4 races, 4 state titles — for a freshman! Adrian phenom Addy Martin turns heads at 1A girls track championships
By Dan Brood
Addy Martin couldn’t have done any better.
Four races, four state championships.
And, oh yeah, she’s just a freshman.
Martin, an Adrian High School ninth-grader, had an absolutely perfect debut at the Class 1A track and field state championships, held Thursday and Friday at Hayward Field in Eugene.
“No, it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Martin said with a smile Friday after winning the 200-meter dash, giving her three state championships at that point.
Martin’s first state title came early in the competition Friday, when she teamed with senior Riley Lewis, senior Lizzy Nielson and sophomore Presley Speelmon to win the 4x100-meter relay in a time of 51.14 seconds, putting the Antelopes more than a second ahead of second-place Damascus Christian.
“I was really confident with our team,” said Martin, who ran the anchor leg. “It was awesome, actually, because of the fast girls on our team. It was nice that I didn’t have to make up anything. We were speedy quick.”
Martin picked up her first individual state title in the 100, where she sprinted to victory in 12.81. Crane junior Taylor Joyce finished second with a mark of 13.09.
Next for Martin in her busy day was the 200.
“I’m a little tired. I’m not going to lie,” Martin said after that race.
Tired, yes, but she had inspiration to help her get past that.
“I had my teammate, Riley Lucas, was right behind me, and that helped,” Martin said. “Also, having Taylor Joyce from Crane, she’s been pushing me all season. She’s been really helpful.”
Having that help and inspiration from friend and foe pushed Martin to win the 200 in a time of 26.65. Joyce was a close second with a mark of 26.86, and Lucas finished fourth at 27.56.
Martin capped her four-for-four state meet by teaming with sophomore Rylee Ready, Speelmon and Lucas to triumph in the 4x400 in a time of 4:16.35, putting the Antelopes more than six seconds ahead of second-place Damascus Christian.
Entering the meet, did Martin think she’d leave with four state-championship medals?
“Honestly, going into it, not really,” Martin said. “But with our 4x100 and our 4x400, I was pretty confident. After our first race, we all just kind of looked at each other. We broke the school record a couple of times.”
While Martin and her teammates were dominating the sprints on the girls side, the Adrian boys team, which includes Martin’s older brothers Conley and Jace, was also dominating in the sprints at the state meet.
“We’ve got a great coaching staff and a lot of support,” Addy Martin said of the school’s success in the sprints. “This has been so much fun.”
The Adrian girls finished in second place in the team standings with 82 points. Damascus Christian claimed the team title with a score of 105.5.
—
