Former Blackhawks shine in the collegiate sports world

Several local athletes are achieving success beyond the Cheney High School locker rooms, many in track and field along with cross country.

CHS 2013 graduate Sanne Holland recently helped her Colorado State women's indoor track and field team win a Mountain West Conference title by finishing eighth in the 3,000-meter run Feb. 26 in Albuquerque, N.M., turning in a time of 9 minutes, 48.42 seconds. According to information from the Rams' website, it was Holland's highest finish since placing fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2015 Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships.

Holland had some hometown company in Albuquerque. Blackhawks 2013 graduate Calvin Berstler, who is part of the U.S. Air Force Academy team capturing the Mountain West Conference men's championship.

According to the academy's website, the sophomore, who competed in the heptathlon, turned in a career-best total of 4,910 points to finish seventh, adding nearly 100 points to his previous best to move him into ninth place on the academy's all-time list.

Berstler was seventh in both the pole vault (12 feet, 11.5 inches) and the 1,000-meter run (2:51.16) and eighth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.69 seconds. His best finish came on the first day when he cleared 6-feet, 4-inches - a career-best mark - for second in the high jump.

Down south at the Pepperdine University track team's first outdoor meet Feb. 20 at Westmont University, 2013 graduate Kendall Dunn finished second in the 400-meter hurdles. She topped that at a four-team meet March 5 at Riverside City College by teaming with teammate Catie Barilla to run the two fastest 400 hurdle times in the Malibu, Calif.-school's track history, finishing third in 1:06.14.

Dunn transferred to Pepperdine last year from Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colo.

Switching from track to the wrestling mats, 2014 graduate Eli Mason placed fourth at 197 pounds at the National Junior College National Championships Feb. 26-27 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, leading his Highline Community College team from Des Moines, Wash. to a fourth-place overall finish.

After a first-round bye, Mason beat Atavion Oliver of Ellsworth (Iowa) and followed that with a win over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M's Josh Latham, who according to the Highline website was ranked No. 2 in the nation at 197.

Mason lost in the semifinals to Dymere Rappa of Camden County, but rebounded in the consolation semis for a win over Anthony Whitmarsh of Southwest Oregon before losing 10-6 to Iowa Lakes' Christian Dulaney in the match for third and fourth. Mason was one of four Highline wrestlers selected as All-Americans.

"Mason has been a huge part of our program over the last few years and has developed into a very well rounded wrestler," Highline head coach Scott Norton said in a news release. "I'm hoping he continues to wrestle at the NCAA Division 2 level. I think he could do very well there."

Finally, a little closer to home, 2015 graduate Erin Clark placed 11th (11-10.50) in the pole vault for Eastern Washington University at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Pocatello, Idaho. Her teammate, 2014 graduate Johanna Sherman, set a new program record in the 600 at the University of Washington Preview Jan. 16 with a time of 1:39.64 while 2015 graduate Steaven Zachman was part of the Eagle men's distance medley relay team that finished 11th at the Big Sky championships.

(Editor's note: The preceding was compiled with the help and much appreciation of Cheney's Kurt Holland.)

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].