CHENEY — Blackhawks track and field head coach Derek Slaughter has always had confidence in the skills and abilities of his athletes and has never expressed apprehension about facing teams from larger schools.
That includes Cheney’s first foray in its return to the Greater Spokane League as a 3A school. That took place April 16, with the Blackhawk boys edging 4A Gonzaga Prep 73-71 in action at Tom Oswald Field.
While losing 94.5 – 46.5 to the Bullpups, Cheney’s young girls team was competitive despite missing a number of athletes due to spring break.
The Blackhawk boys showed balance, with wins — including several 1-2 finishes — on the track and in the field. Jackson Talarico and Braxton Hinton went 1-2 in the 100 meter dash, with Talarico taking first with a time of 11.75 and Hinton second in 11.77 — both personal bests.
Garrett Roettger and Cameron Teresi went 1-2 in the 400 with times of 55.70 and 57.50 — the latter a PR for Teresi. Lincoln Marsh was second in the 200 with a PR of 24.92 while senior Beckett Schoenleber was second in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter runs, setting a PR in the former of 4:34.11.
Cheney swept both relays, with the meet’s last event, the 4x400 relay proving to be the deciding factor in their win. The team of Teresi, Adam Estock, Dylan Thornburg and Schoenleber took first in 3:49.97 while the team of Teagan O’Callaghan, Hinton, Kordell Laher and Roettger was second in 3:51.60.
“After two years and moving up to the 3A/4A league it still came down to the 4-by-400 meter relay for the win,” Slaughter said.
The 4x100 team of Ian Schwendiman, Ryan Rieckmann, Hinton and Talarico was first in 44.74.
In the field, senior Charles Johnson and junior Andrew Reimer-Golden went 1-2 in the shot put, with Johnson getting off a toss of 38 feet, 7 inches and Reimer-Golden a PR of 35-05. Rieckmann won the javelin with a PR toss of 179-05 — fourth best so far in the state. The senior is just over two inches behind Dash Sirmon of Walla Walla and about 4.5 inches back of second place Mark Schlichting of Ferndale — with Olympia’s Jack Olsen leading with a throw of 199-03.
Mike Levchenko won the high jump at 6-00 and Landon Moad and Tucker VanWormer went 1-2 in the pole vault — both with PRs. Schwendiman was second in the long jump with a PR of 18-1.75 and Jonah Coffin led a string of Blackhawks that went 2 – 7 in the discus with a second-place PR of 79-07.
Hannah Ayers and Jaela Thornburg led the Cheney girls on the track, with Ayers winning the 100 and 300 meter hurdles in 18:44 and 51.99 — both PRs — and Thornburg second in the 800 in 2:45.94. The 4x200 relay team of Joy Assonken, Marie Mayfield, Thornburg and Carissa Hinton was second in 2:02.28 and the 4x400 team of Ayers, Thornburg, Hinton and Mayfield placed second in 4:47.73.
Cheney’s scoring came mostly in the field events. Senior Malea Farrell led a group finishing 1-2-3 in the shot put, winning with a throw of 33-10. Meaghan Estock was second and Rebekah Blom was third. Farrell and Estock also went 1-2 respectively in the discus, with Farrell winning with a throw of 78-10.
Senior Peyton Knox, Assonken and Hope Schneider went 1-2-3 in the javelin, with Knox setting a new PR of 100-02 for the win. Emma Dennstaedt wrapped up Cheney’s scoring with a win in the high jump at 4-08.
Slaughter was pleased with his teams’ performances in their first meet, and expects to see improvement as the season progresses and the weather warms.
“This team has some great pieces to build on for years to come,” he said of the boys squad. Of the girls, he added “This group is only going to get better with age. We had a lot of girls out with injuries and for travel. By the end of the season, we will find out identity and build for next year and a post season.”
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)