Tri-Cities track and field athletes impress at conference championships

The Mid-Columbia Conference boys and girls track and field teams finished up their respective conference championships this past weekend in Hermiston, with the Kamiakin boys, Richland girls, and the Walla Walla boys and girls taking team titles.

And now, everyone moves to Spokane this Friday and Saturday to compete with Greater Spokane League schools in the District 8 meet.

In the 4A meet, the top nine MCC qualifiers will go up against the top five from the GSL in each event.

In the 3A meet, the top nine GSL qualifiers will be matched up in each event with the top five qualifiers from the MCC.

In each meet, the top three placers will advance to the state meet, set for May 26 to 28 at Mt. Tahoma High School.

For a recap, here were the top performers in the MCC Championships last weekend in Hermiston:

▪ Class 4A boys: Kamiakin’s Isaac Teeples, bound for BYU in the fall, embarked on the final month of his prep career by winning three distance events — the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter runs. Teeples’ time of 1 minute, 52.84 seconds was a personal record for him.

Richland’s Lex Luther and Seth Shook were a productive 1-2 combination for the Bombers. Luther won both the 100 and 200 meters races, with his 200 time of 22.45 seconds a personal best. Luther also ran the anchor leg for the winning 4x100 relay team.

Shook also was on the winning 4x100 relay team, and he also won the 110 hurdles event. His leap of 20 feet, 8.25 inches gave him second place in the long jump. Shook also placed third in the 100 meters, with a PR of 11.31 seconds.

Chiawana junior Kade Smith was a double winner in the long jump and triple jump.

And Kamiakin senior EJ Hawkins was a double winner in the discus and shot put.

▪ Class 4A girls: Hanford senior Katelynn Gelston — headed to Oregon State University — had the spotlight in this meet, winning three throwing events in the shot put, discus and javelin. Her discus toss of 160 feet, 5 inches, was a personal best. It’s also the best throw in the state among all high school girls.

Richland’s Hannah Chang was a close second to Gelston. She won the 100 hurdles and the long jump events, placed second in the 300 hurdles, and ran a leg on the second-place 4x100 relay team (which is still one of the top three teams in the state).

Kamiakin sophomore Adelyn Mitchell won the 100 and 200 meters races, with a PR of 25.69 seconds in the 200. She also anchored the winning 4x100 relay team, which is among the top three best teams in the state.

Richland senior Natalie Ruzauskas, bound for Eastern Washington University in the fall, was a double winner for the Bombers, taking the 800 and 1600 titles. She also ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay team.

▪ Class 3A boys: Walla Walla’s Brody Hartley was the star of the meet, pulling off the same sweep Teeples did by winning the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters runs. Hartley did Teeples one better by anchoring the team’s winning 4x400 relay team. Hartley’s 1:56.07 in the 800 was a PR.

Hermiston’s Ryker McDonald also had a great day, winning the 100 and 200 meters (a PR of 22.49 seconds), and placing second in the shot put with a PR of 50 feet, 8 inches.

Walla Walla’s Dash Sirmon won the javelin easily, with a throw of 205 feet, 11 inches; and he took the long jump title with a PR leap of 23 feet even. Sirmon, bound for the University of Washington in the fall to throw the javelin for the Huskies, also placed third in the discus.

▪ Currently, Sirmon is the top javelin thrower and top long jumper in the state, regardless of classification.

Sirmon’s Wa-Hi teammate, Caleb Morehead, won the 400 meters, placed second in the 200 (with a PR of 22.69 seconds), and was the lead anchor for both winning relay teams.

Finally, Hermiston senior Caden Hottman continued his dominance in the shot put and discus with victories. His shot put toss of 56 feet, 4 inches, is a personal best. He ranks second in the state in both events.

▪ Class 3A girls: Southridge senior Jayden Smith was the star of the meet, winning three events: high jump, long jump and triple jump. Smith cleared 5-6 again in the high jump, as she had earlier this season. That gives her the third-best mark in the state.

Walla Walla’s Jennifer Huntsman and teammate Ashlyn Nielsen were two big reasons the Blue Devils took the team title.

Huntsman scored points by winning the 100 hurdles with a PR of 16.30 seconds, finished second in the long jump, and placed third in the 300 hurdles. She also ran a leg on the winning 4x100 relay team.

Nielsen won the 100 meters race with a personal best of time of 12.73 seconds. She also helped the girls 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams win their races; and she finished second in the 200 with a PR of 26.21 seconds.

Finally, Kennewick’s Macy Marquardt and Hermiston’s Bailey Young each won two events.

Marquardt, who will run at Boise State University this fall, has been hampered with injuries this spring. But she easily won both the 1600 and 3200 races.

Young is headed to Eastern Washington University, and she won the shot put and discus titles in front of the home crowd. Her shot put toss of 47 feet, 1 inch, is a personal best, and it is the top mark in the state.

Fastpitch softball

Kamiakin finished the MCC regular season as a middle-of-the-pack team, tying for fourth in the standings with a 10-6 record (13-7 overall).

But the Braves came to play on Monday in the District 8 Class 4A tournament, beating Central Valley 11-0 in the first game, then winning 8-2 over top-seeded Richland.

The games were originally scheduled for this past Saturday at Columbia Playfield in Richland. But rain washed them out and they were rescheduled for Monday.

And now, with the two victories, Kamiakin (15-7) has already qualified for the 4A state tournament as the No. 5 seed in the district tournament.

The Braves will play No. 7 seed Hanford — another upstart that won two games on Saturday to qualify for state — for the district title at 2 p.m. this coming Saturday at Lawrence Scott Park.

There is one state tournament berth still available.

On Friday, No. 4 Central Valley will play at No. 2 Gonzaga Prep; while No. 3 Chiawana will visit No. 1 Richland. Both games are loser-out contests, and both start at 4 p.m. The winners will meet Saturday at noon at the higher seed for the final state berth.

▪ Here’s Wednesday’s schedule for the District 8 Class 3A district softball tournament:

Game 5, Hermiston at University (winner to state tournament), 4 p.m.

Game 6, Mt. Spokane at Walla Walla (winner to state tournament), 4 p.m.

Game 7, Ferris at Mead (loser out), 4 p.m.

Game 8, Cheney at Kennewick (loser out), 4 p.m.