Bulldogs post strong showing in Post Falls

| April 10, 2015 7:00 AM

SANDPOINT — In a sign that bodes well for the future, personal bests were falling left and right for the Bulldogs on Wednesday at the Post Falls Invitational track and field meet — 24 to be exact.

Michael Plaster won the 100 meters in 11.93, Kyle Perry won the 200 in 23.91, and Perry teamed with Colton Engel, Kaleb Merrill and Jackson Diercks to finish second in the 4X100 relay.

Mark Kennaly clocked a personal best 2:02.3 to finish second in the 800, posting the fastest 4A time in the region this year. Right on his heels was teammate Kenny Kovalchuk, who shaved a whopping three seconds off his record to finish third at 2:03.1. Jacob Graham ran a 21 second PR to post a 10:21 in the 3,200, taking the lead in the region, while Sam Powell posted the second fastest time in the region in the 1,600 (4:49).

In the field events, Merrill soared a respectable 19-1 in his first varsity attempt in the long jump, the second best 4A mark in the region, and Lane Rasmussen (10-6) and Slade Rucker (10) both hit big PRs in the pole vault.

Carlos Collado had the top shot put (43-5) for the Bulldogs, while Nathaniel Dillon (116-4.5) just edged teammate Sam Palmer (116-2.5) in the discus, bettering his PR by more than 14 feet for the Bulldog boys.

Mikhaela Woodward won the 3,200 (11:58) and finished second in the 1,600 (5:40), and Hannah Davidson trimmed eight seconds off her PR to win the 800 (2:30) to lead the girls.

Bre Converse posted the fastest time in the 100 at 13.08 to set a new PR, Claire Keener won the 200 (28.17), Grace Bradley won the 400 (1:07) and Taylor Ward, Keener, Paige DuMars and Madi Schoening teamed up to win the 4X100 relay. Schoening sailed 16-2 to win the long jump, and the mark not only leads the region but is ranked second in the state in 4A.

Mackenzie Tillberg had a massive personal best throw in the discus, hitting 86 feet to beat her previous best by more than 15 feet, and Saydee Brass cleared 4-2 in the high jump to place in the top five.

The Bulldogs will host Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, Lakeland and Post Falls on Wednesday in the Sandpoint Invitational, with events starting at 3:30 p.m. at the SHS track.