For Olson and Eastman, it’s mission accomplished in track and field

It was a dream season for Hilmar High School hurdler Dani Olson and Buhach Colony high jumper Stephon Eastman.

Both reached their ultimate goal of advancing to the CIF State Track and Field Championships, a goal that was a four-year journey filled with doubt.

“I’m pretty happy with my season,” Eastman said. “I had two big goals this year. One was to clear anything over 6-foot-4. The biggest goal was making it to state, but I didn’t think I’d make it.”

The Thunder senior did, clearing 6-7 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet to qualify for state. Olson earned her trip to Clovis with a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles.

For their efforts, Olson and Eastman are the Sun-Star Track and Field Athletes of the Year.

“I’m proud. It’s very rare for a person from Hilmar to get to that level,” Olson said. “I was proud to have the opportunity.”

Olson and Eastman earned big points for their teams with their versatility. Olson runs the 100 and 200 and the 100 and 300 hurdles. She qualified for the Division IV-V section meet in the 200 and both hurdle events.

Eastman qualified for the Division I section meet in the 100, 200 and high jump. He set personal records in the 100 (11.15 seconds) and 200 (22.59) during Central California Conference center meets.

In each conference meet, he was challenged in the sprints by Merced’s Ashanti McFarland and Atwater’s Angelo Olmos.

“It’s crazy. We pushed each other a lot,” Eastman said. “We always congratulated each other. We’d talk about it prior to the race. We went back and forth each meet.”

As the competition level increased toward the end of the season as each meet got bigger, Eastman was able to turn his focus on the high jump. He came into the season with a personal best of 6 feet. By the end of the season, he cleared 6-7.

Eastman’s best jump came at the right time. He was down to his final attempt at 6-7 in the Masters with a berth to state on the line. A miss and his season was over.

“It was definitely exciting,” Eastman said. “It was my last jump. I really need to make it. I knew if I didn’t make it, it was over. I knew it was going to be close.”

Olson battled through a midseason back injury, casting more doubt on her ability to reach state. She credits her chiropractor for allowing her to compete through the injury.

“The biggest thing was it’s my senior year,” Olson said. “This is it. My chiropractor helped keep it in check so I could compete. A couple times, I would opt out of the 300 hurdles or the 200. The biggest problem is I never took time off. I would just rest a weekend. Now that I’ve stopped for a week, my back is fine.”

Olson was at her best when it mattered. She set personal bests during Masters trials in the 100 hurdles(14.9) and 300 hurdles (46.31). When her third-place finish in the 100 hurdles final clinched her state berth, she was overcome with emotion.

“Now that it’s over, it’s been quite the journey,” Olson said. “It’s definitely been one of my best seasons of my life.”

This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 6:42 PM with the headline "For Olson and Eastman, it’s mission accomplished in track and field."