Davidson leads Bulldogs at Pasco Invitational

PASCO, Wash. — The birthday girl got a great present on Saturday, as Hannah Davidson clocked a 2:18.55 to finish second in the 800 meters at the prestigious Pasco Invitational on Saturday.

It’s the largest single day track meet in the country, and to get in requires meeting strict performance standards, allowing up to 40 in each event. There were more than 100 schools competing, including 21 from Sandpoint, which had 23 athletes qualify.

Davidson was the lone Bulldog to find a podium, missing her personal best from last year’s state meet by just .45 seconds, not small feat with a decent headwind on the home stretch. The first lap of the race was slow at just 1:09, which meant Davidson’s weapon, a strong kick, would come into play.

“No one wanted to take the lead, so the first lap was slower than a race at this caliber of meet would have been,” described Bulldog distance coach Angie Brass, noting Davidson’s time was five seconds faster than last year at this time. “Hannah had a fantastic last 300 meters and gunned down a girl right at the finish line for second place.”

T.J. Davis clocked a 15.78 in the 110 high hurdles to finish eighth, after clocking a season-best 15.5 in the prelims, the only other Bulldog to crack the top 10. Sam Diercks was the lone entry in the field events, clearing 11-6 in the pole vault to finish 21st.

The day started with the Distance Medley Relay, as Peik Lund-Andersen, Kyle Almeida, Sloan Woodard and Kieran Wilder placed 13th out of the 40 schools with an 11:12, bettering the qualifying race by six seconds. The girls team of Chloe Braedt, Ciera Bailey, Kali Scheel and Heather Wallace placed 14th in a 13:44.

Jazmin Stockton ran prelims in both the 100 and 200, running a 13.48 and a season record 27.80 to finish 27th and 23rd respectively. Ciera Bialey ran the 400, also running a season PR of 1:04.01 to finish 29th. In the 300m Hurdles, sophomore Paige Davidson ran a 51.03 to finish 33rd, missing her PR by .09 in her first trip to the Pasco Invite.

Garrett Pierce finished 33rd in the boys 3,200, running a 10:08 for a new PR, and Niah Brass was 27th in the girls 3,200, finishing with a 12:21.

The boys and girls 4x100 teams also qualified, with the boys team of Braden Kappen, Ammon Ollerton, T.J. Davis and Tyren Witthaus running a 45.92 to finish 33rd, while the girls had a dropped baton in the first exchange zone for a no time finish. In the girls 4x400, Hannah Davidson, Paige Davidson, Bionce Vincent and Ciera Bailey ran a 4:25.7 to finish 32nd.

“The kids who qualified ran well, especially with the home meet just the Wednesday before. I think we are in a great place for this point in the season, with kids consistently running near PR times each meet,” said Bulldog head coach Matt Brass. “It’s always good to go to Pasco and see so many competitive athletes. The experience is memorable and helps with preparing for the state meet.”

The team gets a quick 2 day break before going to Post Falls on Tuesday for the Christina Finney Invitational.