High school junior Mia Brahe-Pedersen runs 11.0 for the 100 meters, but she isn’t satisfied
Video by Logan Brown
By Maddie Lang
Announced as the “fastest young lady in the United States of America,” Lake Oswego sprinter Mia Brahe-Pedersen stepped into her blocks Saturday for the final of the 6A 100-meter dash at the OSAA Track and Field Championships. The fans at Hayward Field went silent and turned their gaze to the start line.
As Brahe-Pedersen blazed through the race, fans watched in awe as the junior finished in a time of 11.0 flat, a new meet record, .32 ahead of the runner-up, her friend Sophia Beckmon of Oregon City.
“I was that close to going sub-11,” Brahe-Pedersen said. “I just know it’s coming soon.”
Lake Oswego High School junior Mia Brahe-Pedersen embraces Oregon City High School senior Sophia Beckmon after winning the 6A girls 100-meter dash in 11.00, a new Oregon state record, at the 2023 OSAA Track & Field State Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene. Photo by Maggie Troxell
Brahe-Pedersen, a junior, left the OSAA Track and Field State Championships with four victories – two individual, two relays – plus three meet records. She helped Lake Oswego tie with Tualatin for the 6A girls team title.
The first gun of the night for Brahe-Pedersen went off to start the 4x100-meter relay.
Riley Ha, a junior, opened up the race. As she handed off to Brahe-Pedersen you could feel the stands watch in amazement as Brahe-Pedersen gave her team a tremendous lead down the backstretch.
With her team in the lead, Brahe-Pedersen handed off to Josie Donelson. Their anchor, Marina Turpin, closed out the race in first, securing the state title.
“This is just one out of many titles that the team is going to get for just today,” Brahe-Pedersen said immediately afterward, “and then we’re chasing after that team title. So let’s get it done. This is just the beginning of it.”
Next came the 100, which Brahe-Pedersen dominated as expected.
In the 200 meters, Brahe-Pedersen exploded out of the blocks. She had already made up the stagger in the first 25 meters. She crossed the finish line in 22.65—another meet record, and half a second ahead of Beckmon, runner-up again. And she didn’t think she had run as well as she could have.
Her coach, John Parks, said, “[She] probably ran the best curve of her life, and then just kind of cramping up. Not badly, but just where she didn’t have that extra pop.”
With one more event left and her team's total score sitting at two points below first-place, Brahe-Pedersen knew the battle wasn’t over yet.
“The job’s not done,” she said immediately after the 200. “I still have the 4x4.”
In order for her team to win the title, they had to win the 4x400-meter relay.
The first two laps of the team’s relay were neck and neck with Tualatin. As Turpin handed off to Brahe-Pedersen, the team was sitting in second place.
It didn’t take long for Brahe-Pedersen to seal the lead for her team. She came into the third and final hand off 50 meters ahead of Tualatin. The team finished in 3:48.78, breaking the state meet record they had set the year before.
The win tied the Lakers with Tualatin for the State Championship title with 77 points. They had a total of six first-place finishes and four new meet records. Brahe-Pedersen was involved in 32 of them.
“I’m just really excited that I was able to contribute to what my team is trying to do here today,” she said.
Looking forward to the Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward starting on June 15, Brahe-Pedersen felt she has several things she can improve on to get her times even lower.
In the 100, she said, “I kind of just started fighting for the clock. I need to just focus on getting through the race, and the times are just going to be a result of doing it properly.”
For the 200, she said, she has to watch her hydration. “Just just making sure I stay fueled better,” she said.
And beyond that?
“Hey, we’re not done,” Brahe-Pedersen said. “We’ve still got another year after this, and I just hope Oregon is ready.”