EUGENE – Eli Oelkers walked a fine line between repeating as the Class 4A long jump champion and not even making the podium.

Of his six total jumps Friday afternoon at the state track and field championships, the senior fouled on four of them. But two jumps – his third and final attempt to advance to the final round and his fifth jump – were all that was needed to become a repeat champion.

“I scared myself a little bit out there,” said Oelkers, who will compete for Lane Community College next year. “To be honest, it wasn’t my best, but I can’t complain with a state title. I’m just thankful to God that I was able to pull through even if it wasn’t a personal best.”

Oelkers won the title at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus with a jump of 22 feet, 7.25 inches, his second-longest jump of the season. Last week at the Tri-Valley Championships, he set his personal best with a 23-6.25.

The repeat title almost didn’t happen for Oelkers. On the warm late-spring day in Eugene with a strong tailwind, many of the competitors had a difficult time hitting the board cleanly without a fault.

Oelkers faulted on his first two attempts. Another fault and he would have been eliminated from contention. It was time to play it safe.

“I just moved myself back about a foot and a half,” Oelkers. “I ran it at like 90% speed just hoping to make it to finals.”

After faulting on his fourth jump, Oelkers pulled ahead of Madras’ Andres Aguilar with his best, and title-winning, jump of the day.