Riverhawk Repeat: Toledo Boys Win 4x400 State Title

Posted

YAKIMA — A few of the faces may have changed, but the result remained the same. 

For the second year in a row, the Toledo boys 4x400 team ended the 2B track season with a state title, as Trevin Gale, Jordan Mckenzie, John Rose, and Conner Olmstead beat the field by nearly two seconds with a time of 3:29.08.

The Riverhawks sat in a tight third place after the first leg, but by the time Mckenzie gave the baton to Rose, they were in front of the pack. When Rose gave it to Olmstead, the lead over Chewelah was half a second, and as Olmstead took one last lap in his high school career, that gap broadened.

It was a high note to end the meet on, after Toledo opened the weekend with a scare when Zack Smith, another senior, took a hard fall in the hurdles and had to be taken off with a broken ankle.

“It’s been a pretty emotional last couple of days,” Olmstead said. “It’s always emotional when you’re a senior, but on the first day one of your best friends breaks his ankle… We had to come out here and do it for him. A lot of this is for Zack.”

Onalaska’s 4x400 team of Riley Carter, Taden Miller, Isaac Fitch, and Ben Russon finished eighth in 3:40.27.

Other Results and Placers

Elsewhere, Rainier picked up a few placers on the final day, with Acacia Murphy taking home an individual state title in the high jump with a 5 foot, 2 inch clearance, and then finishing sixth in the 100-meter dash in 13.27. 

The Mountaineers’ Matthew Kenney also finished fourth in the discus with an 137 foot, 5 inch toss, and Josh Meldrum took fifth in the 100m in 11.36. 

Napavine’s Max O’Neill capped a strong year with a pair of second-place finishes in the 100-meter dash and 200m, including a dramatic finish in the former. The senior lost the state title by three thousandths of a second, running the 100m in 11.234. He came back to also finish second in the 200m in 22.54. 

On the girls side, the Tigers’ Keira O’Neill finished third in the high jump with a 5 foot clearance and fifth in the triple jump (33 feet, 10.25 inches). 

Morgan Hamilton finished as state runner-up in the 400-meter dash in 1:00.68, and both Hamilton and O’Neill — along with Emily Kang and Jessie McCoy — helped the girls 4x100-meter relay finish sixth in 54.42. 



Steadily improving her results throughout the year, Ony senior Brooklyn Sandridge capped an impressive track and field season with a third-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles in 48.37. 

She was joined by some some teammates as well, with Riley Carter taking fifth in the boys 300-meter hurdles in 42.31, Melissa Reiman finished fifth in the girls 800m in 2:29.84, Ben Russon finishing fifth in the boys 800m in 2:02.58, and Justice Miller taking eighth in the boys discus (129 feet, 1 inch). 

Adna was led by Jordan Stout’s third-place finish in the 800m in 2:00.77, and Reagan Naillon’s sixth-place finish in the 400m in 1:03.60. The girls 4x100-meter relay also finished fifth in 53.75 with a team of Sophie Hagseth, Megan Price, Lydia Tobin, and Naillon. 

Winlock had a pair of final day placers, with Payton Sickles taking seventh in the 100m in 11.51, and Victoria Sancho finishing sixth in the 200-meter finals in 27.04. 

Morton-White Pass’ Ayricka Hughes finished eighth in the 3200-meter run in 14:23.09, and Tony Belgiorno placed again on the final day with a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash in 53.04. 

To round out the 2Bs, Toledo’s Mckenzie finished third in the 400m in 51.18, and then sixth in the 200m in 23.37. Treyton Marty took home more hardware, taking seventh in the 3200m in 10:00.09. 

In 1B, Mossyrock had a strong final day. Caelyn Marshall finished third in the javelin with a 116 foot, 6 inch toss, Matt Cooper took the state title in the 800m in 2:00.73, and Christian Paz Tapia took fourth in that same race in 2:04.24. 

Hugo Wedam finished seventh in the 3200m in 10:42.941, taking a photo finish over teammate Miguel Gomez, who finished eighth in 10:42.946. 

The Vikings’ girls 4x200-meter relay team of Caelyn Marshall, Leah Contreras, Renzy Marshall and Saydi Mendoza finished sixth in 1:53.86, and that same group finished sixth in the 4x100 in 53.30 later that Saturday. 

The boys relays faired well, too, with the 4x100 team of Ben Cruz, Matt Cooper, Sage Greisen, and William Cushman finishing fifth in 47.07, and the boys 4x400 team of Angel Velasco, Paz Tapia, Lucas Cooper, and Matt Cooper finishing fourth in 3:41.63. 

Pe Ell’s Carter Phelps took second in both of his hurdle events, running the 110m hurdles in 16.24 and the 300-meter hurdles in 42.10, while Calan McCarty finished eighth in the 110m hurdles in 17.44

The Trojans’ Charlie Carper finished third in the 100m hurdles in 16.79 and sixth in the 300m hurdles in 52.48 to bring home more hardware from Yakima.