Hood River junior Titus Grimsley jumps over a hurdle at the April 7 home meet in Hood River. Grimsley had two wins with personal best times at the meet, with a 17.27 second run in the 110-meter high hurdles and a 45.44 second run in the 300 intermediates.
From left to right, Hood River long distance runners Maeve Woodruff, Sophie Kaden and Phoebe Wood challenge each other during the women’s 1500 meter run on April 7.
Hood River junior Titus Grimsley jumps over a hurdle at the April 7 home meet in Hood River. Grimsley had two wins with personal best times at the meet, with a 17.27 second run in the 110-meter high hurdles and a 45.44 second run in the 300 intermediates.
Ashley Quisenberry photo
Hood River sprinters Annika Trainer and Lilliana Wyers compete against The Dalles in the 4x100 meter relay on April 7 in Hood River.
Noah Noteboom photo
From left to right, Hood River long distance runners Maeve Woodruff, Sophie Kaden and Phoebe Wood challenge each other during the women’s 1500 meter run on April 7.
The balance of power in high school track and field tends to shift week-to-week during the spring season, as teams juggle training regimens toward season-ending district and state meets. This past week the Intermountain Conference power base tilted toward the Gorge, as Hood River and The Dalles registered some league-leading times and distances.
A number of them came at the April 7 meet hosted by Hood River, where IMC foes The Dalles and Crook County — and three local Class 1A schools (see related story) — enjoyed a 70-degree, low-wind day.
The Hood River’s girls team easily won the meet with 186 points, but the boys competition wasn’t decided until late, when the Eagle boys’ 4x400 relay edged Crook County in a thriller and sophomore Micah Castro cleared his second PR in the pole vault in as many weeks. The 10-point relay win and Castro’s two points gave HRV 155 points, while Crook County was second at 150.5.
The long relay came down to a sprint between HRV distance runner Elliot Hawley, who had won the 1500 meters and 800 earlier, and Crook County’s Kyree Willis. Hawley fought off a late challenge down the final straightaway, as the runners strode neck-and-neck around the last turn through a throng of screaming teammates lining both sides of the track. HRV’s team of Kadin Mitchell, Jackson Bullock, William Bunch and Hawley was timed in 3:42.24 to Crook County’s 3:43.76.
Hawley had about 45 minutes of rest to prepare for his relay leg, as he won the 800 in a personal record 2 minutes, 4.77 seconds. The two-lap win came about 90 minutes after he won the 1500 in a season-best 4:13.69. Hawley’s teammate, Bullock, benefited from the pace as he finished second in both races in 4:16.64 (PR) and 2:06.2.
Hood River also had a double-win day from Titus Grimsley, who clocked in 17.27 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles and 45.44 in the 300 intermediates. Both times were personal bests for the junior.
Shaw Burns matched Hawley and Grimsley with two wins of his own: a personal-best 41-8 effort in the triple jump; and a 19-67 mark in the long jump.
All told, the Eagle boys recorded 59 personal bests on the day. Among them: Frosh Levi Grimsley’s 38-2.25 shot put mark; Burns’ 11.64 in the 100; William Bunch’s 4:21.43 in the 1500; Finn Mikkelsen’s 100-8 discus throw; and Castro’s 10-6 pole vault, registered during the pole vault which was completed under the Henderson Stadium lights.
Hood River’s girls team had a big day from Simone Tillman, who won the 100 meters and 300 intermediate hurdles in personal-best times of 13.08 and 50.12. She also ran a leg on the Eagles’ 4x100 relay, which was second to The Dalles in the one-lap race, 52.38 to 53.54.
Tillman, a sophomore, is arguably the Eagles’ most versatile athlete; she was running the low hurdles for the first time in a race and her time is the third-fastest in the IMC thus far this season. Tillman is leading the conference in the 100, 200 (26.34) and 400 (1:00.32), and she has the third-best javelin mark at 97 feet.
Junior teammate Jacy Johnston leapt up the girls long jump rankings with a PR 16-6 effort for a first-place finish at the home meet. Johnston added a personal best in the triple jump of 27-11. Senior Lauren Griggs won the high jump, clearing a personal-best 5 feet. Sprinter Cristine Kinoshita sprinted to two PRs in the 400 (1:06.56) and the 200 (29.05).
HRV’s female distance crew was most impressive, with 1-2-3 finish in the 1500 and 1-2-3-4 finish in the 800. Maeve Woodruff won both races in personal-best times: 5:12.27 and 2:29.87. In the longer race she edged teammate Phoebe Wood, in a photo finish, and teammate Alex Bronson in the two-lap race by three seconds. Wood doubled back with a third place in the 800. Mieka McKnight earned HRV its third distance win by racing to a season-best 12:24.55 in the 3000.
Wood, Woodruff, Sophie Kaden, and McKnight combined to win the meet’s final event, the 4x400 relay in 4:21.12. Kaden’s individual day included a third place PR in the 1500 (5:24.27) and a fourth in the 800 (2:37.4).
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