After Roosevelt High School junior Aster Jones crossed the finish line in the 6A girls 200 meter race Saturday, May 31 at Hayward Field in Eugene, she almost fell to the track.

Jones suspects she hurt her hamstring in a previous race, but powered through the injury to win the 200, finishing her day with three gold medals that includes wins in the 100 and 4×100 relay.

What helped her stay on her feet following the 200 though wasn’t just Jones’ grit, but rather the helping hands of senior teammate Ellis Heslam.

Heslam finished fourth in the race, but immediately came over to congratulate her teammate that she’s seen blossom into a sprinting star.

The two helped power the Roughriders to a fourth place finish as a team in 6A to take home a trophy and cement their friendship into a True North legacy.

“It’s always nice to have a teammate in the same race as you,” Jones said of Heslam. “Finishing and knowing that was our last high school race together, it just means so much to the both of us. To be able to finish with a win and having her on my side makes the whole experience 10 times better.”

“I’m so proud, even getting to watch (Jones’) improvement and just growth and maturity on and off the track from last year is really exciting,” Heslam said. “Getting to watch her win and do big things. I’m gonna keep track of her next year even though I won’t be here, so I’m really just really excited for her.”

The day started off big for the pair as they helped win the 4×100 girls relay alongside junior Nevaeh Landrum and junior Mia Chadney.

The four worked together to complete the race in 47.30 seconds, breaking their own school record and becoming the sixth fastest 4×100 girls relay time in Oregon state history.

But what that first-place finish really helped did was make sure Heslam, who’s competed against some of Oregon’s best athletes in her select track events over her four years, leaves Roosevelt with her first gold medal.

“I was so excited, that was my dream,” Heslam said. “My graduation is on Sunday, and that’s the one thing I really want to do. To do it with (Jones) is super exciting. I don’t know if you saw her reaction, but we’re thrilled. I don’t think there’s a better way to end my high school track career.”

Jones was naturally the anchor leg and as she crossed the finish line in first she let out a small scream in celebration, showing how much she and the whole team wanted to do this for Heslam.

Heslam came to Roosevelt and immediately started breaking school records her freshman year, but she’s had to deal with the likes of former Lake Oswego star Josie Donelson in the 400 and now Newberg’s Sophia Castaneda, who beat out Heslam on Saturday. Heslam crossed in a PR time of 54.31 seconds.

In the 100, it’s been Jones or Jones’ older sister Lily or LO’s Mia Brahe-Pedersen setting generational times in front of the senior Rider.

Heslam never let that get in the way of finding her own success though, and for her efforts she’s heading to Utah to continue her track career and owns the Roosevelt school record in the 400 and 800.

“Definitely,” Heslam said of facing tough competition in all of her events. “You have to be, I think, a special kind of person to run the 400 almost every single meet. I think that really helps in everything, especially just in life in general, it really pushes you.”

That drive is what pushed Jones to complete her 3-for-3 day despite that hamstring causing some discomfort in the 100 and 200 races.

It couldn’t have bothered her much for the 100 as she set a new personal record time of 11.51 seconds as she easily beat out the competition and blew them away with a kiss to the sky as she crossed the finish line.

For the 200 though, Jones was considering sitting it out as the pain in her right leg continued to nag.

But sitting on the sidelines isn’t really her style.

“I think I made (the hamstring) worse, but I definitely don’t regret doing (the 200),” Jones said. “I would have been more upset had I just watched and sat there and not be in that much pain than win and be in a little more pain.”

Jones said she had a gap between her and second place in the 200, allowing her to coast in the event a little bit.

However, her time of 23.95 suggests anything but coasting. If her PR wasn’t already 23.17, her time on Saturday would have placed her seventh all-time in state.

Being able to push through the injury and still get the win is a sign of growth in the eyes of Jones.

“I just wanted to cross in first, that’s all that mattered to me,” Jones said. “Just knowing that 23.9 would have been my best-best effort last year just shows a lot of growth for me as an athlete and that I can persevere through hard injuries.”

Add up the points and it gave Roosevelt a fourth-place finish with 43, beating out Lincoln in fifth with 35.5. Jesuit won the team title with 54.5, followed by West Linn in second with 52 and Tigard in third with 43.5.

It’s another trophy for the case up in North Portland, and it’s one that will always hold a special meaning to Jones and Heslam no matter where their track careers take them.