![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
During the ice breaker meet on March 13, Hayden Williams-Downing, junior, won and broke the school record for womens varsity javelin at Wilsonville High School to start off the 2024 track season. Out of the six total throws, her third throw of 155 feet and 6 inches exceeded the previous school record from 2007. However, Williams-Downing ended with her final throw of 162 feet and 9 inches, outdoing her own personal record (PR).
She is also the current national record-holder among active throwers.
“I popped [the javelin] out and I was in shock. Honestly, I was crying after each time they’d announce it,” Williams-Downing said. “It was surreal. I could not believe it. I still can’t believe it. I’m number one in the nation right now. It’s incredible.”
During the school’s track season, Williams-Downing participates in a wide variety of events. Her events from the ice breaker meet consisted of javelin (600 grams), long jump, 4×100 relay, and 4×400 relay.
As with any sport, adrenaline rushed through as she prepared for javelin. But during the event, she saw familiar faces and this support helped ready her for the event.
“I was relaxed. I was happy. I knew a lot of the girls that I was throwing against so it was fun to just be supported— one of them’s on my club team,” Williams-Downing said. “But I was really relaxed and I had a good warm up throw. So I was feeling pretty confident.”
After warming up, Williams-Downing’s first throw reached 138 feet, only two feet below her previous PR. Her series of throws consistently increased, ending with her final throw, at 162 feet and 9 inches, which became her newest PR and already surpassed her expectations.
“160 feet was my goal, like for this entire season. I was like, ‘Okay, by the end of the school year or by the end of the spring season for track, I need to have thrown 160 feet,’” Williams-Downing said.
Williams-Downing has also been a part of multiple track and field groups outside of the school’s program.
She began her track experience in fifth grade. At a young age, she broke the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) record for the FinnFlier. In middle school, she qualified for state in sixth grade. Currently, she is a part of a club track team, Super Thrower Track Club, where she trains her javelin and shot put skills throughout the off-season.
“In fifth grade, I was definitely doing [track] just more for fun. I didn’t really know where I could go with it,” Williams-Downing said. “But definitely freshman year was when I was like, ‘Okay, like, I’m doing pretty good.’ My freshman year was [somewhere] in the 120s. But I had a throw of 131 feet and 11 inches, and after that I [realized] I need to start taking this seriously, like I can go somewhere with this.”
With it being early in the season, there is the possibility of other schools’ athletes challenging her national PR. But despite that, Williams-Downing expects to continue her path in a successful direction.
“I am confident in myself, but someone’s probably gonna pop a big throw out there,” Williams-Downing said. “So I’m not sure that I’ll be first in the nation for very long, but I do have goals to win state this year. And I think that’s definitely in the cards for me.”
Williams-Downing plans on continuing to train and attend meets to get an understanding of other athletes’ throws, as well as work on her own.
“I’m feeling really optimistic. The fact that I got my goal and it was like an easy throw and I felt really good— that gives me a lot of hope,” Williams-Downing said. “I’m just gonna set a higher goal. I don’t know what to set for that now, but I’m definitely just gonna try to stay as consistent as I can.”
