Summit's Trace Chenoweth has the first-place medal placed around his neck after winning the Class 5A 110-meter hurdles at the state track and field championships Saturday afternoon at Hayward Field in Eugene. (Brian Rathbone/The Bulletin

EUGENE – In Friday’s prelims of the boys 110-meter hurdles, Summit’s Trace Chenoweth was tripping over hurdles and barely made it to Saturday’s final round of the state track and field championships.

In the finals, the sophomore was seemingly the only hurdler to make it over each hurdle unscathed at Hayward Field.

“My mentality going in was to go out and go my hardest,” Chenoweth said. “When I saw how the race was going, I felt like I was getting stronger and made it to the finish line as fast as I could.”

Racing in the eighth lane, Chenoweth won the 110 hurdles, becoming the only Summit athlete to win a state title this year with a time of 14.99 seconds.

“I was clean the whole race which helped me out so much,” Chenoweth said. “I was smooth going through.”

To win the race and the title, it took laser-focus from Chenoweth. The hurdles on the track were taking a beating from the competitors.

“You stay in this small lane and you have to be efficient when running,” Chenoweth said. “It is a struggle. I heard the hurdles being hit, but I just stayed straight on my mindset. I had to stay strong and focus on my race, not theirs.”