Tostenson sets state’s best mark in Crater-dominated 800 meters
Published 11:33 am Sunday, May 4, 2025
Crater senior Josiah Tostenson heads down the straightaway en route to a school-record effort in the boys 800-meter run at the 86th Medford Rotary Relays Saturday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Crater seniors Josiah Tostenson, far left, and Tayvon Kitchen, front, gear up for an 800-meter race that was later postponed Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)
Crater senior Josiah Tostenson, far left, leads into the final lap in an 800-meter boys race dominated by the Comets during the 86th annual Medford Rotary Relays Saturday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Crater senior Josiah Tostenson walks through his warm-up routine prior to the postponement of Friday's 800-meter boys race at Spiegelberg Stadium for the 86th annual Medford Rotary Relays. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)
Crater's Josiah Tostenson sprints to the finish in 1:51.62 to win the 800-meter run during the 86th annual Medford Rotary Relays at Bowerman Field Saturday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
Washington-bound senior notches his fourth individual school record with team effort at Medford Rotary Relays
Josiah Tostenson and his Crater teammates wanted to put on a show for the Rogue Valley during this year’s 86th annual Medford Rotary Relays.
Despite having to wait an extra day to pull it off, the Comets absolutely did that in one of the highlight efforts Saturday at Bowerman Field.
Tostenson secured a state-best mark in the 800-meter run this season — and subsequent school record — with his winning time of 1 minute, 51.62 seconds leading a quartet of Comets that crossed the finish line ahead of all others.
Sophomore Max Miracle, who led the state in the event earlier in April, finished runner-up in 1:52.73, followed by seniors Tayvon Kitchen (1:55.25) and Ivar Hokanson (1:57.80). All marks were personal records on an overcast and cool morning at North Medford High.
“We wanted to come out here and just make it a fast race,” said Tostenson. “We don’t get to race a lot in front of the Rogue Valley people, because we’ve got to pick and choose our races. We travel a lot, and not every home meet or meet around the valley can we make it to, so we wanted for our first time this year just to make it a fast race and let people enjoy the sport.”
North Medford senior Owen Neely broke up the string of Comets with a fifth-place mark of 1:57.85, but Crater junior Preston Schmidt wasn’t far off in sixth place (1:59.85).
Typically someone who runs longer distances, Tostenson had designs on making a little history during the 800 in his first local showing after setting the state — and nation — on fire with his closing efforts during the indoor season and early outdoor marks exclusively on the road this spring.
Crater’s Josiah Tostenson sprints to the finish in 1:51.62 to win the 800-meter run during the 86th annual Medford Rotary Relays at Bowerman Field Saturday. (Andy Atkinson / for the Rogue Valley Times)
“That was 100% the emphasis,” Tostenson said of lowering the school record. “We knew we were gonna go for it.”
A two-time Class 5A state champion in the 1,500 meters and reigning champ in the 3,000, the senior standout certainly does 800s during his training regimen, but has rarely competed at that distance since placing fourth at state as a sophomore.
“I definitely only get about one shot a year typically at the 800,” he said. “I feel like I’ve always wanted to run a little bit faster than I had back in the past. I always have good expectations, so today I was able to go out there — and conditions were still not the greatest — and run a fast time and take it from gun to tape. I’m excited with the performance, but I know I can run a lot faster than that in the (800). Still, I got the school record so I think everything’s good.”
It’s the fourth individual school record for Tostenson, who has spent this spring rewriting Crater’s record book in the 1,500 (3:43.83) and 1,600 (3:59.25), as well as the one-mile run (4:00.69). The latter effort put him No. 2 in Oregon high school history in the mile, surpassing Galen Rupp, and the University of Washington commit also holds the state record in the 1,500 after posting a 3:40.06 as an unattached runner.
“Since the indoor season started, I have just been on a roll,” said the 18-year-old New Balance representative. “I feel like I’ve gotten faster and faster and more fit. Every workout for me has just been inclining in my fitness. So I think I’ve set myself up really well for popping off this offseason.”
Tostenson’s showing in the 800 was barely enough to eclipse Bryan Berryhill’s effort in 1996 (1:51.65), and all of his other records were previously set by Tyrone Gorze in 2023.
Crater seniors Josiah Tostenson, far left, and Tayvon Kitchen, front, gear up for an 800-meter race that was later postponed Friday night at Spiegelberg Stadium. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)
If that’s not enough, Tostenson also stands second in the school record book in the 2,000 (5:36.89) and two-mile run (8:58.13) to Gorze, and runner-up to Kitchen in the 3,200 (8:39.89). Kitchen set the latter standard of 8:33.82 last week to break Gorze’s unattached state-best mark of 8:36.87, and the BYU-bound senior also holds the state and school record in the 3,000 (8:01.56) — with Tostenson third on that list (8:09.28).
Tostenson and Kitchen have also played key roles in leading Crater to four straight 5A cross country state titles, with Kitchen a two-time individual state champion over the unsteady terrain.
At the heart of all of those record marks in Oregon — including national titles earned in the distance medley relay — and Crater’s steady history of being one of the top 5A track and field programs has been head coach Justin Loftus and a dedicated group of assistants.
“I think the biggest thing is just how amazing the coaching is at Crater, all the way from the sprints to Loftus at long distance,” Tostenson said of the team’s consistent success. “We’re such a close team, and in all the events we compete and we’re just gritty. We’re a smaller school, so I feel like we’ve always got a lot to prove. The coaches come out and they give us what we’ve got to do, and the athletes are never scared to attack that.”
The possibility for such high marks in the 800 was actually set in place Friday night, when race director Piet Voskes and other meet officials opted to hold off on the event’s featured boys race until Saturday due to extreme wind gusts and chilly temperatures at Spiegelberg Stadium.
All of the runners went through their pre-race warmups and had donned their spikes before learning that the race was postponed Friday night.
Tostenson said he and his teammates had mixed feelings about the race delay — mostly just in terms of wanting to get it over with — but appreciated the handling of the decision to give the group their best chance to shine.
Crater senior Josiah Tostenson walks through his warm-up routine prior to the postponement of Friday’s 800-meter boys race at Spiegelberg Stadium for the 86th annual Medford Rotary Relays. (Kris Henry / Rogue Valley Times)
“I feel like we still had a hard week of training, so my legs were sore,” said Tostenson, “so the extra day was good on my legs, for sure. I could tell it was windy, so I was a little nervous about the time (Friday). I think it was a good thing to move it back, and I think everything kind of went according to plan today in terms of just what we wanted from the race.”
“We’re all just thankful to have such good race administration around here,” he added. “Everybody in the Rogue Valley is so helpful to push back races and to do what they’ve got to do for other athletes, and all the coaches around the Rogue Valley get along and they share information. I think it’s all great, and it’s why we’ve seen a lot of success in the Rogue Valley lately. As long as things keep rolling, it’s just going to be really good for the sport out here.”
That helpful nature extended to an unsung hero in senior Hudson Barsalou, who went out and set the pace for the group in the 800 before stepping aside after one lap.
“He went out there and did perfectly what I needed in the 400, I think around 53 (seconds),” said Tostenson. “I think I could have closed stronger and I could have run a lot faster, but my legs were just a little flat in that last 200.”
While it was fun to watch for those in attendance, it was really nothing new for the Crater boys, who are a tight unit and seem to feed off each other.
“Max, Preston, me, Tayvon, Ivar, we all do workouts every day together, and we push each other in those workouts,” said Tostenson. “We’ve done 800 time trials this year on the track and it was pretty similar to what went down, just us pushing each other all the way to the tape. It was nothing too out of the ordinary, we just knew we had to go out there and just pedal to the metal.”
Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035
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