Deem medals in pole vault at state; Spartans gain valuable experience

MIDDLETON — Priest River junior Erik Deem medaled at the 3A state track meet this weekend by tying for fifth in the pole vault.

Entering the event, Deem was seeded eighth in the state, but he battled through some less than ideal weather conditions to bring home a piece of hardware.

"Erik Deem had a great competition in the pole vault," head coach Jared Hughes said. "He wasn't happy with the height, but pole vault is very difficult in the rain and it came down to being a great competitor, instead of a personal record day."

Seven other Spartans competed at state — Shane Gamber, Jimmie Isenberger, Levi Hanna, Matyus McLain, Annika Rantala, Allyson Barton and Elisheva Davis. Deem was the only one that medaled. The top six individuals in each event at state medal.

Rantala, a senior, finished strong by posting lifetime bests in both of her events at state. On Friday, she captured ninth in the 3200 with a 12:31.84. The time moved her into third on the school's all-time list.

On Saturday, she ran a 5:46.33 PR in the 1600 to earn 11th out of 18 runners.

Entering this weekend, Rantala was the only Spartan with prior experience at the state track meet. Hughes said this was an opportunity for his younger athletes to get a feel for the level of competition at state.

"For them this was not only their first time at a state competition, but their first year doing high school track at all," he said. "It can be pretty intimidating ... They all did great and have a ton of momentum and motivation for next year."

McLain competed in three events at state — the shot put, discus and high jump. He secured 13th in the shot and 14th in the discus. Hanna also threw the shot and grabbed 12th in the event.

Barton nabbed 12th in the discus and 13th in the triple jump. Gamber and Isenberger both competed in the 300 hurdles. Gamber was 12th and Isenberger was 16th in the prelims. They both missed out on the finals.

Davis took home 16th in the long jump.

3A state championships

Final results (Priest River athletes only)

BOYS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Kimberly 134. 2, Sugar-Salem 92.5. 3, Gooding 71. 4, Filer 47. 5, Bonners Ferry 44. 6, South Fremont 41. 7, Fruitland 37. 8, Homedale 36. 9, Parma 34. 10, McCall-Donnelly 27. 11 (tie), Buhl, Marsh Valley 19. 13, Snake River 18. 14 (tie), Timberlake, Weiser 14. 16, Teton 15. 17, Coeur d’Alene Charter 14. 18, Payette 9. 19, American Falls 6. 20, Priest River 3.5.

300 hurdles prelims — 12, Shane Gamber, 44.82. 16, Jimmie Isenberger, 47.79. Shot put — 12, Levi Hanna, 37-7.5. 13, Matyus McLain, 37-2.5. Discus — 14, Matyus McLain, 108-4. Pole vault — 5, Erik Deem, 11-6.

GIRLS

TEAM SCORES — 1, Sugar-Salem 107. 2, Timberlake 75. 3, McCall-Donnelly 61. 4, Kimberly 54.5. 5, Fruitland 46. 6, Bonners Ferry 41.5. 7, Teton 41. 8, Marsh Valley 38. 9, Weiser 31. 10, Gooding 26. 11, Snake River 25. 12, American Falls 24. 13, Coeur d’Alene Charter 23. 14 (tie), South Fremont, Filer 22. 16 (tie), Parma, Payette 21. 18, Buhl 11. 19, Kellogg 7. 20, Homedale 3.

1600 — 11, Annika Rantala, 5:46.33. 3200 — 9, Annika Rantala, 12:31.84. Discus — 12, Allyson Barton, 86-11. Long jump — 16, Elisheva Davis, 13-5.5. Triple jump — 13, Allyson Barton, 30-7.