Grant Union’s Justin Hodge wins the 2A 100-meter dash at the OSAA State Track and Field Championships on Friday, May 20, 2022, at Hayward Field in Eugene.

EUGENE — Grant Union senior Justin Hodge is a state champion once again.

Hodge captured the 2A 100 meter state championship at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field in Eugene on Friday, May 20, with a time of 11.39. The 100 meter championship is Hodge’s second of the year following his 152 pound state title in wrestling.

Hodge and 4×100 relay teammates Luke Jackson, Cashton Wheeler and Mason Morris came up just short of adding another state championship to Grant Union’s tally, finishing third in the event at the state meet.

Jackson notched a pair of strong individual finishes at the meet, finishing fifth in the 200 meter dash and 400 meter race. The Grant Union boys tied for seventh place with 29 points but were only two points shy of a trophy: Sheridan, Weston-McEwen and Heppner finished in a tie for third place with 31 points.

Prairie City’s Eli Wright just missed out on a state championship of his own in Eugene. Wright placed third in the javelin at the 1A level and second in the high jump. Wright’s height in the high jump was 6 feet, 5 inches. The state champion from Glendale won the title with a height of 6 feet, 6 inches.

The Grant Union girls didn’t register a score at the meet but did gain valuable experience for next year’s campaign. Freshman Morgan Randleas was the highest finisher of the group, placing ninth in the long jump.

Junior Janie Koopman was the lone Prairie City girl at the state meet. Koopman finished 10th in the long jump and missed the final heat of the 400 meter race by half a second.

When asked what his second state championship meant to him, Hodge said it means a lot.

“I put a lot of work into it,” he said. “I’ve got to thank all the teammates that pushed me to be a state champ. You can’t just walk on and be a state champ. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I’m glad I get to be a state champ for Grant Union.”

Hodge competed in the 100 meter dash all four years of high school and looks at his state title win as the culmination of all the work he’s put into the event over the past four years.

Hodge said he plans on playing football at the College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California, after graduating high school. The message Hodge wants people to take away from his story is that if you work hard enough, “you’ll get it.” He also wanted to thank his teammates across all sports, adding, “They all pushed me to get better.”