By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
What could be better than winning a couple of league championships?
How about a pair of district titles to boot?
The Cheney boys and girls teams pulled off such a feat, complementing their Great Northern League regular season championships by winning the District 7 meet at Eastern Washington University last Thursday and Friday. The Blackhawks' boys cruised to the title with 167 points, 62 ahead of second-place West Valley while the girls finished with 165 points, 59.25 ahead of Riverside.
DeAngelo Jones led the boys with three district titles. The senior captured the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 5 inches, one inch short of his career best and two short of 2A state-leading Andrew Galloway of R.A. Long High School.
Jones took first in the long jump with a leap of 21-10 3/4 and was first in the triple jump in 45-06 1/2, both of which would be solid top-five finishes at state.
Dakota Condos brought home Cheney's other title in the field events, winning the javelin with a toss of 166-03; with fellow junior Colt Sutter qualified for state with third at 143-11. Junior Brennen Wynn vaulted 12-06 for second in the pole vault, while senior Michael Payne's toss of 132-03 earned him a trip to the state meet with a third in the discus.
Seniors Darez Meriwether and Michael Stralser together with junior Nash Springberry powered the Blackhawks on the track. Meriwether took first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.66 seconds and was second in the 200 in 23.79, one-half second behind Pullman's Dauson Crawford. Cheney sophomore Dietrich Smith qualified for state in the 100 with a time of 11.80.
Springberry advanced with second-place finishes in the 800 in 2:03.31, 3/100ths of a second behind Riverside's Max Winter, and in the 1,600 in 4:30.16, just under half a second behind Colville's Ned Fischer. Stralser was second in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 16.62 and second in the 300 hurdles in 42.10. Neal Moseley was Cheney's other top-three finisher in the individual events, advancing with a third-place finish in the 400 in 52.24.
The boys' 4x100 team of Meriwether, Ben Bissel, Smith and Stralser finished second in 45.44 while the 4x400 team of Moseley, Springberry, Dillon Phelps and Stralser advanced with a third-place time of 3:34.18.
The girls were led by a blend of experience and youth – the sprinting experience of senior Shelby Maurer and the youthful legs of freshman distance runner Sanne Holland. Maurer was first in the 100 in 12.63, and held off fellow a Blackhawk freshman Janessa Day for first in the 200 in 26.27, with Day second in 26.48. Day also earned a spot at state in the 400, finishing second in 59.76, just back of Riverside's Jessica Chrisp.
Holland took first in the 1,600 with a time of 5:17.30 and first in the 3,200 in 11:55.40, holding off challenges by Riverside sophomore Jess Mildes in both events. Holland's freshman teammate Kendall Dunn finished third in the 1,600 in 5:31.99.
Senior Chelsea Breen earned trips to state in the 100 and 300 hurdles, finishing second in 16.70 and third in 47.69. The Blackhawks' 4x200 relay team of Briana Estrellado, Emily Stralser, Shaley Ham and Maurer was first in 1:46.88 while the 4x400 team of Maurer, Estrellado, Day and Breen was also first in 4:03.78.
Seniors Olivia Dehner and Ham were the only Cheney athletes to advance in field events. Dehner finished second in the triple jump at 34-09 while Ham was third in the high jump with a season-best 5-02.
Besides second in the high jump, Jones is also ranked third in 2A state in the boys' long jump and fifth in the triple jump. Other Cheney athletes ranked in the state top-10 in their events are Maurer in the 100 and 200 (third, sixth), Holland in the 3,200 (10th), Breen in the 300 hurdles (ninth), Condos in the javelin (fifth) and Ham in the high jump (seven-way tie for eighth).
The 2A/3A/4A state track meet runs Thursday through Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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