Cardosi earns state bid

“Avery is just a great competitor,” said TD head coach Garth Miller. “She raced hard in the 400 and I think it just warmed her up for the long jump. She just went out and competed hard. She wanted that district championship and she went out and got it. I know we are proud of her as a coaching staff.”

Cardosi has been participating in the long jump since her sophomore season, but it wasn't until last year that she began placing in finals.

It has taken awhile to develop a successful routine and top numbers, but working diligently with coach Steve Taylor on devising a proper game plan has paid dividends.

“This year in particular, I've been much less sporadic on the runway with fewer scratches, which was good progress for me,” Cardosi said. “It took my coach and I awhile to find the mark that worked best for me, but once we did, it really helped me become more consistent.”

On the girls’ side, Taylor Sugg qualified for Thursday’s final rounds after posting solid marks in the 100-and 200-meter runs.

She placed seventh in the 100 with a time of 13.68, and she added a 28.71 in the 200 for eighth place.

The senior also placed third overall in the pole vault finals in a height of 8-0.

In addition to Cardosi’s 400 finals trip, Bailey Nearing had a time of 1:04.41 for fourth in the 400, and Emma Mullins scored eighth place and a finals spot after he 1:06.59.

Emily Morin had a season-best time of 11:44.63 in the 3,000-meter race finals to secure fourth place, and Caela Dunagan added seventh place in the same race after her 12:19.13.

Shyanne Cady qualified for the finals in both hurdles runs, hitting a time of 19.88 for seventh in the 100, and she placed eighth in the field in the 300-meters with a personal-record time of 55.17.

Teresa Esiquio placed ninth in the javelin finals with a 78-3, Tilaima Paulo was 11th at 75-3 and Marissa Heemsah placed 12th with a 74-1.

“The young kids really stepped up and competed well,” Miller said. “I just feel good about their effort as a coach.”

On the boys’ side, Glenn Breckterfield set a PR in the 400-meter race with a final time of 54.98 for seventh place and a finals trip.

The sophomore also hit the finals field in the 110-meter hurdles coming off a time of 18.93, and he placed seventh in the 300-meter hurdles in 43.84.

J.R. Scott advanced to the 200-meter finals with an eighth-place finish of 24.39, and Justin Conklin enjoyed a solid third-place outcome in the 110-meter hurdles with a mark of 16.94.

Luke McLean capped his junior campaign with sixth-place honors in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:52.60, Gabe Lira added a 10:01.03 for eighth and Zerin Croover went for 10:21.19 to claim ninth place in the standings.

In the shotput, Jordan McGuirk hit on a throw of 34-6 for 10th place, and sophomore Philip Dunagan hit a personal record of nearly two feet in the shotput with a distance of 34-5.

Addison Smith placed seventh in the discus event finals with a toss of 116-2, McGuirk went for 104-4 to take ninth and Dunagan hit a personal record by five-feet in the discus with a final distance of 96-4.

Paul Clark, a senior, finished his career at seventh place in the long jump with a distance of 19-1, and Orion Smith, a junior, went for 17-5.5 for ninth place.

Josh Nisbet placed 12th in the long jump with a distance of 16-6.5.

Entering Wednesday’s opening day, The Dalles was a wild card in the league mix, but with so many highlights headlining this young core, the second day could be promising.

There is hope that maybe another handful of athletes can take that next step to earn a trip to state.

“We just ask them to set their goals for this meet and go after them and give it their best effort,” Miller said. “They did what we asked and competed well.”