Denham cruises to state title in 3200

BOISE — Having been to state twice before, Clark Fork senior Adam Denham had a pretty good idea what it would take to win, and he went about doing just that Friday at the 1A state track and field championships in Boise, winning the 3,200 by a decisive margin and claiming his first ever state title.

“I kind of went for it and ran with my heart,” said Denham, who shaved more than 10 seconds of his personal best, clocking a 10:01. “I picked a good pace and went with it.”

Denham led all eight laps from the starter’s pistol to the tape, dusting the field of 16 runners by more than 17 seconds. In his last few races, he’s been dropping more than 10 seconds off his best times in both the 3,200 and the 1,600, peaking at the perfect time.

He’s hoping to add another state title today in the 1,600, where he clocked a 4:39 at districts to set a meet record. He thinks he can do even better today, and hopes to challenge the 1A state record of 4:29.

While that would be meaningful, an even more important number for him is the Clark Fork school record of 4:27, currently held by Wampus Cat basketball coach Melvin Speelmon.

“I have a shot at it,” said Denham of breaking the school mark. “Each meet I’ve been dropping by 10 seconds, and I’m going to go out there and run hard.”

Denham will also run the 800, although he admits it will be much tougher to win that race than the longer distances.

Cody Bowers threw the discus 129-4 to finish eighth, and with Denham’s points put the Cats in 10th place out of 25 teams after the first day.

Zara Palmer finished 11th in the 300 hurdles with a time of 52.44, and freshman Alysha McLelland finished 16th in both the 100 and 200 for the Clark Fork girls.

The remaining finals are today at Boise State.a