By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
As the weather begins to heat up, so do the performances of the Cheney High boys and girls track and field teams.
The Blackhawks posted their second Great Northern League win of the season Thursday, April 16, at Clarkston by downing the Bantam boys 85-64 and girls 110-46. Saturday, the boys placed eighth while the girls were ninth out of 12 teams overall at Cheney’s Big Red Invitational, with several other athletes heading south for the 100-team Pasco Invitational.
Seniors Sam Schreiber and Brett Wyborney led the Cheney boys against Clarkston. Schreiber won both the 110-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles with times of 18.4 seconds and 45.01 while Wyborney topped the list in the shot put and discus, winning the former with a toss of 46 feet, 1 inch and the latter in 119-01. Senior Steaven Zachman was first in the 400 (53.35) while freshman Peyton Putney and Charles Johnson captured the 100 and 200 with times of 11.34 and 24 seconds even.
Sophomore Drake Johnson won the 800 in 2:05, while the 4x400 relay team of Carson Brown, Kevin Houndonougbo, Schreiber and Gaige Felix took first in 3:50.63.
“It went exactly how we wanted it to,” boys head coach Bobby Byrd said. “We got the job done. Nobody had any great PRs (personal records) but we all performed well.”
Cheney’s girls took first in 14 of 18 events via a sort of youth movement in their win over the Bantams. Seniors Jamie Bradley and Helen Levchenko, along with junior Abby Hammermeister were the only upperclassmen to post wins, with Bradley taking first in the pole vault (10 feet), Levechenko first in the 300 hurdles (50.07) and Hammermeister first in the 400 (1:05.02).
Sophomore KD Skillingstad collected wins in the 100 hurdles (16.18) and the triple jump (35-07) with fellow sophomore Ally Jones winning the 100 (13.40) and the long jump (15-08.50, Alecia Brooks taking the 3,200 (13:19.24) and Rylie Pease winning the javelin (105-02). Freshmen collecting wins were Lelie Holland in the 800 (2:44.28) and Hannah Spakousky in the 1,600 (6:00.52).
Numerous other Cheney athletes took second and third places on both boys and girls teams, with the Blackhawks taking the top three spots in several events.
“It was a solid meet,” girls head coach Tom Stralser said. “We continued to train them through the meet with an eye on the post season.”
Placing and establishing new PRs for the girls at the Big Red was Brooks in the 3,200 (third, 13:15.10), Shelby Elliott in the 400 (fifth, 1:06.90), Evarosa Perry in the 800 (fifth, 2:43.60), Breeann Johnson in the 200 and long jump (29.90, 14-03), seventh in both), Brooklyn Spencer in the pole vault (7-06) and Arianna Rich in the shot put (eighth at 27-05.50, but a 28-06.50 in prelims).
None of the Cheney boys placing at the Big Red hit any PRs. Schreiber took fifth in the 300 hurdles and sixth in the 110 hurdles, Cameron Hardt was fourth in the high jump and Charles Johnson was seventh in the 100.
Zachman led the boys at Pasco, reaching the finals in the 800 and placing ninth in
1:59.04. Byrd said Wyborney inched closer to his goal of breaking 50 feet in the shot put with a 14th-place finish and toss of 47-08. Drake Johnson was 33rd in the 300 hurdles, while the distance medley relay team of Matthew Christianson, Carson Kerr, Drake Johnson and Steaven Zachman was ninth.
Skillingstad led the girls with a fifth-place finish in the 300 hurdles, clocking a time of 45.85 that was the fastest among the 2A schools at the meet.
“It was only her third (300) race ever, and she went faster,” Stralser said.
Skillingstad also placed 10th in the triple jump. Bradley tied her PR in the pole vault at 10-06, although Stralser said she didn’t jump as well as she can.
Also reaching the finals were Hammermeister (800), Hailey Ottosen (discus) and Pease (javelin), along with the 4x100, 4x400 and distance medley relay teams.
Both Byrd and Stralser said their respective Cheney squads are improving with every meet, and should continue to do so as the weather begins to warm. Cheney returns to GNL action this week, traveling to East Valley Thursday to face the Knights, and will also compete at the annual Mooberry Relays at Rogers High School in Spokane on Saturday.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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