No slowing down for Highland’s state record holder Spencer Van Orden

RIGBY – When it comes to hurdle races in Idaho, everyone is chasing Highland’s Spencer Van Orden.

The Rams junior is the defending state champion in the 110 and 300 hurdles and has his sights on on adding to that medal collection.

He won both races at this weekend’s Rigby Physical Therapy Invitational and even added a win in the 100-meters race, setting a personal best of 10.79 in the prelims. He also anchored the winning 4×400 and mixed 4×400 relay teams to victory.

“I feel like I deal with pressure well,” he said, noting the tougher competition is in the Boise area with Chase Lawyer of Boise and Tegon Lords of Nampa currently second and third on the 110-hurdles performance list.

Not coincidentally, Lawyer and Lords are also second and third on the 300-hurdles list.

Van Orden didn’t run his fastest race this weekend, but he didn’t have to. He’s been tested and recently faced the strongest competition he’ll likely see this year when he competed at the Arcadia Invitational in California earlier this month.

He clocked a personal-best of 13.59 in the 110 hurdles to win the title and then set a PR of 36.62 to finish second in the 300 hurdles.

The second-place finish in the 300 hurdles was the only individual race Van Orden has lost this season, but the time set the all-time Idaho state mark, meaning Van Orden now holds the state record for both hurdle events.

Van Orden said most meets he’s just chasing the clock and working to perfect his form, but the spotlight at Arcadia, one of the nation’s premier meets, did get the adrenaline pumping.

“It’s black and white,” he said of the competition level. “The nerves start to get to me a little, but I just take a step back and say ‘I deserve to be here just as much as anyone else. It doesn’t matter where you’re from as long as you’re running the times you deserve to be there.’”

Van Orden said he was really “in the zone” after winning the 110 race in California. He said he normally feels like he’s ready to be disappointed in the big races, but that wasn’t the case in the 300.

He said the atmosphere at Arcadia lived up to its reputation.

But for now, it’s just a matter of getting better and chasing more state titles.

Highlights from the Rigby Physical Therapy Invitational

Rigby won the boys and girls team titles.

The Trojan girls held off conference foe Highland 145 to 144.5, which should make for an interesting matchup when the district meet rolls around.

The Rigby boys easily outdistanced second-place Highland 172 to 96.5.

Blackfoot freshman Owen Gregory won the 800 in a personal-best of 1:58.66, with Jackson’s Josiah Overbay clocking 1:59.20.

Cesar Leon-Espinoza of Rigby won the shot with a mark of 47-11.0

Rigby, with Brayden Maughan winning at 161-08, had the top four finishers in the discus and three of the top seven in the shot put.

Garret Merwin of Rigby finished second in the 110 hurdles, second in the discus, and won the pole vault at 14-10.

On the girls side, Gracee Anderson of Highland collected some hardware, winning the 200 in 26.10 and the 400 in 59.19. She also won the triple jump with a season-best of 36-1.5 and anchored the winning 4×200 relay team.

Madison’s Brynlee Gwilliam cruised to victory in the 800, while Century’s Hailey Jackson won the 3,200 and was second behind Klarisa Earl of Thunder Ridge in the 1,600. Earl was also third in the 400.

Highland junior Leigh Ellis was a double winner, winning the 300 hurdles in 46.78 and the 100 hurdles in 16.21.

Blackfoot’s Cambrie Waterhouse, who recently signed to play basketball at CSI, set a personal best with a discus toss of 131-04, which also set a meet record.

Rigby’s Ellayna Davis finished second, but also broke the meet record with a mark of 131-02.

Rigby’s Brinley Bybee won the long jump by nearly two feet and was second in the triple jump