By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
Cheney's boys' and girls' track teams took part in last Saturday's Mooberry Relays, hosted by Rogers High School and held at Whitworth University's track, with both squads managing top-10 finishes despite cool and sometimes sloppy weather.
The Blackhawks' boys took sixth out of 20 teams with a score of 60 points, well back of meet champion Mead with 192, but 12 ahead of fellow Great Northern League opponent West Valley. The Hawks' girls also finished sixth out of 22 teams with 44.5 points, while the Mead girls took top honors with 87.5.
Diondre Moore-Young had the biggest day for the boys, finishing 1-2-3 in three track events. The sophomore took first in the 300-meter low hurdles with a time of 42.1 seconds, was second in the 110-high hurdles with a time of 15.5 and third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.10.
Arick Zachman broke the 10-minute barrier to finish second in the 3,200 with a time of 9 minutes, 59.5 seconds; an impressive achievement head coach Todd Hering said.
“Eastern Washington is known for distances and there were some good schools there, so for him to get second was good,” Hering added.
Daniel Issa finished fifth overall in the 3,200, with fellow senior Reese Martin finishing sixth in the Gerry Lindgren Mile with a time of 4:35 when corrected for the 1,600, which is shorter than a mile and typically run in high school track meets. The Hawks' 4x100 relay team captured third with at time of 47.3 to wrap up the boys' track events.
In the field, senior Jeff Rodgers turned in the best showing with first in the discus, posting a winning throw of 141 feet, 4 inches, about six feet short of his personal best.
“He's done a lot in the off season to improve his strength and it's beginning to show,” Hering said.
Hering added that Nathaniel Youmans also had a good meet, despite finishing out of the ribbons. Youmans had a leap of 41-9 in the triple jump; a good mark considering the sophomore took off about a foot behind the board.
Shaley Ham tied for first in the high jump to lead the Cheney girls. The junior went 5-2, finishing even with Mead's Kira Winston and Gonzaga Prep's Jazmine Brown.
On the track, Shelby Maurer was second in the 100 with a time of 12.5. Emily Stralser finished third in the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.7, fourth in the 100 hurdles, while freshman Briana Estrellado pulled the surprise of the day for Cheney by posting a time of 1:04.6 to finish third in the 400 – the first time she has run the race in competition, head coach Tom Stralser said.
The 4x100 relay team finished a strong second with a time of 51.3, while the 4x200 team took third with a time of 1:50.5. The 4x400 team was fourth with a mark of 4:19, but by that point was really running on “dead legs” Stralser said.
Stralser added that distance runners Kali Klotz-Brooks and Savannah Phelan both posted good times in the 3,200, while senior Bryanna Pavlish went 108-8 in the javelin, and 97-7 in her first attempt at competing in the discus. Kara Plummer turned in a new PR in the shot with a toss of 27.7, two feet better than her previous best.
“We had some pretty good things happen,” Stralser said of the team's overall performance. “The girls competed well.”
Both Stralser and Hering felt good about their athletes' performances at Whitworth, especially given the weeklong break for spring vacation, and that it was really only the Hawks' second competitive meet, and it was held in less than desirable conditions to boot.
Cheney picks up its schedule this week, with two meets on Saturday. Eight girls and 14 boys have qualified for the mega-team Pasco Invitational while the rest of the team will take part in the Big Red Classic at Cheney High School, start time 11 a.m.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com
Reader Comments(0)