Just a few people were watching Peyton Fredrickson when he set the Skyview school record in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6 feet, 9 inches at McKenzie Stadium earlier this season.
Just a regular-season dual meet. Not much fanfare.
Still, word spread throughout the facility.
Fredrickson just cleared 6-9! He was going to attempt 6-10!
The Class 4A District 4 track and field meet will be unlike any in recent memory.
This year, athletes will qualify directly to the Class 4A state meet from the district meet, which runs Monday and Tuesday at McKenzie Stadium.
In the recent past, athletes would move on from district to bi-district (or what many call regionals) to qualify for state.
The Class 4A District 4 track and field meet will be unlike any in recent memory.
This year, athletes will qualify directly to the Class 4A state meet from the district meet, which runs Monday and Tuesday at McKenzie Stadium.
In the recent past, athletes would move on from district to bi-district (or what many call regionals) to qualify for state.
This year, 4A Greater St. Helens League athletes qualifying in the top two spots in each event at district will go to state, May 28-30 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
This year, 4A Greater St. Helens League athletes qualifying in the top two spots in each event at district will go to state, May 28-30 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
“I turned around and 50, 60 people were watching me,” Fredrickson said.
All eyes on him, he paused to regain his focus.
“I tuned everything out. Everything was silent. My heart was pumping,” Fredrickson recalled. “As soon as I jumped, ‘I know I got this.’ Complete adrenaline.”
The 6-foot-3 Fredrickson cleared it with an couple inches to spare.
Fredrickson, a senior at Skyview, is ranked second in the state in the event, an inch off of the top mark of the year. He and the rest of the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League track and field athletes will be trying to qualify for state at the District 4 meet at McKenzie Stadium on Monday and Tuesday.
His athletic ability has never been an issue. A hockey player since he was 8, Fredrickson found success in track and field in middle school.
But the aggressive nature of hockey did not carry over to track and field. Fredrickson described it as “an anger.” That anger almost cost him a trip to the state meet last season.
Things were not going his way at the district meet. He was not performing to his own expectations. He had a bit of a meltdown, kicking a water bottle, making a spectacle of himself.
Skyview coach Julian Williams was not impressed.
Fredrickson does not remember all the things Williams said to him that day, but he does know that he was close to being cut loose, having to scratch at regionals, and therefore missing a chance to make it to state.
Williams said he told Fredrickson he would think about it overnight before he made his decision. He told Fredrickson about not only representing himself but of representing Skyview.
“The words he said, it’s hard to explain, but it really sunk in,” Fredrickson said. “He was disappointed in me.”
For Fredrickson, that was worse than any poor performance in a sport. He has so much respect for Williams, for all of his coaches. He does not want to let anyone down.
He apologized for his actions, promised to work on controlling his emotions, and he was allowed to continue with the Storm. A couple weeks later, he finished third at state in the high jump, clearing 6-6.
In his sports literature class this school year, Fredrickson wrote a paper about all the people who have inspired him. Coaches and teachers topped the report.
“They have made me a better person off the track,” he said. “You can’t have anger issues. You have to relax and let things go.”
Fredrickson has improved his high jump marks every year at Skyview. He went 5-10 as a freshman, finishing 11th in regionals. He found instant success as a sophomore, clearing 6-4 in his first meet of the season. He would make it to state and finish fourth.
Fredrickson battled a hairline fracture in a foot as a junior but peaked in the postseason, getting over the bar at 6-6 and finishing third at state.
This season, he is up to 6-10, hoping to clear 7 feet at state. (He also has the fifth-best mark in the long jump among Class 4A athletes.)
Now, he is using his hockey mentality for good. Fredrickson has been dealing with painful plantar fasciitis in his jumping foot. His goal at district is to do enough to qualify for state, then try to heal. He has a plan if he is not 100 percent by the state meet, May 28-30. He will deal with the pain and give it his all to reach his ultimate goal: a state championship.
“I’m not going to let the injury hold me back,” Fredrickson said. “I’ll have three months before I go to college to get better.”
Fredrickson has not made up his mind about college, but Washington State, Washington, and Eastern Washington are possible destinations.
When he gets to college, he will bring his talent and his new attitude that he learned at Skyview.
Tune everything out. Clear the mind.
And soar.
