WP’s Estes Is Shot Put Champion

CHENEY - The WP Cardinal men's track and field team racked up 46 points in the state meet in Cheney on Friday and Saturday and placed fourth overall - higher than the team's fifth-place finish last year.

The Riverside Christian men's team won the competition with 48 points.

The Cardinals participated in 10 events in the state finals on Saturday. Despite the chilly win, some athletes really showed their colors.

"We had some very good performances and I was really proud of my kids," said head coach Jeff Bartlow.

WP's veteran thrower Eshom Estes placed first in the shot put event, with a throw of 50-04.50. WP's Ben Shafer was right behind him in fifth with a throw of 44-10.5.

Another WP standout from the weekend was middle-distance runner Seth Deal who placed second in the 1,600-meter race and third in the 3,200-meter race.

The 1,600-meter race had an exciting finish as the first-place runner from Northwest Christian collapsed as he crossed the finish line just ahead of Deal.

Bartlow said Deal surprised him with a solid second-place finish in the 1600-meter race and was proud of his third place and personal best in the 3,200-meter race.

"Those 14 points led the team and almost took us over the top," Bartlow said. "Seth is a real inspiration to anyone that really knows him. He is such a dedicated athlete and has that great work ethic. He is a special kid that earned his points and was a huge reason for our team's success all year. It really showed up at the state meet. I am extremely proud of Seth."

Billy Brown, Alex Dill, Logan Wanous and James Thompkins showed their need for speed in the 4x100 relay and placed third overall in the finals and set a personal record for the season.

Veteran sprinter Thompkins seemed a bit less confident throughout the weekend competition and placed sixth in the 100-meter race, fifth in the 200-meter race and seventh in the 400-meter race.

Despite not placing as high as hoped in the finals, Thompkins earned personal records in both the 100- and 200-meter races.

WP's Brown also fell a bit short of expectations in the competition. He placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles and did not qualify for finals in the 300-meter hurdles.

"Billy missed qualifying in the 300-meter hurdles by 5 one hundredths of a second," Bartlow said. "The next day he would have placed a minimum of fifth just by looking at the times. He bumped his knee on the second to last hurdle and lost his speed and then slipped to fourth and then did not qualify (for finals). That was a huge one that we needed."

For the women, sprinter Kristin Potter made it into the finals in the 400-meter race and placed seventh and earned herself a personal best.

Hurdler and jumper Ronnie Hulce got to the finals in the high jump and placed tenth, a personal best for her senior year.

"Ronnie and Kristin have had a huge impact on our girl's team over their four year career," Bartlow said. "Amazingly, both qualified (for state) in four events all four years. That is hard to do, but they did it and we can be proud of them for that kind of accomplishment."

Dayton High School Brandon Clark represented his track and field team at the state competition on Friday and placed fifth in the high jump with 5-10.

The Cardinals lose senior Estes next year because he gave WP 10 points out of the 46 the men's team earned.

"But, we are junior dominated and we really have a shot next year at winning the entire thing," Bartlow said. "We had a shot now and we will again have a shot next year."

The teams will celebrate at a spring sports potluck with the baseball team at 6 p.m. on May 30 in the multipurpose room in the elementary school.