Blackhawks look to reach podium at state

Cheney High’s track and field teams have an opportunity at this weekend’s state track meet to do something they haven’t done collectively in several years — the chance to make a little noise when it comes to podium placement as a team.

Both Blackhawks boys’ and girls’ squads will be sending decent numbers to the Star State 2A/3A/4A track and field meet this Thursday — Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School. Both teams will be sending six to compete in individual events, along with two relay teams for the boys and one for the girls.

“We’re going to get to state and score some points,” Blackhawks girls’ head coach Tom Stralser said.

Alsatta Bakana and KD Skillingstad led the girls on the track at the District 5/6/7 State Qualifying meet in Prosser that took place under less than ideal weather conditions. Bakana won the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.93 seconds, and finished second in the 100-meters in 12.77. Skillingstad captured the 300-meter hurdles title in 46.15, and finished second in the 100 hurdles in 15.74.

The 4x100 relay team of Ally Jones, Skillingstad, Bakana and Stephanie Assonken took first with a time of 50.21. In the field, Rylie Pease used a throw of 130 feet to capture the javelin, Zoe Lamb and Makayla Miller went 1-2 at 10-06 and 9-06 respectively to advance in the pole vault while Jones assured her chance to compete in the long jump with a fourth-place leap of 16-04.

Sophomore Hannah Spakousky just missed qualifying for state in the 3,200, finishing sixth with a time of 12:04.77. Bakana failed to qualify in the high jump, and Jones missed adding the triple jump to her list of events, finishing fifth at 33-05.

Peyton Putney and Isaiah Rigo captured individual first-place finishes for the boys. Putney edged teammate Charles Johnson at the tape to win the 200 in 22.29, with Johnson second in 22.30.

Rigo took first in the 400, 800 and 1,600 wheelchair events in times of 1:03.45, 2:06.25 and 4:12.98. Johnson was second in the 100 in 11.29 while Drake Johnson was fourth in the 1,600 (4:31.23) and the 3,200 (9:55.35).

Cheney’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams advanced, the latter in somewhat dramatic fashion. Boys’ head coach Derek Slaughter said freshman Jonathan Bishun had to step in to the lead-off leg for Putney, who developed a stomach sickness prior to the race.

Sitting at sixth heading into the final exchange, the Blackhawks got a little break when the Sunnyside team tripped and fell, and Charles Johnson ran a 48-second final leg to edge Quincy’s Caleb Williamson for fourth. Slaughter had praise for the team’s effort, especially Bishun, whose effort embodied his team’s season philosophy of “next man up.”

“John was the next guy up,” Slaughter said. “He did his job, and they got through.”

Cheney finished with a time of 3:31.79 while Quincy was fifth in 3:32.06. Cheney’s 4x100 team of Putney, Johnson, Chris Diaz and Kaleb Loos finished second in 42.98, 38/100ths of a second behind West Valley.

In the field events, senior Gaige Felix gets a chance to cap his career with some state hardware by finishing second in the triple jump at 41-05 and fourth in the long jump at 20-00.25. Chase Reed battled his way to a fourth-place finish in the discus at 138-06.

Both Stralser and Slaughter feel good about their team’s podium chances this weekend in Tacoma, although Stralser’s years of experience provide him the realization that one athlete’s success is “predicated on others disappointment.”

“If we come home with a team trophy, how sweet that will be,” he added.

Slaughter’s expectations, on the other hand, are buoyed by the fact that wheelchair athletes who place will be scored in their team’s overall points this year, bringing Rigo finally into Cheney’s scoring mix.

“We have guys in position where if we score like we did at regionals, we could get near that podium,” Slaughter said. “We have the makings for a team score.”

John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].