Lincoln goalkeeper Alexander Rhodes turns out for track on a whim, becomes 400 meters 6A state champion

He's committed to Puget Sound for soccer. And now? “I think they’re going to take me for track, too.”

By René Ferrán 

EUGENE — Down the homestretch of Saturday’s OSAA Class 6A 400-meter final at Hayward Field, Lincoln’s Alexander Rhodes and Westview’s Fuad Omer ran side by side, neither giving an inch. 

“My plan was for him to get like a meter or two in front of me and just catch him,” Rhodes said. “Because I know that stretch, no one has it better than me.” 

About 30 meters from the finish, Omer suddenly fell to the track. 

Rhodes saw it out of the corner of his eye — but obviously couldn’t pause to ponder how it happened or see the aftermath.

Instead, he took advantage of the unfortunate circumstances, winning the race in 48.52 seconds.

Omer, the state leader in the event who is No. 9 on the state’s all-time list, took a couple of seconds to gather himself, then rose to his feet and jogged the final few meters to finish the race.

“It’s just unfortunate,” Rhodes said. “He’s a great competitor. It would have been a dogfight if he’d stayed up, but I know I would have gotten it still.”

Alexander Rhodes photo Rene Ferran

Rhodes, who ran the third leg on the victorious 4x400 relay that clinched Lincoln’s first team title since 2007, almost wasn’t at Hayward Field to get his shot at a gold medal. 

An Achilles’ injury sidelined him for more than a month of the season — except for a JV meet in early May, when he ran a 62.98 in the 400 to earn a qualifying mark for the PIL district meet.

“I don’t know if it was a strain or a tear, but I couldn’t jog or walk on it for a long time,” Rhodes said. “This is my first season of track, and it really hindered me because I had to work on my technique a lot.

“But my coach, DeShawn (Fontleroy), he has these special tools that really help me out. He got me to where I need to be today. It’s so taped up right now, but I feel super alive. The injury was tough, but I got through it.”

Rhodes hadn’t previously run track because he plays goalkeeper for the Cardinals soccer team — he has signed to play for Puget Sound next fall, and he turned out this spring only because he wanted to get in some cardio work before heading to college.

And now, he’s heard, “I think they’re going to take me for track, too.” 


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René Ferrán
RENÉ FERRÁN

René Ferrán has written about high school sports in the Pacific Northwest since 1993, with his work featured at the Idaho Press Tribune, Tri-City Herald, Seattle Times, Tacoma News Tribune, The Columbian and The Oregonian before he joined SBLive Sports in 2020.