Cardinals Shine At First Track Meet Of Year

WALLA WALLA - The Waitsburg Track and Field Team competed in its first meet of the season last Thursday against some big, competitive teams, but the Cardinals came out to shine even if the sun did not.

It was a big day for the Cardinals in Walla Walla. They were up against Hermiston, Pendleton, Walla Walla Valley Academy, Columbia-Burbank and Walla Walla high schools.

"We had some pretty stiff competition," said distance coach Joanna Lanning. "We had a fantastic meet. The kids really came together."

All of the kids did much better than she had ever expected.

Thursday was a big day for Cardinal James Thompkins. He placed first in the 100-meter race with a time of 12.61 seconds and second place in the 200 meters with 23.97 seconds. He also shined in the relays, helping his team achieve first and second places.

In the 4 by 100 relay, the Cardinal team comprised of Thompkins, DJ Leroue, Logan Dozier and Billy Brown earned first place with a time of 46.26 seconds.

"Thompkins won that for them," Lanning said. "He got the (other runner) right at the wire. He really had a super meet."

In the 4 by 400 relay, Thompkins, Dozier, Brown and Owen Lanning took second place with 3 minutes, 47 seconds.

" These athletes worked hard in their preparation for their first meet, and the results demonstrated that," said sprint coach Darleen Dozier.

It was also a big day for Cardinal thrower Eshom Estes. He placed first in the shot put with a throw of 48 and 10.5 meters. That shot put throw was a 2-foot personal record for Estes. He also placed third in the discus with 130 and 4 meters and fourth in the javelin with 134 and 4 meters.

"I was really proud of our opener overall," said head coach Jeff Bartlow. "(We) competed against some big time schools and came out well."

The Cardinals managed to run, jump and throw in ways that proved they are a very wellrounded team this year.

In the 100- meter race, Thompkins was first, followed by Leroue in 12th and Kevin Glover in 26th.

In the 200- meter race, Thompkins came in second, followed by Leroue in 11th and Alex Dill in 16th place.

In the 400-meter race, Logan Wanous placed seventh, followed by Emmanuel Prado in 13th and Glover in 14th.

In the 800-meter race, Roy Ebong took fifth place, followed by Zac Brown in tenth place.

In the 1600-meter race, Seth Deal came in sixth, followed by Austin Conklin in ninth and Aldair Escalante in 18th.

In the 3200-meter race, Deal came in second, followed by EJ Meserve in fourth.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Brown took second place, followed by Dozier in eighth and Julian Torez in ninth.

In the 4 by 100 relay, WP's team of Thompkins, Leroue, Dozier and Billy Brown came in first. The second Cardinal team comprised of Dill, Ebong, Lanning and Fernando Torres came in fourth.

In the 4 by 400 relay, Thompkins, Dozier, Billy Brown and Lanning came in second. The Cardinal team of Ebong, Zac Brown, Wanous and Jose Esparza came in seventh place.

In the shot put, Estes came in first, followed by Ben Shafer in fifth and Brendan Donovan in tenth.

In discus, Estes came in third, followed by Zac Brown in eighth and Ben Shafer in 35th.

In javelin, Estes placed fourth, followed by Jacob Cantuna in eighth and Tyler Shafer in 24th.

For the high jump, Billy Brown came in third and Brendan Donovan came in fifth.

In the long jump, Lanning placed 13th followed by Torres in 14th and Donovan in 16th.

In the triple jump, Dozier placed sixth, followed by Conklin in seventh and Leroue in 12th.

For the girls, Kristin Potter and Ronnie Hulce lived up to their potential.

In the 100-meter race, Potter placed third, followed by Stacia Deal in 16th and Catherine Martinez in 29th.

In the 200 meters, Potter placed fifth, followed by Stacia Deal in 14th and Emily Skay in 16th.

In the 400 meters, Potter took second place.

In the 100-meter hurdles, Hulce placed fifth.

In the shot put, Hannah Helms took ninth, followed by Brittany Lute in 12th and Stacia Deal in 13th.

In the discus, Lute placed 20th, followed by Beka Adams in 24th and Meara Baker in 49th.

In javelin, Lute placed 11th, Adams placed 12th and Helms placed 14th.

In high jump, Hulce placed third.

In long jump, Potter placed eighth, followed by Maddy Witt in tenth and Maranda Callahan in 20th.

Finally, in the triple jump, Witt came in tenth and Hulce came in 11th.