The history of the Coos County Meet is one that displays many diverse time periods along the South Coast. This year, another milestone has been reached: the 100th-annual running of the county meet, the oldest in Oregon.

Since the spring of 1909, citizens of the South Coast have seen numerous historical events. From the Roaring ’20s to World War II, and few things have stayed as consistent as the county meet.

The meet originated when the Coos County Athletic Association invited high school boys from all Coos County schools to compete in a series of foot races and throwing events at the Marshfield fairgrounds. There were eight events at the first meet — the 100-yard dash, 220-yard dash, 440-yard run, mile run, half-mile relay, broad jump, shot put and high jump.

Since the 1909 meet, things have changed dramatically. From scoring, to types of events, to the units of measure. The meet also has been held in many locations. Though Marshfield has hosted it most of the last 50 years, North Bend, Myrtle Point and Coquille also have played host at one time or another.     

In 1919, North Bend held the county meet at “the baseball park.” North Bend, Coquille and Myrtle Point were the only schools that attended the meet, because Marshfield and Bandon had not yet passed anti-tobacco resolutions in accordance with Coos County Athletic Association rules.  

Since then, North Bend also hosted the meet in 1955 and 1987 — due to a teacher’s strike in Coos Bay — and once more in 1997, while the Marshfield High School track was undergoing repairs. Myrtle Point hosted the meet eight times between 1914 and 1939 at the county fairgrounds. Coquille hosted in 1940.

In the early days, the competition also included Arago, Coos River and Riverton high schools. Early on, participants arrived by train the evening before the meet, and they were greeted with a banquet that often included high school speech contests, drama productions and musical events. The event marked a special time for local athletes, and for many schools it was their only meet prior to competing at the state championships. Prior to World War II, the county competition served as a qualifier for the state meet since there were no district championships at the time.

Perhaps the biggest change to the county meet came in 1976.

Nearly 70 years after the first Coos County track meet was held, the federal legislation Title IX was passed. Title IX required that girls be eligible to participate in any education program, which included sporting events. So in 1976, girls competed in the first female county championship — Marshfield took home the title. The meet has been coed ever since.

Local female athletes have been particularly dominant in the past decade. Of the 17 current girls’ Coos County records, 14 have been set within the last 10 meets. Most recently was Marshfield’s Amber Wiley who cleared 11 feet, 5 inches in the pole vault last spring.

On the boys side, Marshfield has consistently been the top school in the county. From 1950 to 1982, the Pirates won 28 of 29 boys championships, which included a 16-year winning streak.

Throughout the history of the boys meet, Marshfield has taken home the team title 67 times, North Bend 14 times, Myrtle Point nine times, Coquille six times and Bandon twice. The only tie came in 1928 when Marshfield and North Bend concluded the meet with 481⁄2 points each.

The girls’ scores stack up in a similar way. Marshfield has taken first 22 times, while North Bend has six championships and Coquille has four.

From many of these great teams have come some amazing athletes. Most notably of the South Coast, and arguably Oregon as a whole, was former Marshfield star Steve Prefontaine.

In the 1969 county meet, Pre —the national high school record holder for the two-mile run— made an honorable attempt at breaking the 4-minute mile barrier. He came up just short at 4:06, in front of a crowd of roughly 1,800 people. And in 2001, Marshfield dedicated its new state-of-the-art facility with the name Steve Prefontaine Track.  

Since the new facilities were completed, many records have been broken. Marshfield’s Leah Worthen, who now competes for the University of Oregon, set one of the most impressive marks in the meet’s history by winning the 100, 200 and 400 meters four years in a row. Coquille’s Amy Nickerson also had a dominant run in the late ’90s in the 800- and 1,500-meter races — she still holds the record for both races.    

 A similar mark was set last year when then-Coquille senior Josh Frasier took home his fourth straight title in the 1,500-meter race. Though the competition of North Bend’s trio of Spenser Lynass, Steven Garboden and Trevor Berrian, along with Bandon’s Logan Scherer and Marshfield’s Jared Bassett, did not make Frasier’s victory an easy one, and made the race the best in recent years at the distance.

Many former competitors will be on hand for the proceedings Friday night, when more history is made. Field events will begin at 3:30 p.m., with the opening ceremony beginning at 5. Admission will be $3 for adults and $1 for children.