Poe second in discus; Holycross 6th in hurdles for Spartans at 3A state track meet

MIDDLETON — Junior Colby Poe threw the discus 141-3 to finish second, leading the Spartan track and field team at the 3A Idaho State Championships last weekend at Middleton High School.

Poe was seeded fourth, stepping up under the state pressure, and he also finished 11th in the shot put (41-8) and teamed with Robbie Anselmo, Drayven Ayers and Evan Barnes to finish seventh in the 4x100 relay (46.98). The discus winner from Kimberly was a senior, meaning Poe should be in a good spot with a strong senior season.

“He has worked hard all year and has already started setting his throwing goals of a state gold medal for next year,” said spartan track head coach Jared Hughes. “I thought most of the kids competed well. Our goals going into the meet were to have a season best, improve our seeding and/or medal. Most kids were able to accomplish this.”

Also medaling and earning a podium spot for the Spartans was sophomore Teagan Holycross, who clocked a 42.20 to finish 6th in the 300 hurdles. He was also 11th in the 100 in 11.75.

“Teagun had a great meet. He medaled in the 300 hurdles by running his second best time ever,” said Hughes. “He also tied his PR in the 100 meter prelims, just missing the finals.”

Senior Konner Durham ran a PR in the prelims of the 110 hurdles (16.53) to qualify for the finals, where finished one spot away from medaling in 7th place in 17.02. He was seeded 12th, so he really showed up under pressure.

Ayers turned in a PR in the 200 (23.48) to finish 12th, and was one missed attempt away from a 6th place medal in the high jump by finishing 9th (5-10).

Sophomore Cameron Parks finished 10th in the 3,200 (10:37) and 14th in the 1,600 (4:58.43), just edging teammate Caleb Gleason (4:58.46) in a photo finish.

“Cameron had the misfortune of hurting his foot the weekend prior to the state trip. I think it affected him a little physically, but mostly mentally as he competed tentatively and was unsure of how his leg would react in his events,” claimed Hughes. “I am sure he will be back strong for his senior year next year.”

Other Spartan boys results included Noah Martinez 12th in the 110 hurdles (17.13), Durham 13th in the 300 hurdles (44.08) and Parks 16th in the long jump (17-8). Parks fouled out in the triple jump during a busy meet.

Freshman Annika Rantala was 15th in the 3,200 in 13:11, and 16th in the 1,600 in 6:18, and sophomore Izzy Schmidt was 16th in the 800 (2:42), as the young pair gained valuable state experience. Alaina Guevarra had a no height in the pole vault to round out the Spartan girls in action.

“Luckily they all return for next year,” said Hughes of his girls. “Overall I thought the season was very successful. We are excited to see what both teams can do next year.”

n PRLHS to start up summer open track practice on May 30

Starting on May 30 and June 1 at 3 p.m., PRLHS will have summer open track practice for kids grades 3-12 to come and try out one running and two field events each day.

Kids will have to fill out a waiver form to participate. After that, practice will be held at 5 p.m. each night on June 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, 18 and 21. Each practice will last about one hour.

There will also be open track meets at Spokane Falls Community College every Tuesday night in June that kids can attend on their own, and the Local Junior Olympic Qualifier is on June 23 in Kennewick, Wash.

More information will be available at the first couple of practices.

n Spartan Award Nights set

PRLHS will hold Spring Sports Awards Nights for baseball on May 29, and track on June 5, both at 6 p.m. in the PRLHS cafeteria.