he had a third-place toss of 42-3.5.
Stelzer, a junior and first-year track athlete, earned a district championship in the 1,500 in a time of 4:24.35, and he qualified in 300-meter intermediate hurdles where he had a mark of 46.25.
“I am really excited about going to state. I really wanted to make it and I have been pushing really hard for this spot and I am really stoked that I made it,” Stelzer said. “I was surprised that I could run long distances. I have been getting PRs in every meet except for one, so it has been encouraging. I cut 10 seconds today and that has me excited because I know I hope to get another PR at state.”
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