Montesano’s team depth carried the Bulldogs to the District 4 girls track and field championship last Thursday, while Columbia High advanced a strong team to this weekend’s Class 1A state meet.
The state finals are Thursday through Saturday at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.
Montesano scored points in all 17 events at district and won the 2022 team title with 134 points in the meet at Vancouver’s Seton Catholic High School. Columbia was second with 106. The Bruin boys team placed in a tie with Hoquiam for seventh at 41.5 points. Eatonville won the boys title with 138 points.
“We had a great district meet,” Coach Jim Anderson said. “We came up just short on the girls side, finishing second. Overall, just great performances by all of our athletes. We had 30 entries into districts and came out with 15 (personal records).
“That says it best when our athletes can have their best performance at district. We had several PRs in events that our kids did not qualify for state, but to end the season with their best results is a good way to end the season.”
Columbia had three individual district championships – the two from senior Chanele Reyes in the 100-meter high hurdles and 300 lows, and senior Hannah Polkinghorn’s 200 victory. The Bruin girls 4x100 relay team of Reyes, Sequoia Cohen, Piper Hicks and Polkinghorn also won that event in season-best 51.47 seconds.
Reyes and Polkinghorn were on Columbia’s 4x100 relay the last time the state meet was held — pre-COVID — in 2019, when the Bruins failed to make it out of prelims. Polkinghorn also qualified for state four years ago in the 100 and 200 and Reyes in the low hurdles.
At last week’s district meet, Reyes won the shorter hurdle race in 16.98 seconds, dipping under the 17-second mark for the first time in a race. She later won the 300 lows in a season-best 49.43 and was the Bruins’ high-point scorer in the meet.
Polkinghorn ran a lifetime best 200 of 26.07 seconds and finished a close second to La Center’s Shaela Bradley in the 100, 12.52 to 12.65. Polkinghorn, who also ran a leg on Columbia’s third-place 4x400 relay, was just shy of her lifetime best in the 100 of 12.63 and season best of 12.64.
The third-place long relay, which also qualified for the state meet, included Saylor Hauge, Reyes, and Ella Zimmerman, who finished third in the high hurdles (18.26) and second in the lows (50.58).
The 4x400 was one of the meet’s highlights and there may be a sequel at state. Castle Rock won the four-lap race in a photo finish at 4:18.17, host Seton Catholic was second at 4:18.22 and Columbia third in 4:18.29. Those three schools are ranked fourth, fifth and sixth in Class 1A.
Columbia sophomore Jessica Polkinghorn will compete in two field events at state, having finished second at district in the shot put (a lifetime best 35-6.5), third in the javelin and a non-qualifying fourth in the discus. “Jessica threw well in the field,” Anderson said. “She continues to improve and could have a really good showing at state.”
Polkinghorn has the third-best marks in 1A this season in the shot and javelin.
Also for the Bruins, Hicks placed in two individual events – 100 and 200 – and ran a leg on the Bruins’ state qualifying 4x200 relay (along with Hague, Maribeth Fies and Cohen).
The Columbia boys were led at district by their state qualifying 4x400 relay, which finished second in 3:44.02. Members at the district meet were junior Joshua Steele, Calvin Andrews, Jace Greenwood and Ryan Howard cut another three seconds off the team’s season best time.
“I’m really proud of our relays,” Anderson said. “All three of our girls relay teams made it through to state, and our guys 4x400 gutted out a season’s best to finish second at district and move on to state.”
Andrews also qualified for state by finishing second in the 300 intermediate hurdles in personal record 45.04 seconds. Teammate and fellow hurdler, Camden Uffelman, also qualified in the high hurdles, placing third in 17.41. Andrews added a PR in the javelin of 127-11 (seventh) and Greenwood ran a lifetime best 200 of 24.67 (sixth), which was two places behind teammate Howard.
Some of the other personal records Coach Anderson referred to included frosh Amya Shaw, who PR’d on the triple jump at 28-2; and senior Benjamin Allen, out for track and field for the first time, PR’d in the high jump at 5-6.
“I’m really proud of the effort our athletes have put in this season,” Anderson said. “I’m happy our seniors are able to go and compete at state. Our seniors are such positive leaders to our younger athletes.”
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