The Rainier High School track and field team dominated its competition on its home field in a 1B/2B/1A league meet on Thursday, March 21. Competing against Eatonville, Adna, Morton-White Pass and Toutle Lake, the Mountaineer girls took first place overall, clinching six individual first-place finishes, while the boys claimed third with four first-place finishers.
The girls scored 110 points — 15 more than second-place Eatonville’s 95 — and the boys finished with 73 points behind Eatonville’s 98 and Adna’s 90.
Madison Ingram and Angelica Askey each scored two first-place wins, as Ingram took first in the 400-meter and 3,200-meter events, and Askey won the 800-meter and 1,600-meter events. Matthew Kenney dominated both throwing competitions with wins in the shot put (40 feet, 8 inches) and discus (134 feet, 7 inches).
Reigning high jump state champion Acacia Murphy secured the first-place title with a 4-foot, 6-inch jump. She also took second in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events, while Jazzlyn Shumate earned top-five finishes in both and set a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles in her fifth-place finish.
Senior Haleigh Hanson set a personal record in the discus with a 112-foot, 8-inch toss to finish second in that competition, while she took first in the shot put.
“There were some really good performances. Haleigh with 112 in the discus was a huge personal best for her,” girls head coach Rob Henry said.
Junior Josh Meldrum set a personal record with a 19-foot, 7-inch long jump that clinched the first-place spot. To add to his day, he took third in the 100-meter and helped the Mountaineers earn second in the 4x100 relay behind Eatonville.
Zander Peck earned the javelin crown with a 158-foot, 1-inch throw. He finished behind Kenney in the shot put and placed in the top 10 in discus.
“Our kids came out today and competed. It was a good meet with pretty good competition. Josh had a great jump, which was awesome for him,” boys coach Josh Frunz said.
Henry said that his group is a hard-working bunch and that the girls’ competitive spirit carries over from sport to sport, as many team members are multi-sport athletes.
“They work hard, they listen and they’re competitive. You can see it from volleyball to cross country to basketball. They’re busting their butts,” he said.
The Mountaineers head to Eatonville High School for another 1B/2B/1A league meet at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 28. Their next, and final, home meet before league championships will take place on Thursday, May 2.
