EUGENE – A year ago, Kaydon Haro had a surprising finish in the 200 meters at the state track and field championships when as a wild card he placed third.

This year, the Culver junior sprinter left no doubt with a blazing time of 22.44 seconds to claim the Class 2A 200 title Friday evening at Hayward Field.

“I’ve been preparing a lot this season and all of last summer,” Haro said. “I was a wild card last year and wasn’t supposed to make the podium and ended up getting third. I think this year is a real treat to come in first.

“Before the race, my coaches told me to hit the track and attack the track as hard as you can,” Haro said. “And that is what I did.”

The 200 was the first individual title for Haro and second overall. He was part of Culver’s title-winning 4×100 relay team a year ago. Friday night he said he wanted to set the 2A state-meet record. He came up just shy of that, but set a personal record in the event.

“I was going for the meet record,” Haro said. “But I am very happy with the gold.”