Despite the Great Northern League’s two slots per event limitation, Cheney High School’s track and field teams put on a good show at regional competition last Friday at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.
The Blackhawks boys and girls teams both finished seventh out of a field consisting of the five GNL schools and 10 schools from the Central Washington Athletic Conference. The Cheney boys tallied 60 points while the girls racked up 51.
Ellensburg and West Valley (Spokane) tied on the boys side for team champion while the host Bulldog girls ran away from the field to claim the crown.
“With the CWAC limiting us (GNL) to two spots on the line, it cut our ranks down a bit this year,” boys head coach Derek Slaughter said in an email. “With that being said, we qualified almost all the boys we sent to regionals to state.”
The Blackhawk boys are sending seven athletes on to 2A state competition this weekend at Mt. Tahoma High School just south of Tacoma. Leading the way are regional champions Camden Verstrate and Jacob McGourin.
Verstrate captured titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes, setting a personal record of 10.65 seconds in the former and a PR of 21.99 in the latter under windy conditions in Ellensburg. McGourin won the discus with a toss of 145, 8 inches, and teamed with Verstrate, Bryden Esquibel and Jaheem Peele on the 4x100 team that finished second with a time of 43.96 — just 3/100ths of a second back of regional title winners West Valley.
Also advancing to Mt. Tahoma were Ryan Riekmann and Mekhai Goodloe. Riekmann finished second in the javelin with a throw of 169 feet even while Goodloe joins fellow seniors Verstrate and McGourin with a third-place finish in the shot put, going 47-10.50 at Ellensburg.
Just missing a trip was senior Dawson West, who set a new PR of 6 feet in the high jump but finished fourth by two inches.
Four Cheney girls are boarding the bus for Lakewood, led by junior Sophia Van Wormer, who captured the pole vault regional title at Ellensburg with a vault of 11-06. Freshman Abigail Scott was second in the javelin with a toss of 115-08, while Hunter Holsten was third in the shot put at 35-10.50 and Maddie Warren set a new PR of 26.22 for third in the 200.
Senior Kaitren Fisher finished fourth in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 48.2, while sophomore Jaela Thornburg was sixth in the 400. The 4x100 team finished fourth and the 4x200 and 4x400 teams both finished fifth.
“The entire girls team competed their hearts out at regionals and had great performances all around,” girls head coach Emily Stralser said in an email. “We weren’t able to get out as many girls as we wanted, but we are very proud of the girls that did.”
Stralser added that none of the Blackhawk girls advancing to state are seniors, something that bodes well for a “strong team next year.”
Slaughter noted that last year’s state champion boys team was led by then-senior Charles Johnson, who won the 100 and 200 titles and anchored the state-championship 4x100 team, along with a strong supporting cast in the running events.. This year, that role falls to Verstrate, who is supported by field events.
“Last year we were led by Charles Johnson and a supporting cast on the track,” Slaughter said. “It will be fun to see what the throws can bring to the table this year.”
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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