Plenty of first-place finishes in two meets

Wahkiakum High School's track and field team had two more meets before their spring break. The first of the two meets took place Thursday, March 26 in Toutle. For the boys, Jayden Stoddard came in second in the 100m with a time of 11.6. Stoddard is currently 12th in state in 1B competition for the event. Stoddard took third in the 200m with a time of 24.3, earning him the fourth spot in state in the event. Cody Vicars took third in the 800m with a time of 2:26.0, landing him at 20th in the state in the event. The team of Joe Merz, Dom Diaz, Jason Shervey, Jayden Stoddard came in fourth in the 4x100m relay with a time of 49.0, earning the team the 18th slot in the state. The team of Greighson Cunningham, Dane Sexton, Cody Vicars, Josiah Garrett took third in the 4x400m relay with a time of 4:23.9. The team is currently 12th in the state in the event. In field competition for the boys, Cor Hoogendoorn took fifth in the shot put with a distance of 37 feet, 9 inches, good enough to put him at ninth in the state. Robby Chandler took third in the javelin with a distance of 142 feet, 5 inches, good enough for sixth in state. Chandler also took fifth in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet, 5 inches, good enough for 21st in state. Rounding out the field for the boys, Garrett took third in the triple jump with a distance of 33 feet, 5 inches, good enough for 22nd in state. Overall the boys took fourth out of a total of seven teams.

For the girls, Mayleonna Casey took second in the 800m with a time of 2:31.9. Casey is currently second in the state in the event. Clara Hogue took third in the 100m with a time of 13.7, good enough for 13th in the state for the event. Sam Dela Cruz took third in the 300m hurdles with a time of 55.0, good enough for 12th in the state. In team competition, Dela Cruz, Casey, Emily Robinson, and Hogue took second in the 4x100m relay with a time of 54.6. The time good enough for fifth in state, the team currently sits at seventh in the event. In the field, Dela Cruz took first in the triple jump with a distance of 32 feet, 4 inches. Dela Cruz is currently third in the state in the event. She took third in the long jump with a distance of 15 feet even, good enough for sixth in state. Hogue took fifth in the event with a distance of 14 feet, 8.5 inches, good enough for ninth in the state. Overall, the girls, with only six team members competing, took fifth out of seven on the day.

The team then competed on Thursday, April 2 in Naselle. For the boys, Stoddard took first in the 100m with a time of 11.78, good enough for eighth in the state. In the 800m, Vicars took second with a time of 2:29.09, while Sexton took third with a time of 2:30.91. Vicars' time holds him currently at 25th in the state in the event. Colton Wagers took second in the 110m hurdles with a personal record time of 21.77. In team competition, Merz, Diaz, Chandler, and Stoddard took third in the 4x100m relay with a personal record time of 47.98, good enough for ninth in the state in the event.

Landon Mogush, Cameron Mendez, Ethan Hurley, and Cunningham took second in the 4x100m throwers relay with a personal record time of 55.92. The team of Cunningham, Sexton, Merz, and Vicars took second in the 4x400m relay with a personal record time of 4:14.33, good enough for 12th in state. In the field, Hoogendoorn took first in the shot put with a personal record distance of 39 feet, 3 inches, good enough for seventh in state. Chandler took first in the javelin with a personal record distance of 158 feet even, good enough for fourth in state. Chandler took first in the long jump with a personal record distance of 18 feet, 3 inches, good enough for 10th in state. Overall, the boys took fourth out of nine competing teams on the day.

For the girls, Clara Hogue took first in the 100m with a time of 14.19, good enough for 24th in state. Robinson took fifth in the same event with a personal record time of 14.98. Casey took first in the 800m with a time of 2:35.84, good enough for second in state. Dela Cruz took third in the 300m hurdles with a time of 56.05, good enough for 13th in state. In team competition, Dela Cruz, Casey, Robinson, and Hogue took second in the 4x100m relay with a personal record time of 55.24, good enough for sixth in the state. In the field, Dela Cruz took first in the long jump with a distance of 12 feet, 11 inches, good enough for seventh in state. Hogue took third in the same event with a distance of 12 feet, 5 inches, good enough for 11th in state. Rounding out the field, Dela Cruz took third in the triple jump with a distance of 30 feet, 5.5 inches, good enough for third in state. Overall, the girls took fifth out of eight competing teams.

"I know with hard work and determination, we could have a lot at Districts and State this year," said Coach Tina Merz. Quoting Beverly Sills, Merz added, "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."