YAKIMA – Under a sliver of shade at Chinook Stadium, Josh Meldrum was recovering from throwing up after anchoring the Rainier High School boys track and field team in the 400 relay.
It was a scorcher for the C2BL Championships three weeks ago. And Meldrum was feeling every effect of it.
He walked under his own power to be put into an ambulance that arrived on-site.
“I didn’t take care of my body,” Meldrum said. “It was not good.”
The sprinter experienced every feeling known to a human that day. He had just one feeling on Saturday afternoon.
Meldrum darted down the straightaway at Zaepfel Stadium in a blitzing time of 11.12 seconds to grab the Class 2B 100-meter dash title on the campus of Eisenhower High School for the final day of the state track and field championships.
“I had to go out and show it,” Meldrum said. “I’ve been struggling with kidney stones and I pushed myself through it. I was almost going to cry, I’m probably still going to.
The moment his scare happened at Kalama, the junior knew changes needed to happen. So Meldrum started to take better care of his body and results followed.
He was the runner-up in the District 4 tournament, then came into Friday’s prelims seemingly a different runner.
Meldrum set a new PR in the prelims of 11.14 and earned himself a spot in Lane 4 for the finals.
“I started every day with a good attitude,” Meldrum said.
Block starts have never been Meldrum’s strongest attribute. It is his chase down ability that makes him a factor in the last 50 meters.
He passed Adna’s Tyler Price and Okanogan’s David Huffstetler to prevail.
“My block starts have been a problem all season,” Meldrum said. “My coaches and teammates push me, get on me about my mindset.”
He also finished third in the long jump, two places behind Morton-White Pass’ champion Tony Belgiorno, who needed his last jump of 21-06-flat to be the victor.
Belgiorno has peaked at the right time, hitting over 20 feet the last two weeks before unleashing a new lifetime best.
The senior was behind Colfax's Ryan Robinson by a couple feet before the final jumps. Belgiorno ended up winning by just under two feet.
Pe Ell’s Carter Phelps snared two state championships in a 110 and 300-meter hurdle sweep. A year after finishing runner-up in both, he stood atop the podium twice.
“I’ve been working on this for a long time, it is very satisfying,” Phelps said.
Both races were tightly contested.
Phelps and Evergreen Lutheran’s Jace Lovely were neck-and-neck for much of the race until the very end when Phelps outlasted Lovely by .2 seconds in the 110s.
Then in the 300s, it was Luke Christensen from the Eagles that was on the heels of Phelps, until he clipped the final hurdle and that was the final push the Trojan senior needed for the sweep.
“A lot closer than expected, but that’s kudos to Evergreen Lutheran,” Phelps said. “I’m not letting this kid beat me.”
Calan McCarty ended up in third place in the 110s and Eli Mason was top-eight in the 300s.
There hasn’t been a decision made on whether Phelps will run in college. He’s already set to go down under to Australia and run during the summer
“As of now, I’m not going to do college track,” Phelps said. “Some of the memories I have with my friends, I'll remember forever. You get to look outwards and inwards.”
Toledo’s Jordan Mckenzie was the runner-up in the 2B 400-meter dash in a time of 52.32 seconds. He let his guts release before accepting the medal.
Part of that has been a diet change that has led to four straight sub-53 second races.
“Try to consume enough protein for muscle recovery,” Mckenzie said. “Have enough carbs at the same time where you’re not overeating, but have enough energy to run this race.”
The senior led halfway through before getting passed in the final 100 meters despite a tailwind.
“I knew that with my outside line, I’d get to the windy (part) before anyone else,” Mckenzie said. “Rely on that tailwind to carry me all the way.”
Onalaska’s 400 relay quartet, out of Lane 8, placed third in a close to season-best 44.90 seconds. Justice Miller, the anchor for the squad, has felt like the intricacies of the event have gotten better as the season progressed.
It showed out on the biggest stage.
“We were very stoked,” said Miller, who also placed fifth in the discus. “Chehalis Activators, that was the biggest turning point (of the season).”
Jordan Stout (800) and Tyler Price (200) took third place for Adna while Kolton Moon (300 hurdles and Toledo’s Treyton Marty (3200) each grabbed fourth place finishes.
Marshall Brockway of Mossyrock had its best finish of the day, sixth in the 1B javelin. The Pirates finished fifth in the 2B team race, barely missing a trophy.
