McLain sets school record; Priest River performs well at state championship
The Priest River track and field teams set multiple individual and team records at the Idaho 2A track and field state championships on Friday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, at Middleton High School.
Matyus McLain set a new school record in the discus throw with a mark of 157-11 to place second in the state. The senior was also able to pick up a third-place finish in the shot put, fifth place in the 100-meter dash and fourth place as part of the 4x100 relay. The 4x100 relay, which finished in 44.92 seconds, consisted of McLain, Carter Korff, Ethan Korff and Grant Schofield and was good enough for third in school history.
“Matyus became only the second boy in school history to have earned four medals at the state championship in a single year. The last boy to do it was Ron Huff in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The last Spartan to accomplish such a feat before Matyus was Lacy Hopkins, who did it in back-to-back years in 2007 and 2008,” head coach Jared Hughes said.
In the jumps, Carter Korff was able to podium with a fourth-place finish in the long jump. The sophomore standout jumped 20-3, his second best mark of the season.
Brayden Lamanna, who is also only a sophomore, set a new personal record in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:27.41 to finish in ninth place. That is the best finish by a Spartan in the 3200-meter run since 2006.
The boys finished with 28 points; good enough for 11th place out of 23 schools. They will return six of their 10 state qualifiers next year.
For the girls, the sprint medley relay consisting of Maicie Archer, Anna Deem, Hadassah Davis and Allyson Dickinson ran an outstanding 1:57.49 to place fifth in the state. The 800-meter SMR has been one of the girls’ strongest events this season.
Dickinson placed eighth in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:03.88, a time she has dropped a full six seconds since her sophomore season. The senior just missed qualifying for the 200-meter dash finals; she ran a new personal record time of 27.69 seconds. Right behind her was Archer who also set a new personal record time in the event in 27.96 seconds. With those finishes, the girls are now top 10 in school history.
Davis set a new personal record in the pole vault with a vault of 7-6 to finish in 14th place. That mark is good enough for third in school history. The Priest River sophomore will surely look to make history in the coming years.
Another sophomore who has excelled this season, Kylee Swobada, placed eighth in the high jump by clearing the 4-8 mark. She set new personal records in five events this season.
The girls finished in 18th place out of 21 schools with a total of 7.5 points. The best finish by the Spartans since 2018. The girls expect to improve next year as they will return eight of their 10 state qualifiers.
“The teams down south were loaded this year and we finished about as expected after looking at other teams’ season bests,” Hughes said. “What a great job our coaching staff has done all year. I truly believe we have the most experienced, talented and hardworking coaching staff. I am looking forward to working with them next year, and as of right now, we will be returning 14 of our 20 state qualifiers.”
