EUGENE, Ore. — The glitz and the glamor of Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., wasn’t intimidating for Tenino long jumper Ashton Moore, who had a drove of family members supporting him from the stands to help him feel at home over 200 miles away from the Stone City.
But the reigning 1A state runner-up was far from satisfied with his 14th-place finish at the Oregon Relays Friday, as he fouled his first and final jumps while managing to reach 21 feet on his third try. The mark is a season best for Moore and ties his second-best jump of his career, narrowly missing his state leap of 21 feet, 1.25 inches last May.
“I started off the season pushing my mark back, and then it got kind of rough. This week, I started messing up on my measurements,” Moore said. “Today, I felt great during the warmups, and then something happened [on the first jump]. I don’t know what it was. I’d give my performance a four out of 10.”
On his first jump, he began to leap but failed to start his form as he headed toward the sand pit. He found his footing on the second jump, landing a 20-foot, 3.75-inch jump. His third attempt proved his best, but with a chance to leap into the top 10 on his final try, he stepped over the takeoff line for a foul.
Despite a performance that didn’t match his expectations, he was impressed with what the Oregon Relays had to offer on day one.
“The atmosphere was amazing. I think it’s freaking awesome here,” Moore said. "I actually loved the sand pits. Everything felt brand new. Obviously, it’s a nice track, and it was nice to feel comfortable running up and down the pit. But I’ve definitely got a lot to improve on.”
Moore’s trip to Track Town USA is not finished yet, as he will join Carson Schall, Austin Johnson and Parker Minerich in the 4x100 relays preliminary round between 12:40 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The quartet earned four top-five finishes in the event last season, including second in the Evergreen Conference Championships and fifth at the 1A District 4 Championships.
Moore said the group can accomplish special things because of their collective spirit and belief in one another.
“We’re always confident in what we’re doing. We never feel like we’re out of luck. We don’t feel like we need luck. We have ourselves,” he said.
