Sports
B1
Appeal Tribune, www.silvertonappeal.com
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
COURTESY PHOTO
Brody Davidson took first place at the Oregon Middle School Statewide Championships.
DAVIDSON TAKES TITLE
Mill City middle-schooler wins
state high jump competition
LUIS RAMIREZ
STAYTON MAIL
MILL CITY — Every year, hundreds
of contestants descend upon La Pine for
the annual Oregon Middle School State-
wide Championships.
The meet features, not only some of
the best athletes in the state, but in the
country. For the small town of Mill City,
having one of their own compete at the
event has been a fascinating develop-
ment.
Brody Davidson was an eighth grader
at Santiam Junior/High School and re-
cently won the state high jump with a
jump of 6 feet. That jump tied him for the
second best in the country this year. The
national high this year was 6-2 and Da-
vidson has cleared 6-1 in the past.
“A couple of weeks before I got 5-11
and that put me in second place so I fig-
ured if I got 6-0 that I would go up to
first,” Davidson said.
Track may be his best sport, but he is a
three-sport star, also competing in foot-
ball in the fall and wrestling in the win-
ter. Being one of the best athletes in Mill
City, he will also battle for a spot on the
varsity football squad at Santiam this
year.
On the track, high jump is his best
event, but he also competes in the 100-,
200- and 400-meter races.
“I was always running around the
house, mainly because I got in trouble a
lot so they had me doing laps,” Davidson
said. “I was always a bit faster and (had)
better conditioning than most kids.”
Davidson has worked hard to improve
on the track and has stayed focused on
his academics. He is also an honor roll
student at Santiam.
“He’s actually been running for years
and he’s been in several different track
events and has raised money for other
kids,” mother Kim Davidson said. “He
does really well in everything that he
does.”
Next fall he will make the jump to
high school and will hope to continue his
ascent in the high jump. His hard work
has paid off and he hopes to eventually
win a state title and follow his dream of
attending the University of Oregon.
“During those seasons its pretty in-
tense because he has to eat right from
the beginning of the day until the end,”
Kim Davidson said. “He’s learned it on
his own and he’s got that discipline of
knowing when he needs to do stuff so he’s
learning it,”
lramirez@StatesmanJournal.com or
Twitter.com/@LuisRamirez10
COURTESY PHOTO
Brody Davidson has high jumped 6 feet, 1 inch.
REACH US: Cliff Kirkpatrick, ckirkpatr@Salem.gannett.com