Myrtle Point seniors Garren Hitner, left, and Casey Cagley will compete in the high hurdles at the district meet. World Photo by John Gunther.

MYRTLE POINT — Casey Cagley and Garren Hitner will step into the blocks for the 110-meter high hurdles some time around 3:10 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Glide High School.

The Myrtle Point seniors — two of the more versatile track and field athletes on the South Coast — probably will fare well in the race at the Sunset Conference championships. That they are even entered is the result of an unexpected set of circumstances.

Both are four-year competitors for the Bobcats, and successful ones at that. Hitner was state champion in the javelin when they were freshmen. Cagley has qualified for state each season in the pole vault and finished second last year.

But until recently, neither had competed in the high hurdles. Cagley did dabble in the intermediate hurdles as a freshman and sophomore, competing in three races during the two seasons.

Cagley made the switch first. The Bobcats were getting ready for the Pacific Invitational in early April when Cagley learned he wouldn’t be able to do his specialty because Pacific doesn’t have a pole vault pit. He asked coach Marty Stallard what he should do at the meet and Stallard suggested the hurdles.

“I’ve always wanted to try them,” Cagley said. “I was scared. But when I tried them, it was fun.”

Stallard remembers the race well.

“He three-stepped six of them, then four-stepped one,” Stallard said of Cagley’s hurdle pattern during the race. “Then he went back to three-stepping. I said, ‘You’re a hurdler.’”

Cagley’s time was just more than 18 seconds that night. But he’s quickly improved to running in the mid-16 second range, good enough that he ranks fifth in Class 3A and second in the Sunset Conference.

“I’m just trying to get better,” said Cagley, who has natural speed, and has improved his form dramatically.

Hitner’s story is more unlikely.

Throughout his career, he has specialized in field events.

“I didn’t have to run,” he said.

His events this year have primarily been the javelin, shot put, high jump and long jump.

But an ankle injury has bothered him throughout the season and he’s not happy with how he has been doing in the long jump. He was wary of competing in both that and the high jump on the same day, even though he has the league’s top mark in the high jump and ranks second in the long jump.

So Hitner asked Stallard if he could try the hurdles to have another event at the district meet.

That was Monday.

“The first time he tried it, I said, ‘Don’t get hurt,’” Stallard said. “Then he started getting better and better.”

On Wednesday, during just his third day of practice, Hitner was keeping up with Cagley for five or six hurdles.

“It’s the form going over the hurdles that I’ve got to get down.” Hitner said.

Stallard has been continually impressed by his new hurdlers throughout their careers.

“They’ve both developed into really good athletes,” he said. “Casey has turned into a strong, competitive athlete. He can do anything. Garren’s the same mold ... maybe bigger and stronger.”

Heading into the district meet, Cagley shares the top mark in Class 3A in the pole vault after clearing 14 feet for the first time last week. He also ranks third in the Sunset Conference in the triple jump.

“The triple jump is another one I always wanted to try, but I didn’t know if I’d be good at it,” he said.

His first jump in the event was nearly 40 feet, a strong mark.

Cagley also ranks sixth in the conference in the long jump.

Hitner, meanwhile, ranks third in the league in the shot put and also in the javelin, where Bandon’s Cole Scherer and Cascade Christian’s Daniel Kinney share the state lead. All three could advance to the state meet in the event because they repeatedly have surpassed the automatic qualifying mark.

Stallard wouldn’t be surprised if Hitner won the javelin on Saturday.

“If he’s rested, he’s due for a big (throw),” Stallard said.

When the track season ends for Cagley and Hitner, it also will mark the end of a pair of standout multi-sport careers for the Bobcats.

Both have been key contributors to Myrtle Point’s football team — Hitner was a force at linebacker for three seasons. In the winter, Cagley was a three-time state qualifier in wrestling and Hitner was one of the area’s better post players in basketball.

Hitner likes finishing the year with track.

“You have team sports all year,” he said. “It’s the one sport that’s individual — whatever you put into it you get out of it.”

Cagley likes it enough he plans to continue track while he studies graphic design or Web design at Southwestern Oregon Community College next year — Hitner plans to study forestry management at Oregon State University.

Cagley plans to continue the pole vault, an event he’s loved since he first tried it in seventh grade.

But this year also has taught him to keep an open mind.

“I stuck to the pole vault all the way until this year,” he said. “I was too concentrated in the pole vault.”

The success he’s had in the hurdles and triple jump show what can happen when he branches out.