Davis, Morgan set SHS records on day one at 4A state track meet

BOISE — Senior T.J. Davis and sophomore Maddie Morgan broke Sandpoint school records, leading the Bulldogs to a strong first day showing at the 4A Idaho State Track and Field Championships at Donna Larson Park in Boise.

Davis lowered his own SHS record of 14.99 by blazing a 14.65 to win the 110 high hurdle prelims by .36 seconds, and will be the favorite to win in the finals today. He was also sixth in the 300 hurdles prelims in 41.27.

“He looked almost flawless,” said Bulldog head coach Matt Brass, noting there was one slight hiccup on the first hurdle. “His head didn’t even move, it was just up and over hurdles. The time definitely shows that.”

Morgan was the highest placer of the day in any finals action, soaring a personal best and new SHS school record 34-9.5 to finish 6th in the triple jump. The old record was 34-2.5, set by Lindsey Larsen in 2000. Morgan’s mark was less than one foot away from second place in a tightly packed field, and nearly one-foot further than she has ever jumped before.

“Maddie was consistently on. She was in the zone today, hit the board every time,” described Brass. “She broke the record, then broke her own record two more times.”

The boys medley relay team of Julian Barajas, Ammon Ollerton, Kyle Almeida and Sloan Woodward was 8th in 3:45.09.

Other Bulldog placers on the day in the prelim heats included Ammon Ollerton finishing 9th in the high jump (5-10), Paige Davidson setting a PR in the 300 hurdles (48.7) to finish 9th, Elaine Huang claiming 9th in the high jump in 4-10, Jazmin Stockton 11th in the 100 (12.92), Kyle Almeida 13th in the 400 (52.47), Barajas 13th in the 100 (11.51) and 14th in the 200 (23.48), Ciera Bailey 13th in the 400 (1:02.7), Niah Brass 13th in the 3,200 (12:17), Kieran Wilder was 14th in the 3,200 (10:24.02) and Gabe Merithew was 16h in 10:33.

Sandpoint is 16th in the team standings after day one, but figures to make a jump with a host of athletes yet to compete in the finals.

“We’ve got a whole slew going tomorrow,” said Brass.

The finals are today at Donna Larson Park.

n Wampus Cat Hathaway solid in prelims

MIDDLETON — Clark Fork sophomore Sara Hathaway finished 9th in the high jump by clearing 4-8, but had a far better showing in three running prelims on Friday during the first day of the 3A/2A/1A state track meet at Middleton High School.

Hathaway cleared 5-0 at state last year to finish fourth, and also cleared the school record mark again this season, a mark that won the 1A state meet on Friday.

While she hoped for a better finish, her 3rd place time in the 100 prelims was a surprise time of 13.29, and she was also third in the 100 hurdles at 16.63 and second in the 300 hurdles in 47.92. She’ll have a shot to reach three podiums in today’s finals.