LANGLEY — Hisashi Sanda and Cayla Calderwood posted personal bests in the 200-meter dash and long jump Thursday.
Remarkable, considering the 2-inch layer of hail-induced slush they had to overcome.
The solid pellets of frozen water pounded Waterman Field, forcing cancellation of the javelin throw and changes to the high-hurdle events. Falcon coach Doug Fulton huddled with his counterparts from Sultan and Coupeville under a tent to mount a plan of attack.
With the track covered in the white stuff, the boys mistakenly ran 110 meters instead of 100 and their times reflected it, more than a second off the normal pace.
But the boys, girls, coaches and volunteers persevered and the games continued.
Sanda and Jon Poolman were first and second for the Falcons in the 100-meter dash, but their times are irrelevant due to the extra 10 meters they ran.
In the 200-meter dash, Sanda was first in 23.49 seconds,
Poolman second with 23.73 and Eric Stallman fifth in 24.83.
“I couldn’t see very well and the hail was stinging my face,”
Poolman said. “And it takes a long time to stop after running so fast. It was just nasty.”
Scott Stallman was first in the 400-meter run with 54.60 and freshman Jasper Tyler second in 1:01.32. Stallman came in first in the 800-meter at 2:14.00.
For the distance events, Kyle Asay was second in the
1,600-meter run with 5:07.00 and Blake Koszarck fourth at 5:21.00. Nick Rovang took second in the 3,200 with 11:33.50.
In the 110- and 300-meter high hurdles, Andy Bennett was first with 17.43 and 43.71.
Sanda, Poolman, Eric Stallman and Chandler Thompson took first in the 100-meter relay with 3:46.00 and second in the
400-meter relay at 3:46.00.
“For our first performance, that felt good,” Stallman said.
Thompson, working off an upper thigh injury, felt the same.
“I felt a little tight out there, not to mention cold, but we’re all pretty happy with the time,” he said.
In the throwing events, Jackson Engstrom was first for South Whidbey in the shot put with a flat 39 feet. David Monell was second at 37-10.25 and Chris Monell third at 33-11.75.
David Monell was first in discus at 106-04, Zach Idso second with 105-11, Chris Monell third at
102-06 and Engstrom placed fourth with 99 feet even.
Ramsey O’Brien, in his first year, pole vaulted 8-06.00. Bennett took second in the long jump with 19-1.25.
The Falcon girls took first through fourth place in the
100-meter race — Gwen Bakke at 14.91, McKenzie Walker close behind at 14.93, Lauren Sandri at 15.24 and Laurie Robinson with 15.41.
Sandri, in her first meet after a tonsillectomy, found track conditions marginal at best. Her running mates agreed.
“Cold, slippery and slow” was the general consensus.
Walker was first in the
200-meter dash with 27.91, Robinson second with 29.08 and Bakke fourth at 29.28.
In the 400-meter run, Erica Johnson was first at 1:07 and Autumn Walker third at 1:15.
Courtney Bosman finished second in the 800-meter run with 2:39 and AJ Sanda third at 3:13.
South Whidbey took third in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter events; Emily Martin with 6:02 and Caroline Habel with 12:24.40.
Laura Barrow placed first in the 100- and 300-meter high hurdles with 17.70 and 50.70. Tamara Leonard was fourth with 20.19 in the 100.
The girls won the 400-meter relay in 4:41.09 thanks to Cassie and Courtney Bosman, Johnson and Habel.
Nikki Enters put her shot
27 feet, 9.75 inches for first place, Calderwood was second at
26-01.75 and Kelsey Engstrom fourth at 25-00.
Engstrom noted the difficulty pivoting in the slush. “There’s no traction and the discus was always wet,” she said. “Pretty bad, but we’re all here today.”
The three girls placed first, third and fifth in the discus.
Calderwood was first in the high jump with 4-10 and Leonard second at 4-04.
Autumn Walker was second in the pole vault at 5-06. Calderwood had a PR 16-05 in the long jump and Kylie DeMartini was
second with 14-04.25. In the
triple, DeMartini placed first with 30-03.
“The kids did a great job out here today, despite the weather,” Fulton said. “Everyone needs to be very proud of them.”
On April 3, the track and field teams travel to Cedarcrest. The Falcons host the annual Westling Invite at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 19 at Waterman Field.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbey
record.com.
