WP Men’s Team Tops Meet

CLARKSTON - WP did it again last Friday and took first place overall in the District 9 1B/2B track meet in Clarkston.

The WP men's team came out on top, competing against DeSales, Asotin, Pomeroy, WWVA, TOR, Gar-Pal and St. John Endicott. The women's team dropped one place from its meet the previous Wednesday to fourth.

The sprinters had a tough day because it was so windy early on. But, obviously the WP team showed its speed and skills.

The meet on Friday was another solid day for WP gals Kristin Potter and Ronnie Hulce.

Hulce placed second in the 110-meter hurdles, and was part of the 4x200 relay team that took first place. Her teammates on that relay team were Stacia Deal, Emily Skay and Potter. Hulce also placed third in the triple jump.

Head Coach Jeff Bartlow said he sees a lot of potential in Skay and the coaches would like to move her into the middle distance races to maximize her potential this season.

Potter took second place in the 100-meter race and fifth in the long jump.

WP's Emily Skay also showed off some of her potential by earning fifth place in the 200-meter race, fourth in the 400-meter race and 15th in the long jump.

WP thrower Hannah Helms competed in javelin last Friday and earned fifth place, and got fourth place in the shot put.

Maddy Witt took fourth in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump.

For the men's team, the same athletes who helped WP to the top last Wednesday provided the same boost in points on Friday.

James Thompkins swept three races and placed first in the 100-meter race, first in the 200-meter race and first in the 400-meter race.

Alex Dill also had some great races last Friday. He placed fourth in the 200-meter race, eighth in the 100-meter race and was part of the WP 4x100 relay team that took first place. Billy Brown, Logan Dozier and Roy Ebong competed in that event with Dill.

Track newcomer Logan Wanous made strides in his performance last Friday and took fifth in the 200-meter race.

Distance runner Seth Deal placed second in the 800-meter race, followed by teammates Austin Conklin in third and EJ Meserve in eighth.

Bartlow said Deal isn't where he would like him to be yet, but he's getting closer each week. Deal and all of his athletes are working hard and continuing to get in shape as the season progresses.

Billy Brown's sprint and hurdle skills also shined last Friday. He places fifth in the 100-meter race, first in the 110-meter hurdles, and of course he was part of the winning relay team.

WP's Julian Torez placed third in the 110-meter hurdles, followed by Jose Esparza in fourth.

The men's throwers had a solid day. Veteran standout Eshom Estes placed first in the shot put, second in discus and first in javelin.

WP's Ben Shafer placed third in shot put, sixth in discus and 12th in javelin last Friday. Bartlow said Shafer's 42-foot shot put last Friday was a huge accomplishment.

Jacob Cantuna held solid finishes with ninth place in shot put and third place in javelin.

For the jumpers, Brendan Donovan took third in the high jump, followed by Frank Nobili in sixth.

Fernando Torres placed ninth in long jump and Conklin placed third in the triple jump.

Distance and jump coach Joanna Lanning said this meet in Clarkston was rough because it was a makeup meet and some athletes were gone for spring break.

The Carnival of Speed is coming up Friday in Walla Walla and it's a big meet, she said. The top three from each school in each event are allowed to compete and she said she was concerned because of the school vacation that will impact the scores.

Bartlow said the WP women's team in 2011 took first place at the Carnival of Speed last year out of 26 teams and he's excited to see what will happen this Friday.

That meet is at 11 a.m. on Friday at MacHi.