Columbia girls third at district meet

Both of those relay races were ultra-competitive events which weren’t decided until the final few meters over the Seton Catholic track. There were anxious moments for the Bruin long relay, as LaCenter anchor, frosh Shaela Bradley, ran a 57-second final 400 split to make things interesting at the finish.

Columbia’s Ella Zimmerman ran the opening leg, making up the stagger on the rest of the field. Reyes was next, as she and Hannah Polkinghorn combined to give the Bruins about a 20-meter lead. Bradley, who earlier in the meet had won the 100, 200 and long jump, closed the gap quickly on Bruin anchor, Makayla Fies.

“When LaCenter took off they were in third place and by the 200-meter mark she had already caught the Seton girl,” Anderson said. “She was closing fast. Makayla held on and got it home for us. For the girls it was a great way to end.”

Three seconds separated the first three teams; Columbia’s 4:18.55 was followed by LaCenter at 4:19.69 and Seton at 4:21.33.

Polkinghorn added 16 team points, with second-place finishes in the sprints. The Columbia junior recorded a personal best in the 100 of 12.63 seconds, and just missed her best in the 200.

Fies also PR’d in her specialty, the 400 (61.41), where she finished second, and was eighth in the 200. Reyes won the 100-meter hurdles in 17.45 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 50.06. Zimmerman ran a lifetime best 51.13 in the longer race to finish second and earn eight team points for the Bruins.

Anderson said Zimmerman’s race for second in the low hurdles behind Reyes was one of the more competitive ones on the day. “At about hurdle six, Ella and the King’s Way girl (Camille Vaughan) were hitting the hurdles at the same time,” Anderson said. “They crossed the last hurdles at the same time and Ella just had a better sprint at the finish. I was looking right across at the finish and I was going, ‘She got it.’”

Both hurdlers ran lifetime bests; Zimmerman 51.13 and Vaughan 51.15. “The smile on her face at the end of the race was great,” Anderson said of Zimmerman’s PR. “Most of our runners either PR’d or had season bests at the meet. That’s all you can ask for.”

Frosh Jessica Polkinghorn added 10 other points for Columbia, with her third place in the shot put (30-5.75) and fifth in the javelin (90-07). Columbia’s other individual points came from Esther Kline, who ran another lifetime best in the 3200 — in as many weeks — this one in 14:31.57.

The Bruins were second to Montesano in both the 4x100 relay, 52.40 to 52.54, and the 4x200, 1:50.69 to 1:53.49. The time in the 4x200 was a season best. Anderson said Montesano was cleaner overall on its handoffs and that was the difference in the close 4x100.

Montesano’s team depth was evidenced by the fact that it won just one individual event — Madolyn Olson’s 400 victory. The Bulldogs won both short relays and finished with 135 team points. Hoquaim was second with 118 and Columbia had 91 points for third.

The Columbia boys were fifth with 63 points (Montesano also won the boys competition with 137). Columbia senior Juan Acosta was the lone Bruin individual boys district champ, winning the shot put by a quarter inch over Elma sophomore Landon Ritter, 39-8.25 to 39.8.00. Acosta unleashed a 40-footer, but he was unable to maintain his position in the circle and scratched. “He wanted 40 so bad,” Anderson said. “But, he watched it too long; he needed to turn his body away from it (to maintain his balance).”

Acosta also finished second in the discus, in a personal-best 118-4. Teammate Eli Nielson was eighth.

Montesano spoiled the Columbia boys’ bid to win the 4x100 relay, so the Bruin squad did the next available thing — it won the 4x400 instead to finish off the day’s competition. In the shorter race, Angel Sanchez, Peter Schlegal, Ryan Howard, and Jace Greenwood finished second to Monty, 45.81 to 46.07. Sanchez and Howard joined Calvin Andrews and Dylan Muehlbauer on the first-place long relay.