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YAKIMA -- Cameron Dahl finished his three preliminary throws in the discus at Friday's 4A/3A Eastern Regional track and field championships, and the Chiawana junior was ready to head home.
His best was 131 feet, 10 inches, and he didn't figure to make the finals.
Stick around, his coaches insisted. You never know what might happen.
Well, here's what happened: Three throwers in the second flight struggled in the windy conditions at Zaepfel Stadium, meaning Dahl snuck into the finals as the eighth qualifier. Then, on his second throw in the finals, he popped a throw of 143-8 -- a 14-foot personal-best and good enough for the region's fourth and final 4A berth to next week's state meet in Tacoma.
Dahl aced out his fellow thrower, Daniel Hughes, in becoming the first Riverhawks boy ever to qualify for state in track.
"I don't even know what's going on right now," said Dahl, still in shock over his good fortune. "That throw felt amazing. It didn't look like it was a 143, but it was. This feels really good right now."
Dahl will be joined in the discus by Kennewick senior Travis Sharp, who threw 155-4 on his first throw in the finals to take second. They were two of six individuals and four relay teams from the Mid-Columbia to advance on Day 1 to Star Track XXVIII next weekend at Mount Tahoma High.
Class 4A
Sharp, the CBBN district champion, uncorked a 106-foot quacker on his first throw of the day, then moved among the leaders with a 142-2 on his second throw. He improved again in the third round (142-6) before getting his best throw to open the finals.
"I was a little nervous," Sharp said. "But your No. 1 goal as a senior is to get to state. Hopefully, I can do it in some more events (today)."
Three other area district champions also got through as second-place finishers -- Kamiakin sophomore Anthony Armstrong in the 3,200 meters, Pasco's 4x100 relay and Bulldogs junior Brandon Search in the long jump.
Armstrong battled Ferris' Adam Thorne the entire way before getting edged out by 13-hundredths of a second, his time of 9:13.86 breaking the Kamiakin school record.
"I was hoping he wouldn't end up going out too fast like he did last week," Armstrong said. "Because if he did, it was over."
Search and Austin Wilborn almost botched the first handoff of the 4x100, but they got it safely within the zone and the Bulldogs went on to finish in 43.05 -- ahead of fellow state qualifiers Richland (43.28) and Kamiakin (43.69).
"That scared me," Wilborn said. "It's something we'll definitely have to clean up for next week."
Both then passed on their final attempts in the long jump, already having sealed their trips to Tacoma in prelims -- Search in 21-6 1/2, Wilborn with a jump of 21-3 3/4 on his final attempt after not hitting 20 feet on his first two.
"I just told myself I had to get one good one, and I got it," Wilborn said.
Walla Walla's Jonah Hoe grabbed the final long jump berth as the No. 8 finalist, racing over after running in the 4x100 and improving 18 inches in the finals, going 21-3 1/2 to beat out Davis' Anthony Corbray by a half-inch.
Class 3A
Hanford's 4x100 followed up its CBBN district title with a second-place finish to grab the only 3A berth by a Mid-Columbia team.
It felt especially sweet for senior anchor Travis Stewart, who saw his season derailed last season by leg injuries when he looked like a solid bet to make it to state.
"This is just beautiful," said Stewart, who also advanced to today's finals in the 100 and 200. "This wasn't supposed to happen for us. We lost our two fastest guys from a year ago. But what made it happen was our unity. We all became real close and believed anything could happen."
