Before the season, Jesuit senior Grant Valley was a virtual unknown in Oregon high school track circles.
He showed promise as a sprinter early in his career, but due to injuries, he wasn't able to deliver on his potential, failing to qualify for the 6A championships in an individual event.
That has changed in a big way this season as Valley, now healthy, is producing eye-popping times.
Twice, he has run the 100 meters in a state-leading 10.50 seconds, No. 8 all-time in Oregon. And last week, in a Metro League dual meet at Sunset, he was timed at 20.86 in the 200, faster than the state record of 21.03 (Micah Williams, Benson, 2019).
“I'm pretty surprised, blown away, with how I've been running,” Valley said. “I was not expecting this at all. Being able to get healthy and stay healthy was the biggest thing for me. I've always known what I'm capable of doing, it was just being healthy enough to actually do it.”
Valley has come a long way since suffering a broken fibula and tibia in a football game against West Linn in September of his junior year.
He underwent two surgeries, the first to repair the fractures in September 2023 and the second to remove screws that were causing tendinitis near his hamstring in March 2024. The second surgery caused him to miss most of his junior track season.
“For most people, he's been out of the blue, but he's always been really twitchy,” Jesuit coach Shane Kessler said. “He's put in a lot of work without people seeing it, and all of the sudden, you see what's happened in the last couple meets. It's been there the whole time, you just didn't see it. It's a pretty cool story.”
Valley's time in the 200 was the most stunning as it represented dramatic improvement from his previous PR of 21.65, which ranked No. 42 in state history.
Because the meet did not have a wind gauge, the time has drawn skepticism. Kessler said it was a windy day at Sunset but it is difficult to say how much it helped Valley in the 200. All six runners in the race set personal bests.
“A lot of times before we even had wind gauges are still around,” Kessler said. “The truth is, he's moving fast. If somebody questions that and wants to race him, good luck. The best way to fix all that chatter is to go do it again on Friday in the finals of the league meet.”
Valley said he was among those surprised when the time was posted, believing he was in the low 21s. He said the skepticism is “annoying,” but he understands it.
“Because there was no wind gauge, it looks pretty suspicious,” he said. “Also, there's no video. You see no wind gauge, no video, and it's a dual meet …. I totally agree with people that are like, 'That looks not real.'
“But honestly, it's more motivation than anything because I'm going to be running against better competition, with better weather, at places that will have a wind gauge. I'll just go run those times again, and even probably faster. That's the goal.”
To even be talking about a state record after the painful recovery from his first surgery is a remarkable achievement.
“That was probably the hardest thing I've ever gone through, even just being able to walk again, to jog, then try to run, then sprint,” Valley said. “That was a big buildup.”
After missing virtually all of his sophomore track season with a hamstring injury, and going through the surgery and rehab from the broken leg, he got back in time to compete at the end of his junior track season.
In last year's Metro League championships, he set personal bests in the 100 (11.33) and 200 (23.11), but finished 10th and 11th, respectively, and did not qualify for state in either event. He was part of a 4x100 relay that took 13th at state.
“It was more of an ego thing than anything,” said Valley, whose father, Brian, is an assistant track coach at Jesuit. “I knew I wasn't healthy, but just being able to at least say I ran, that was probably the big thing for me. I was running like 11.3 and I was losing to all these people that I knew I was faster than, but I just wasn't there yet.”
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Valley had an outstanding senior football season at receiver and defensive back. He had four touchdown catches in Jesuit's last two regular-season games, and he caught 21 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns in three playoff games, adding an 80-yard kickoff return for a score.
Kessler, who coaches receivers and defensive backs for the football team, said the coaches tried to find more ways to get Valley the ball in space. On defense, he played primarily at cornerback, but also was effective at free safety.
He has committed to Southern Oregon for football and track.
“Free safety could be a future spot for him because he can cover so much ground, sideline to sideline, and be around the ball all the time,” Kessler said. “He has a tremendous amount of potential at the next level if he's going to play football.”
Kessler said “everybody was on pins and needles” hoping for Valley to make it through the football season healthy. It allowed Valley to spend the winter getting ready for track, and the results have followed.
“He's for sure jumped on the scene with nobody seeing it coming,” Kessler said. “Now he's kind of at the peak of the mountain and getting ready to be in championship mode the next 10 days.”
Valley now owns Jesuit's school records in the 100 and 200. The previous records were 10.70, set by Peter Jackson and Steve Kalberer in 1988, and 21.71, set by Seth Tarver in 2006.
Valley already has proven himself as an elite sprinter. Where he stands among the state's all-time best remains to be seen.
“If he just keeps backing it up, and everybody at state gets to watch it, then it's real,” Kessler said.
Jones leads Baker to win
Baker junior Rasean Jones won three events and ran a leg on a winning relay as the host Bulldogs took first place in the 20-team Uriarite Invitational on Friday at Baker Athletic Complex.
Jones, the two-time reigning 4A champion in both hurdles races, won the 110 hurdles (14.02), 300 hurdles (38.20) and long jump (22-3) and was part of the 4x400 relay, which finished first.
Jones' time in the 110 hurdles ranks No. 1 in the state this season. Last year, he ran 13.96, the No. 3 time in state history.
Baker scored 111.5 points to beat Nyssa (64.5), Joseph (57) and Pendleton (57). La Grande won the girls meet with 106 points, topping Baker (65) and Imbler (56.5).
Hedgepeth steps up
La Grande sophomore Brogan Hedgepeth had a breakout performance in the discus at the Uriarite Invitational.
Hedgepeth recorded a throw of 180-10, the No. 1 throw in the state this season. He has improved nearly 30 feet from last year, when he threw 151-9 and finished third in the 4A championships. He hit 174-6 on April 26.
Hedgepeth also ranks sixth in the state in the shot at 53-6 ½. He placed fourth in the state in the shot last year.
jerryu@osaa.org
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