The U.S. Junior Nationals, which runs concurrent to the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field this weekend, will have a South Coast flair.

Recently graduated state champions Moriah Roberge of Marshfield and Cole Scherer of Bandon will compete in their specialties in the meet at Hayward Field.

Roberge will compete with many of the nation’s top young pole vaulters on Friday evening, while Scherer will be in the men’s javelin on Sunday afternoon.

Understandably, both local athletes are thrilled for the chance to compete on the national stage, with crowds expected to be around 12,000 people every day.

Roberge has competed regularly at Hayward Field in the Class 5A state meet, which she won the past two years. She thrilled the crowd this spring by clearing 12 feet, 91⁄ 2 inches to qualify for Junior Nationals.

“I’m excited,” she said, adding that she’s looking forward to the tough competition.

Roberge is seeded 14th, but her bigger concern is clearing the opening height of 12-31⁄ 2.

“The opening height is a little high,” she said. “If I make it, I’ll be OK.”

Roberge said she has been practicing well and routinely clearing the height during workouts.

This is her first time competing on the national level since she was at the Junior Olympics national meet at Hayward Field before her eighth-grade year. It’s also her last meet before college, when she joins the San Diego State University team.

“I want to enjoy it,” she said, adding that she also has a goal of beating her mark from the state meet and hopes to finish in the top eight.

“If I don’t PR, I’ll probably be a little disappointed,” she said.

Roberge spent her entire season with her eyes on the qualifying mark, and finally hit it at the state meet.

Scherer, on the other hand, didn’t realize he had qualified until after his season ended.

After he won the Class 3A state title, he and his father, Guy, were trying to find another meet so he could try to improve on his season best mark of 202 feet, 3 inches, which came in the season opener. During that search, they realized he had met the qualifying standard and turned their focus to this week.

“I’m very excited,” Scherer said, adding that he has been training by throwing and hitting the weight room, which was his workout regimen before track season in the winter. He cut back on the weights and spent more time running during the season, helping both Bandon relays place at state.

“Ever since track ended, I stopped running and did more weight training,” he said. “Hopefully it will help out a little bit.”

Scherer was unbeaten during the high school season, but has no aspirations of winning Sunday. He was in the crowd at Hayward Field when Gresham’s Sam Crouser broke the Oregon state record with a throw of 231-3 at the Class 6A state meet. College freshmen make up most of the rest of the field this weekend, and Scherer is seeded 13th out of 20 throwers.

“It should be fun,” he said. “Sam Crouser will be there. That will be amazing.”

Rather than focusing on place, Scherer wants to have a big throw to finish his season off.

“I kind of want to get farther than that first meet,” he said. “I’m kind of bummed I never got up there again.”

Unlike Roberge, Scherer won’t join a college team, instead planning to study at Oregon State University and hoping to join up with a Eugene club team.

Also unlike Roberge, he hasn’t been able to compete at Hayward Field regularly, since the Class 3A state meet is held in Monmouth. The last time he competed at Hayward was for a Junior Olympics regional meet his fifth-grade year.

He and his dad did watch the men’s javelin at the Olympic Trials last year, and he’s been at other big meets in Eugene. But this will be the first time he’s been competing in the infield, and certainly the first with a huge, loud crowd.

“It’s going to be pretty amazing,” he said.