By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

SALEM, Ore.–  Excitement is in the air Friday afternoon at North Salem High School for the host school with the Vikings.

Hosting the Second-Annual Vikings Twilight Relays, you can feel the excitement and focus with North Salem as they were getting ready for the tough challenges ahead.

“The coaches have talked about this meet so much and pushed it hard on our social media that the athletes are really excited,” said Viking Head Coach Don Berger.  “It’s only our varsity, and there won’t be any issues with keeping them focused. I believe our team will have an excellent meet, and that all the schools will have a great experience!”

You can see it with his athletes as they lined up with 12 teams that features tough competition in Beaverton, Tualatin, and Centennial.

“We have invited some of the best teams and talent in Oregon to the meet,” describe Berger.  “We want to not only push our own kids to the max, but to put on a first-class competition.”

“It feels great,” adds Jason Backer.  “It’s a lot of competition, we got to work hard.  You got to perform at your best or your not going to place.  You’re a lot more motivated to win, you got to prove yourself.”

Adam Foreman adds that the crowd factor at home adds to the motivation at hand.

“It’s nice to see the people you’re going up against at regional’s and state, seeing what your competition is going to look like,” said Foreman.  “It gives us a lot of motivation and endurance to keep going, push us to the next step.  In front of this big crowd, you don’t want to lose.”

Julissa Escobedo adds the fun and excitement of the competition adds to the fun of the meet.

“Today was really exciting because we have really good competition here,” said Escobedo.  “The 12 schools are great and I just love it.

Escobedo finished fourth in the Distance Medley with Madison Willhoft, Aracely Garcia-Chaves, and Emma Haburn to go along with fourth place finishes from Aaliyah Fitzko (Triple Jump) and Michael Bolen (Javelin).

David Johnson won the javelin and Rebekah Miller won the 100 meter run to go with her third place finish in the triple jump event where Jimmy Van won on the guys side for North Salem.

The guys DMR crew of Sergio Villazana, Manny Botello, Gerardo Fernandez and David Rojas finished sixth and found themselves up on the podium Friday night.

For more results on how your Vikings did, visit the results at:  http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=255463#269

PHOTO GALLERY (PICTURES BY JEREMY MCDONALD)