Caldera High School freshman Rikaiya Griffin made a strong entrance into Oregon’s high school track and field scene during a 5A Intermountain Conference meet against Summit and Redmond at Caldera on March 19. In her first long-jump attempt as a member of the Wolfpack, Griffin reached 19 feet, two inches, which is the tenth-best mark in state history.
Griffin’s performance is significant because it not only surpassed her previous best of 17-6½ from middle school but also positions her as a contender to become just the second girl in Oregon history to long jump 20 feet. Her coach, Dirk Matthias, said, “As a freshman, we knew she was going to be high impact, so we weren’t terribly surprised. She kind of blew up in middle school track around here. Everybody was talking about her. She’s a pretty unique athlete.”
In addition to her long jump achievement, Griffin won the 100 meters and high jump and anchored the winning 4×100 relay team at the same meet. Matthias said, “That was a great jump for her. Maybe we were surprised by that a little bit, but we knew in that first meet, she was going to show. … She had a blast doing it. As long as she’s in super high spirits and healthy and enjoying herself, let’s go.”
Matthias also noted that Griffin is only thirteen years old and emphasized the importance of managing her athletic development carefully: “Sooner or later, she’s going to be an over 20-foot long-jumper,” he said. “Right now, we’re just trying to be super conscious that she’s only 13. If we’re sensitive to it, we can make sure that she has a very long career in athletics, beyond Caldera High School.”
Griffin will have another opportunity to compete at Hayward Field during the Oregon Relays on April 3-4. The addition of Griffin strengthens Caldera’s program after both its girls’ and boys’ teams won state titles last season.
Other athletes also started their seasons with strong performances: South Albany junior Pharalynn Dickson and sophomore Charis Rettman recorded career-best times at the PNW Invite at Oregon State University; Thurston senior Brooklyn Anderson ran a personal-best time in the 100 hurdles at McMinnville High School.
