Riverhawk Track & Field Off & Running; Senior night, final home meet set for April 13
Taylor Morehouse clearing the bar at 14'. Photo by Ashley Quisenberry
By JIll Pearson
There are basically three things you need to know about high school track and field:
The weather is notoriously unpredictable- there’s been hail, 70 degrees, and snow this week.
Once you volunteer at one track event, you inherit that event for life (shout out to the rest of the Pearson family far off at the javelin)
The athletes start fast, and only get faster.
If you had to boil that trinity of track and field knowledge down, you just need to know the final one. The past four weeks for the Riverhawk track team have been a flurry of activity, much like the organization of the 17 events- runs, jumps, and throws- that comprise the sport itself. With one dual, one league, and two invitationals under their belts, they are poised for tougher training and stronger showings at their final home meet this Wednesday.
While track is a team sport- scoring depends on individual placement, added together- its diversity lends itself to several highlights. Here are a few:
Jaxon Pullen finishing in a new PR in the 100m. Photo by Ashley Quisenberry
Senior Jaxon Pullen dominated the 100m dash at the Hood River meet last Wednesday, with a time of 11.22 seconds, his personal best and nearly a half second ahead of second place.
The girls’ 4x100 relay has undergone several configurations, most recently with Hannah Adams, Zoe Dunn, Madelyn Harrison, and Lilly Adams, coming in first in Hood River at 52.58 seconds, and placing fifth at the massive (and prestigiously fast) Sherwood Invitational on Saturday. As their individual times and handoff coordination continue to improve, they will be the fearsome foursome to watch this season.
Last Saturday, senior Taylor Morehouse cleared 14’10” in the pole-vault, improving his height from Wednesday by nearly a foot, and improving the 14 feet he cleared at the State Meet last year.
Zoe Dunn reaches in the long jump at the Mullen-Leavitt Invite. Photo by Ashley Quisenberry
Junior Zoe Dunn continues to increase her distance in the long jump, reaching a new personal best of 17’ 7.5”, enough to place her in first at the Sherwood Meet on Saturday, and among the top seven in the entire state.
It’s been a good season for younger runners and throwers as well. Sophomore Leo Lemman and freshmen Egan Ziegenhagen and Alaina Casady continue to whittle down their times consistently in the distance events. Their continued work from the end of cross country to the spring has paid off with all-time personal bests at Sherwood: 4:24 in the 1500m for Leo; 2:15 in the 800m for Egan, and 12:06 for Alaina in the 3000m.
Come support the Riverhawk Track and Field team at their last home meet- and senior night- this Wednesday at 3:30 at the Wahtonka track. Just also remember #1, and bring a jacket.
You can see the rest of the Riverhawks’ stats and schedule on Athletic.net.
The freshman distance squad reunited in the 1500m at Hood River: (right to left) Josef Lutz, Aiden Chanter, Caleb Caldwell, Angel Garza, and Gabe Stein. Photo by Ashley Quisenberry
Lilly Adams starts the girls' 4x400m at Hood River. Photo by Ashley Quisenberry
