Pair runs at Hayward Field

Surrounded by past and future Olympians at the site of the upcoming U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, two Sisters eighth-graders took to the track in the annual Oregon Twilight Meet Middle School Mile.

Dyut Fetrow and Izaak Kanzig, leading runners for the Sisters Middle School track team, raced among about 37 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, from throughout Oregon.

The race serves as a chance for young runners to imagine their futures, according to organizer John Lucas.

Fetrow ran a steady race, finishing in 5:15, while Kanzig put on a late charge for a time of 5:20 as the pair finished 12th and 17th respectively.

The race's top finisher was a seventh-grader named Hayden Scott running for the Bowerman Athletic Club who finished in 4:43.

The Twilight Meet attracts collegiate and club athletes chasing championship qualifying marks, so the boys were treated to some stellar performances on the track and on the field.

"It was so cool to see Max King win the steeplechase," said Fetrow.

King, who resides in Bend and is a world-class runner, has worked as one of the youth coaches for Central Oregon Running Klub, which both Fetrow and Kanzig have been part of. For the versatile King, who runs distances up to ultra-marathons, it was his first steeplechase in four years.

In addition, the boys watched a win by Olympian Andrew Wheating in the 1,500, an 18-foot pole vault win by three-time NCAA national champion Scott Roth, and a world-best in the women's steeplechase.

Inspiring it was, as both boys left the competition with memorabilia tied to the amazing history of distance running in Oregon, as Fetrow sported a vintage "Stop Pre" T-shirt and Kanzig clutched a reproduction 1970s lemon-yellow and green Oregon singlet.