DeMari Thompson (North Salem), Mihaly Akpamgbo (West Salem) make Salem the 6A sprint capital of Oregon

“So much of it is rising to the occasion. The big moment, the state championship, 6A, inside of Hayward Field, sunny day — I mean, you’ve got to do it.”

By René Ferrán 

EUGENE — A year ago, it was Southern Oregon sprinters Andrew Walker and Nathan Rider who took center stage at Hayward Field, sweeping the Class 6A boys titles at the OSAA track and field state championships. 

Saturday, it was Salem’s turn in the spotlight. With North Salem’s DeMari Thompson winning the 100 meters and West Salem’s Mihaly Akpamgbo the 200, the capital city boasts the state’s top sprinters for the first time since former Olympian Ryan Bailey won the 100 and 200 for McKay in 2007.

“DeMari is a great sprinter, great runner, and I’ve been running against him for a while,” Akpamgbo said. “It’s a great rivalry. It’s always nice to be challenged.”

Thompson won the 100 and 200 last spring when North Salem was a 5A school, and he brashly proclaimed that when the Vikings moved up to 6A this spring, “it’s going to be no different.”

The junior failed to advance out of Friday’s prelims in the 200, meaning the pressure was on him to keep his promise in his signature event.

“I look at it as life happens,” Thompson said. “We’re not going to be state champions every day. You’ve got to step on the track and do what you can with what you have.

“I look at not making the finals as motivation for next year. I’ll be motivated every day by not making that final, and I wanted to do what I could with what I had and win that 100 meters.”

That realization to embrace whatever chances he receives was especially true considering what happened to Walker, the South Medford senior who was the defending champion in the 100 and 200. 

He advanced out of Friday’s prelims in both events, only to sustain an injury that forced the University of Oregon football recruit to withdraw from the meet, meaning the long-awaited first meeting between the two 2022 champions never came to pass.

Thompson said he talked with Walker that day, “and I have nothing but respect for him. I really love that man, and while we’ve never gotten to really step on the track together, there’s been, you know, this ongoing rivalry between us. But in the end, it’s just friendship.”

Thus, it was another burgeoning rivalry that played out in front of the Hayward Field crowd between Thompson and Akpamgbo, who won their previous matchup at last week’s Central Valley district meet.

Saturday, Thompson turned the tables by outleaning Akpamgbo to win by three-hundredths of a second in 10.65.

“The feeling right now is just, I made it,” Thompson said. “I could not be happier. I mean, when we moved from 5A to 6A, everyone immediately assumed, oh, can North Salem handle it? Can DeMari handle it? And we just gave you the answer.

“So much of it is rising to the occasion. It is something me and (coach Don) Berger always talk about — the big moment, the state championship, 6A, inside of Hayward Field, sunny day — I mean, you’ve got to do it. There’s no excuse at that point. We’ve trained and trained, and eventually, we’ve got to take the training wheels off. Berger’s not going to be there at the starting line. You’ve got to learn to fly on your own. It just took some time.”

Akpamgbo can relate to that last statement. The Titans junior missed his freshman season because of a right hip injury that he explained would shift his sacrum and affect his hamstrings.

“It’s just about taking care of it, being smart with it this season, making sure to take care of yourself so that you can prevent injury,” he said.

Akpamgbo returned last spring to win the Mountain Valley district 100, only to fail to advance out of the prelims.

He ensured that fate wouldn’t befall him this weekend, posting the fastest qualifying times in the 100 and 200.

After Thompson pipped him at the line in the 100, he would not be denied in the 200.

“It’s just a continuation of last year,” Akpamgbo said. “This year, I’m glad I went as far as I can. I wanted to make sure that I was working hard in the offseason, and it obviously paid off now. A lot of hard work and dedication.”