Bulldogs hold their own at 4A state track and field championships
SANDPOINT — A state title was in his sights, but the hurdles are one of the toughest and most technically demanding races for a reason, and the slightest of mistakes by senior T.J. Davis proved costly on day two of the 4A Idaho State Track and Field Championships Saturday in Boise.
After blazing a school-record 14.65 in the prelims of the 110 high hurdles on Friday, Davis was the favorite to win the finals on Saturday, and did for nearly the entire race.
Unfortunately, he clipped a hurdle late, which set in motion a chain of events that ended up disqualifying him. Up until that point it was his race to lose, with what Bulldog head coach Matt Brass estimated was a .3 second lead. The winning time of 14.92 was well behind Davis’ prelim time, which made it a tough pill to swallow for the senior, who was in top form.
The manner in which he handled everything earned the respect of Bulldog head coach Matt Brass.
“He got a great start and was in the lead. Then he hit hurdle No. 8 with his foot, clipped hurdle No. 9 with his heel and almost went down, hitting the next hurdle with his hand, which was a DQ,” described Brass of the race, noting he still had two events left in the meet. “He’s a quality, mature kid. He took about 10 minutes, came back in and said ‘I’m ready.’ You could tell he was disappointed, but he got his head back in it and handled it with a lot of grace and maturity.”
Davis did finish the 300 hurdles in 41.3, which was good enough for fifth place.
Senior Hannah Davidson also harbored hopes of claiming a state title, but ended up with third place finishes in the 1,600 (5:13) and the 800 (2:19.4). She was within two seconds of a PR in the 1,600 and one second in the 800, despite battling more than just the fields of runners.
“She was a little compromised, she was sick all week. I was impressed with her toughness, you could tell her lungs and throat were raw from being sick,” described Brass, noting she ran an impressive race in defeat in the 800. “She led for about 600 of it, but didn’t have as much pop as normal coming down the stretch.”
Rare is the distance runner who also pole vaults, but Davidson cleared 9-6 to finish 5th, just ahead of sister Paige Davidson, who was 7th in 9-0.
Julian Barajas, the lone Bulldog to compete in four events, teamed with Davis, Ammon Ollerton and Tyren Witthaus to finish 6th in the 4x100 relay (44.17), then teamed with Ollerton, Sloan Woodward and Kyle Almeida to finish 8th in the medley relay (3:45). He also finished 13th in the 100 (11.51) and 14th in the 200 (23.48).
Junior Sloan Woodward ran a two second PR, a huge drop for a race like the 800, clocking a 2:03.03 to finish 8th, well ahead of his 15th seed time.
Other Bulldog boys finishes included Ollerton 8th in the high jump (5-10), Seth Graham 10th in the 800 in a PR of 2:03.72, Kyle Almeida 13th in the 400 (52.74), Garrett Pierce 14th in the 1,600 (4:38.62), Kieran Wilder 14th in the 3,200 (10:33.02), Nikolai Braedt 15th in the 1,600 (4:55.72) and Gabe Merithew 16th in the 3,200 (10:33.02).
Other Bulldog girls finishes included Maddie Morgan 6th in a school record triple jump (34-09), Paige Davidson 9th in the 300 hurdles (48.7), Elaine Huang 9th in the high jump (4-10), Jazmin Stockton 11th in the 100 (12.92), Bionce Vincent 11th in the 800 (2:27.66), Ciera Bailey 12th in the 400 (1:02.70), Niah Brass 13th in the 3,200 (12:17) and Victoria Aylward 15th in the shot put (28-7).
“It was a good state trip for the kids. They had great attitudes, and didn’t let the heat get to them mentally,” said Brass, casting an eye toward the future. “It’s good to have younger kids go down and get an eye opening experience at state.”