Vikings junior Destinie Tatum clocked a 4A state-best 1:01.42 in the 400-meter run at the Siuslaw Icebreaker. Kelly Potter photo

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04051651_ice6.png - Kelly Potter photo

Siuslaw Vikings junior Destinie Tatum says running 400 meters is her favorite thing to do, though it has taken her to highs and lows.

She may never have been more down on herself than when she failed to qualify for last spring's 4A state 400 finals.

Then there was the special 4x400 high school relay race at the IAAF World Championships earlier this spring in Portland.

The Vikings won in 4 minutes, 13 seconds, with Tatum running the anchor leg.

"It was so amazing. We could hear the crowd freaking out as I neared the finish line," she said. "There was this big screen and I could see myself running while I was running. It was really impressive."

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At first Tatum thought the packed Oregon Convention Center crowd was just being polite, cheering the high school kids.

"We watched it afterwards, and in every event there's that cheering," she recalled. "I thought, 'Whoa, I was part of something really cool.'"

Tatum plans to be part of something cool this spring, a state 4A track-and-field team title. She already has been part of one team title this school year, helping the Vikings win the girls' 4A state cross country championship last fall.

It's early, but Tatum already has the best 400-meter mark this spring among 4A girls, clocking a personal-best of 61.42 seconds in the Siuslaw Icebreaker on March 17.

She likes her chances as she peaks for the state championships in May, because of her not-so-secret weapon.

"There are about five girls who can win it," she said. "I feel like I have an advantage with my coach (Chris Johnson).

"I feel like he has a lot of experience in winning a lot of stuff, and I feel like he will get me there."

Johnson likes her chances, too, but is more cautionary.

"There's girls coming back who ran faster in both the 400 and the 200 than she did (in 2015)," he said. "She's not the one people would bet on.

"(But) they also don't know Destinie, and I do."

It's all about the mindset, something Johnson tries to nurture in all his athletes. Having some success along the way also helps, as it has for Tatum.

Take the 4A state championships last spring, when she failed to make the 400 finals but helped the Vikings finish fourth in the 4x400 relay.

"She was really mad about not making the finals," Johnson said. "Then she ran great in the 4x400. She ran a brilliant (anchor) leg."

Then came last fall's cross-country season.

"At first it didn't seem like she was going to make varsity," Johnson said. "I think she had a mindset change. She got better and better, and helped us win a state title."

Six weeks from this Saturday, at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Tatum hopes for a similar progression, ending in titles as an individual, on a relay and as a team.

"I feel like I'm in a good place right now," she said. "My time, it's not where I want it to be yet. But you have to think, we're getting ready to peak at state, not now."

NOTES

Tatum is one of a handful of Viking girls who will join Trent Reavis and Murray Bingham of the boys team at the 17-school Jim Robinson Bigfoot Pepsi's Twilight Invitational in Roseburg. ...

All seven members of the Vikings' reigning girls state cross country team are out for track and field, including 4A individual champion Celie Mans, a junior. ... Others include seniors Sierra Potter and Mikaela Siegel, junior Morgan Bingham and freshman twins Kaeli Ramos and Trinity Ramos. ...

Siuslaw will host a Far West League junior varsity meet today at Hans Petersen Field, and the school still is looking for volunteers to help run it. Contact the school for information. ...

Sophomore Trent Reavis has the second-best shot put throw this season among 4A athletes with a heave of 51 feet, 2.5 inches ... Molalla junior Mont Child leads for now with a 52-4. ... Reavis also is seventh in the discus (133-5). ...

Defending 4A 100-meter hurdles champion Mikaela Siegel has the best time this spring among 4A girls with a time of 16.06. ...

Morgan Bingham has the best official girls 4A 3,000-meter time of 11:21.42 that she clocked last Saturday at the Junction City Invitational. ...

Other 4A top 10 marks this spring have been turned in by Murray Bingham in the 800, 1,500 and 3,000; Annmarie Precht in the 100 and 200; Celie Mans in the 800 and 1,500; Morgan Bingham in the 800 and 1,500; Mikaela Siegel in the 300 hurdles, long jump and triple jump; Carissa Oliver in the shot put and discus; Abby Watkins in the long jump, and the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. ...

Head coach Chris Johnson handed out placement ribbons and assistant coach Pat Towne tossed out candy to those with personal bests at last Saturday's Junction City Invitational. ...