Bulldog track team fares well at state meet
—Courtesy photo Sandpoint senior Hannah Davidson, left, ran a three second PR to finish second in the 800, the top finish for the Bulldogs at the state meet. She passed both Bishop Kelly and Jerome runners with a great kick.
SANDPOINT — Led by a stellar race from Sophomore Hannah Davidson, who passed a couple of runners late and finished second in the 800 at 2:18, the Bulldogs fared well at the state track and field meet in Boise this weekend.
“Hannah ran another exceptional race, earning a PR and a school record in the process,” lauded distance coach Angie Brass. “She uses her strengths, reads her competition well and executes her surges and finishing kick very intelligently. She is a year-round hard worker.”
Cole Hooper also had a stellar meet, claiming fourth place in the pole vault with a PR of 13-feet, and nearly clearing 13-6 on each miss.
On Thursday, senior Carlos Collado set the pace by placing third in the Discus with a throw of 149’ 0” and setting a personal record in the process.
During the afternoon running events, the girls Medley Relay took fourth place with a time of 1:53.53. The team, which was made up of Jaelyn Martin, Paige DuMars, Claire Keener and Hannah Davidson, all ran great legs, but the 2nd exchange was off and caused them to drop from about 3rd to 7th. The final hand off was smooth and anchor Hannah Davidson passed three runners in the final lap to put the team in 4th on the podium.
“We were all very proud of our young sprint crew that made it to state,” said SHS sprint coach Tom Keener. “They should be very exciting to watch over the next few years as they should fare well at the state level and chase down some long standing school records in the sprint relays.”
The boys Medley of Jackson Diercks, T.J. Davis, Mark Kennaly and James Bradley finished 7th in a 3:44. Davis then came back to qualify for finals in the 110 hurdles with a 15.93 PR.
In the final races of the evening, senior Cori McClelland set a lifetime best of 11:53 to finish 7th in the 3200, outkicking Brooke Chilton of Century. Jacob Graham placed 5th in the boys 3,200, also running a PR of 9:49 and finishing as a State Medalist.
“Cori and Jacob both ran incredibly smart races, moving up each lap, and closing with strong last laps,” praised Angie Brass. “Such a powerful way to finish your last high school meet as seniors and a great demonstration of hard work over time.”
In throws, senior Janice Aylward made the podium in the Shot Put, placing 7th with a PR of 36’ 2.75”, with teammate Paige DuMars throwing 31’ 4.75 for 14th. Zack Alamillo set a PR with 42’ 8” throw for 10th, and teammate Collado was 12th in 42’ 1.25”.
Freshman Jezza Hutto went 15’ 2.5 inches in the long jump, while Spencer Bassett soared more than 39 feet in the triple jump.
Freshman Yeo Won Yarnell also placed 8th in the girls 800 with a personal best of 2:24, and with Davidson, give the Bulldogs a strong future in the 800. In the boys 800, senior Mark Kenally placed 8th in 2:03 after returning from an injury last week.
“Mark is a four-year state competitor and all around athlete, and ran a gutsy performance for 8th place after a rough few weeks with a back injury,” said Angie Brass. “His leadership and experience was invaluable in helping the large group competing at state this year.”
For the 1600, Fin Lund-Andersen was 6th in 4:30, with Jacob Graham 8th in 4:31.
“The race was tactical from the start with several position changes,” described Brass. “The top two finishers surged to the lead and did not come back. In the third lap the boys put in a huge surge to move into the top five before falling back a little in the sprint. It was a very congested race with seven runners within three seconds of each other in the pack.”
McClelland was 8th in the girls 1,600 as well, running a 5:26 PR.
“Another incredible race, running strong middle laps and closing with a fire and determination to run another PR.” said Angie Brass. “Cori loves to race and her improvements and growth as an athlete over the last four years made her first state track meet one to remember.”
TJ Davis placed 7th in the 110 hurdles with a PR time of 15.92. The girls 4x200 relay set a one second season PR of 1:48.46. The girls 4x400 placed 8th in a 4:18.
The 4x400 girls (Dana Beaty, Niah Brass, Rainey Woodward and Hannah Davidson) had their eyes on a medal after a strong Regionals, but came up short in a tight field.
Overall, the girls team placed 11th with the boys team placing 10th.