Staff report
Columbia Gorge News
A little mid-week work in the desert led to some satisfying results in suburbia for The Dalles track and field team this past week.
The Riverhawks attended the relatively small school (eight team) Crook Country Mid Week Invite in Prineville on April 10 and then took a select group of athletes to the 38-team Sherwood Need For Speed Classic southwest of Portland on April 13. Thirty of the schools at Sherwood were Class 6A, which made the numerous heats competitive from top to bottom for the 4A Riverhawks.
And that led, in part, to 20 personal records for Coach Garth Miller’s team. The best results place-wise came from boys River McClure, Julian Morehouse and Derek Goulart. Neither had personal bests but each placed: McClure sixth in the 300-meter hurdles in a season best 42.58; Morehouse was second in the pole vault at 13-6; and Goulart was fourth in the high jump at 6 feet.
Topping the boys’ personal best list was David McCracken’s 11.45 100; he also ran a 23.92 200, and a leg on the Riverhawks’ 4x100 relay along with Nolan Cates, Goulart, and Anthony Jara (45.86). Goulart zipped to a PR 24.05 in the 200; and sophomore Noah Preston PR’d in the 400 at 53.97.
The Dalles distance runners either ran PRs or came close to them. Tyson Long was 35th with a 2:05.67 800; Josef Lutz ran a PR 4:36.3 1500; and Aiden Erickson clocked a PR 9:47.92 in the 3000.
On the girls side, top individual placings came from Alaina Casady, with her 3000 PR of 10:58.75 (17th), and Lilly Adams’ 27.72 time in the 200 which placed her 19th. Casady now holds the top marks in the Tri-Valley League in the longer distances.
Madelyne Harrison was busy as per usual, with three individual events — 100, 200, long jump — and a leg on the Riverhawks’ 4x400 relay. In the latter race, The Dalles was 12th in 4:24.94. Members were Harrison, Adams, Casady, and Abigail Pope. Harrison ran 13.64 in the 100, 27.84 in the 200, and long jumped 14-11.
Similar to the boys distance crew, the Riverhawks’ girls distance runners ran five PRs in six attempts. Pope and Ruby Jaimes Mora went 2:38.46, 2:38.74 in the 800; Laura Black and Marley Perry went 5:45.5 and 5:46.53 in the 1500; and Kestley Hodges joined Casady in the 3000, where Hodges ran 12:04.88.
The PR parade for the Riverhawks actually started earlier in the week at Crook County High School. Among them: Jose Gutierrez’s 18-6.75 long jump; Morehouse’s 14-2 pole vault (first place); Vincent Ziegenhagen’s 135-7 javelin throw; Tyler Irving’s 18.86 110 hurdles; Kitt Lockwood’s double distance PR of 4:47.99 and 10:25.05; and McCraken’s 23.74 200.
The wind-aided Ward Rhoden stadium kept its reputation intact as a fast venue for the 100, as The Dalles had four runners dip under 12 seconds; the group included McCracken, Goulart, Morehouse, and Jara. Other wins in the boys meet for The Dalles came from McClure in the 300 hurdles (43.91), and Goulart in the high jump (6-0).
Harrison was a double winner for The Dalles’ girls team, leaping 15-6 in the long jump and racing to a lifetime best of 50.47 seconds in the 300 hurdles. Teammate Rowena Benjamin also PRd with her 55.88 effort and 7-6 pole vault mark. Also of note were the 400 times of Adams (1:04.10) and Laura Black (1:07.54).
