Thursday, March 28, 2024

Chelan, Manson Entiat athletes compete at State in Cheney

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CHENEY - For any athlete, getting the opportunity to compete in front of thousands of screaming fans is a shared goal. It means that you have risen to the top of your athletic field.

Although a large crowd is not synonymous typically with track during the regular season, it surely is once you get to State.

This past memorial weekend Entiat, Manson and Chelan sent several of their best to compete against the top track stars in the state at the 1A, 1B and 2B State Track Meet in Cheney.

It was a blistering couple of days, but all three teams competed admirably in each of their respective events.

Chelan

The Goats had five kids place in their respective events including:

Allie Barnes - 8th place in 800m (2:26.32)

Sterling Gordon-Fournier - 3rd place in Javelin (178 feet)

Dillon Dawson - 7th place in the 800m (2:00.11) and 15th in the 1600m (4:42.74)

Ava Dickes - 4th place in the 400m (59.05) New Chelan High School Record

Mereck Palazzo - 2nd place in 3200m (9:29.08) New Chelan High School Record and 3rd in the 1600m (4:22.75)

After not making it to state a year prior, Gordon-Fournier was ecstatic with his third place finish in the javelin with a throw of 178 feet, 8 shy of his personal best he set earlier this year.

“I’m feeling very happy,” Gordon-Fournier said after receiving his third place medal on Saturday, May 27. “I didn’t make it last year to state and that was not good, so I worked my butt off over the past year and placing at state today is a big accomplishment.”

Gordon-Fournier said he made the quick transition after working out his legs everyday, training his upper body and a lot of yoga.

Chelan also had two boy’s relay teams that qualified for state and past the pre-lims on Saturday, but both fell short in their performance on the second day and didn’t place.

“It was great being able to watch a ton of great athletes from our great state,” head coach Erik Romero said after the meet. “I am proud of how our athletes performed, especially the ones that had to run in the preliminary qualifying heats to make it to the second day. Our distance runners did a very good job at state this year and will be missed. I am proud to say that this year was a great year for all our kids. We had so many District Champions and our boys team was CTL District Champs again.”

Although the Goats are losing a bevy of their top seniors, coach Romero is confidant in the young bunch he will have for next year.

“I hope that we, as a coaching staff, can continue to work with our young athletes and bring some hardware back in the coming years,” coach Romero concluded in his post meet report. “I look froward to a great year next year and the opportunity to watch five seniors next year at the collegiate level competing for their respective college programs.”

Manson

The Trojans were not to be outdone either with their production either as several athletes placed or achieved personal bests.

Spencer Ward led the Trojans in medals after earning a medal as apart of the 4x100m relay along with Joe Strecker, Eduardo Escalera and Mason Walters, the 4x400m relay along with Cody McClanahan, Escalera and Walters and asixth place finish in the boys 400m. Ward was barely edged out in his 100m heat with a time of 11.51. He just missed qualifying for the finals by .03 seconds.

Mason Cameron finished 13th in the shot put, although he did so with a personal best throw, and 13th in the discus.

“It wasn’t the finish he was probably hoping for, but he won multiple league and district championships in the past couple of years,” head coach Kurt Toolson wrote in his post match report.

Freshman Connor Torgesen placed 8th in his heat for the 800m and did not make it out of qualifying.

“Still it was a remarkable season for Connor, who has had one of the most successful seasons as a freshman that I have seen,” coach Toolson stated.

Mason Walters finished in 12th after topping out at 5’10’’ in a stacked field for high jump, as nine boys jumped six feet or higher.

“We say goodbye to an outstanding class of seniors. If you look at the Manson school record books you will find their names popping all over the charts,” coach Toolson concluded. “Congragulations on leaving behind a distinguished legacy, you will all be missed, but not forgotten.”

Entiat

The big event for the Tigers was hurdles as Blake Duncan got sixth place in the 110m hurdles with a time of (17.27) and Natalya Paz took third in the 100m hurdles with a time of (17.15) and third in the 300m hurdles with a time of (48.68).

Ronnie Parks had a nice showing as well as he placed 8th in the 100m with a time of (12.33). Parks also finished first in his heat in the triple jump with a distance of 40 feet 4.5 inches, but never improved his distance and finished 8th in the finals. Parks will now look to improve over the next year before getting a shot at redemption next season.

Zach Johnson can be reached at lcmeditor@gmail.com or (509) 682-2213
 

1A State track, Chelan Track, Entiat Track, Manson Track, State Track meet, Washington state track, State track in Cheney

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