Submitted photos
There was no shortage of record-breaking performances by some of the young Redwood Elementary track and field athletes this spring.
And no one impressed more than eighth grader Asher Fry.
Fry capped a remarkable individual season by qualifying for the recent Oregon state Meet of Champions, where he continued to set new standards for the Del Norte County athletes.
The young standout broke a county record in the high jump that had stood for 18 years, and he would continue to break his own record as the season progressed.
Fry, who appears to have a very bright future in the sport, got his season off to a flying start when he set a new county mark of 6’ in his very first meet of the year.
That broke the old county record of 5’ 10”, which was set by Kris Larson in the spring of 2008.
For good measure, Fry would continue to set new standards in the high jump with jumps of 6’ 0.5” and eventually 6’ 1”.
He recently closed out a memorable season by becoming the first-ever eighth grader from Del Norte to win the event at the Oregon Meet of Champions in Corvallis, which showcases the best middle schoolers in the state of Oregon.
He cleared 6’ again on his way to the victory.
But Fry was far from the only Del Norte youngster to impress this spring, with three other county records falling.
Elijiah Brunson set a new mark in the boys 200 meter hurdles with a time of 28.37 seconds.
Brunson’s time smashed the old county record of 29.84 seconds, which was set by Aaron Mignon in 2015.
Submitted photo
And that wasn’t all for the impressive Fry and Brunson.
The talented duo also teamed with Phillip Tran and Will Trujillo to set a new county record for the Redwood Elementary boys in the 4x100m relay.
The speedy foursome finished in a time of 49.04 seconds, breaking the previous record of 49.19 seconds, which had been set by Crescent Elk back in 1988.
And rounding out a very impressive season for the Crescent City school, Hale Heuberger also set a new county record in the girls 200m hurdles.
The young Heuberger finished in a time of 32.79 seconds and broke the old county record of 33.34 seconds set by Jaylee Keeling in 2024.
Categories: Editorial, Track and field, Youth sports
I am quite certain that the 8th grade high jump record was actually set by David Mogni while attending Ferndale Elementary School. The year would have been 1971 and high jumpers of the day fell into piles of sawdust after clearing the bar. That spring, Mogni used the “Western Roll” to clear 6′ 3 1/2″ at a middle school track meet held at Mckinleyvile Middle School. This was a year or two before Dick Fosberry of Oregon State University would introduce the ‘Fosberry Flop’ to the world, and high jumpers abandoned the forward-facing technique that Mogni used that afternoon. And yes, he and the other high jump contestants that competed that day landed in a rain-soaked pile of wet sawdust!
Dave Mogni’s athletic accomplishments while at Ferndale High (1972-1975) are widely accepted as representative of the overall, best male athlete to have ever come out of Humbodlt County. His prowess in football, basketball, track and field, and baseball was legendary. Ask any high school athlete that competed against Mogni in the 70’s and they willshare just how talented he was.
Mogni later became a phenomenal college athlete at College of the Redwoods, and finally at Cal where as a walk-on, he started a wide receiver both his junior and senior years as a Golden Bear. I just wanted to share that I was witness that day in 1971 to Dave Mogni’s 6′ 3 1/2″ jump and can verify that he cleared that height with room to spare!
Dr. Jim Estes
Mesa, AZ
Asher set the record for Del Norte County.