SPSL Championships - Day Two
The Track & Field squad had another strong showing on Day 2 of the SPSL Championships, crowning three league champions and advancing several others on to the West Central District Championships this Thursday and Saturday at Sumner.
Our first qualifier of the day came in the men’s shot, where Jonah Mains successfully defended his crown and repeated as the SPSL Champion. In the next ring over, junior Ellie Peterson earned her first opportunity to compete at WCD in the women’s discus with a fourth place finish – a great way to get the day started as this hard working pair advanced.
The other two field event qualifiers came in the men’s high jump, where Hugo Ntanda and Xander Storts both cleared 5’10” to extend their season another week. For Hugo, his first attempt clearance at the height was enough to earn him his first SPSL Championship, while Xander was equally excited for a third place finish, 4” personal best, and a trip to the district meet.
Our third SPSL Champion came in the women’s 3200, where Roz Slichko outran the field to win her first individual league championship. Slichko’s time of 11:07 was a personal best in the 8-lap affair. Her teammate, Emily Wells, also punched her ticket to districts with a fifth place finish in a great strategic battle.
In the 800 meters, the Jaguars earned a trio of season best marks but came up just short of qualifying for districts. In a gutsy effort, junior Jessie Foster ran a huge lifetime best (2:01.59) to win his heat and finish in seventh place (the top 6 advance), while Sophia Brown followed the same script by winning her heat of the 800 and finishing in 7th place with a season best time of 2:22.73; Brown was joined by Sydney Colbern, who also ran a season best time of 2:25 at the same distance.
The 200 meter dash provided a WCD qualifier and saw a pair of personal bests as well. Yahir Gonzalez’s lifetime best of 23.83 was enough to earn him a spot on the podium, while freshman Taylor Stilli just missed the freshmen school record with her new lifetime best of 27.44. Our lone qualifier in the event came from freshman Cantrell Thomas, who comfortably qualified in third place and will represent the Jags next week at districts in the 200 and 4x100 relay.
The 300 hurdles provided plenty of excitement as well. Colin Rice got things started by winning his heat in a lifetime best of 42.13, which earned him a spot on the podium in 8th place. In the next heat, freshman Asher Ogden punched his third ticket to the district meet by finishing in 4th place; Ogden’s time of 40.78 places him among the top-15 in the event among freshmen in state history. On the women’s side, senior Gabriela Cintron matched Rice’s effort by winning her heat as well in a season best time of 49.31 to finish in 7th place and narrowly miss qualifying. In the same heat, Alondra Lopez improved by five spots to finish in 12th place with a huge personal best of 51.83. Carley Huber is headed to districts for the first time in an individual event after running 47.71 in the hurdles and finishing in third place for the Jags.
The relay team of Stilli, Huber, Brown, and Slichko returned to the scorching track to qualify for districts in the 4x400 relay to end the meet. Their time of 4:10.25 will put them in the mix this week for a chance to qualify on to the state championships.
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