15 Falcons advance to state meet / Track

Ten boys and five girls from the South Whidbey High School track team qualified for the state meet through their work in the bi-district championships Thursday and Saturday, May 16 and 18, in Coupeville.

The top four places in each bi-district event earned state berths. In addition, several athletes who placed fifth and posted state qualifying times also earned a trip to state, which is Thursday through Saturday, May 23-25, at Cheney’s Eastern Washington University.

The Falcon boys just missed winning the bi-district team title. Meridian edged South Whidbey 113-110 to claim first out of 16 schools. The Falcons produced a strong effort even though they were missing two members who combined to win six medals in last year’s state meet.

The South Whidbey girls were ninth with 30.5 points; King’s took the title with 107.

The Falcons boys were led once again by Callahan Yale, who had his hand in three of South Whidbey’s five blue ribbons.

The senior won the 800 (1:57.19) and 1,600 (4:26.03) and ran on the victorious 4×400 team (3:28.3) with Carl Henri Chapman, Bodie Hezel and Max Dodd.

Issiah Gonzales was part of the other two wins, taking the high jump (6) and running to first-place in the 4×100 (44.2) with Hezel, Chapman and Caden Spear. He also qualified in the triple jump by taking third (41-05.25).

Hezel finished third in both hurdle events (110, 15.64; 300, 42.57).

Spear also qualified for state by taking fourth in the 200 (23.28) and meeting the state qualifying time while finishing fifth in the 100 (11.38).

Kole Nelson (110, 15.8; 300, 42.58) and Cody Eager (110, 16.22; 300, 43.07) displayed South Whidbey’s depth in the hurdles by following Hezel in fourth and fifth in each event. Eager’s 110 time surpassed the state qualifying time and earned a state berth.

Sam Martin was fourth in the pole vault (12), and Billy Rankin was fourth in the long jump (20-01.5).

Other boys scoring points for the Falcons were Chapman (sixth, long jump, 19-05.25) and Michael Cepowski (seventh, 3,200, 10:04.24).

Mattason Straub posted the best finish for a Falcon girl, taking third in the 100 (12.74).

She also helped get the 4×100 team to state, teaming with Alexandra Kurtz, Mallory Drye and Karyna Hezel to take fourth (52.5).

Straub added a fifth in the long jump (15-04.25).

Kaia Swegler Richmond placed fifth in the 800 in a state qualifying time of 2:21.9.

Others finishing among the top eight were Grace Complita (fifth, high jump, 4-10), Molly Cobbs (sixth, 300 hurdles, 50.72), Mya Pratt (eighth, discus, 85) and the 4×400 team of Complita, Kurtz, Drye and Swegler-Richmond (sixth, 4:23.83).