Prairie’s busy bodies sweep 3A district track titles

David Tran and Hannah Kneeshaw had every reason to be out of breath near the finish line on Thursday.

And it wasn’t just because the Prairie athletes had finished their 400-meter legs in the 1,600 relay, the final event at the 3A Greater St. Helens League district track and field meet.

Tran and Kneeshaw had just completed a busy two days of track and field at Columbia River High School.
Two busy but successful days.

Prior to running in the Prairie girls’ 1,600 relay, Kneeshaw completed the “distance double.” The freshman won the 1,600 meters one day after winning the 3,200 meter district title.

Tran ran in the 1,600 relay not long after winning the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 9 inches, the eighth-best mark in Class 3A this season. The prior day, he finished second in the 100 meters.

Both were among the busy bodies who helped Prairie sweep the district titles Thursday.

The Falcons won the boys team title with 90 points, seven ahead of Kelso. The Prairie girls won with 96 points, nine ahead of Columbia River.

“It’s pretty tiring, that’s for sure,” Tran said. “But it’s a lot of fun. I like competing in all these events, but it’s a lot of work.”

Work, yes. But a labor of love.

Grayson Burke was loving her sport after winning the 200 meter district title, adding to the 400 meter title she won Wednesday.

The Columbia River senior likes winning, of course. But being a team leader has its thrills too.

“I’ve ran track for three years and never really been the leader,” she said. “Getting to be more of the leader on the team has been really fun this year; just trying to push everybody to do the best that I know they can do.”

Burke, along with the top three finishers in each event, qualified for the bi-district meet next week in Sumner. From there, the top six finishers advance to the state meet May 26-28 in Tacoma.

“I just want to make it onto the podium at state,” Burke said. “That has been my goal since I started running track.”

While Burke hopes to end her high school career with a bang, Kneeshaw is just getting started.

The Prairie freshman has been making strides ever since winning a slower heat at the early-season Tiger Invite, which she called a big confidence boost.

“I really just want to hang with everybody and regionals and get myself to state,” she said. “Then we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Prairie’s Michael Schmidt was another double-event winner. He added the 110 meter hurdles title to the 300 hurdles he won Wednesday.

Others didn’t quite get a district double, but they came close. Fort Vancouver junior Illia Saakian, in his first year of track, won the high jump after placing second in the triple jump and 110 hurdles.

River junior Tiarra Ringold won the long jump one day after finishing second in the triple jump. Teammate Yaiydenn Lopez-Perez won the shot put after placing second in the discus.

Prairie’s Valerie Schmidt, Michael’s sister, finished second to River’s Ellie Walker in the 100 hurdles one day after winning the 300 hurdles.

River’s Keegan Hanes finished second in the 1,600 meters one day after winning the 3,200.

BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
3A District meet
At Columbia River High School
Thursday’s finals
Top three qualify for bi-district meet
Team scores — Prairie 90, Kelso 83, Columbia River 55, Fort Vancouver 34.
200 — 1, Andrew McGaffey (CR) 23.48; 2, Nathan Kunz (CR) 23.74; 3, Nolan Mickenham (P) 23.86.
1,600 — 1, Aidan Lowman (K) 4:37.70; 2, Keegan Hanes (CR) 4:39.90; 3, Colten Jorgenson (K) 4:43.80.
110 hurdles — 1, Michael Schmidt (P) 15.98; 2, Illia Saakian (FV) 17.09; 3, Quentin Nelson (K) 17.14.
1,600 relay — 1, Prairie 3:30.40; 2, Kelso 3:36.80; 3, Columbia River 3:41.00.
Discus — 1, Colton Johnson (K) 141.2; 2, Todd Johnson (K) 137-1; 3 Cody Loyer (FV) 135-6.
Javelin — 1, Jordan Gladson (K) 150-3; 2, RIley Harper (K) 141-2; 3, Colton Johnson (K) 140-11.
High jump — 1, Illia Saakian (FV) 5-8; 2, Rashaan Bohanan (P) 5-6; 3, Clay Downing (K) 5-4.
Long jump — 1, David Tran (P) 21-9.5; 2, Michael Schmidt (P) 20-9.5; 3, Rashaan Bohanan (P) 20-7.5.
Pole vault — 1, Trent Beavers (K) 14-6; 2, John Marshall Niemela (CR) 13-6; 3, Michael Schmidt 12-10.
GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
3A District meet
At Columbia River High School
Thursday’s finals
Top three qualify for bi-district meet
Team scores — Prairie 96, Columbia River 87, Kelso 59, Fort Vancouver 33.
200 — 1, Grayson Burke (CR) 25.59; 2, Carlee Sams (K) 26.10; 3, Molly Packer (P) 28.87.
1,600 — 1, Hannah Kneeshaw (P) 5:25.0; 2, Emily Phelps (FV) 5:41.2; 3, Anna Harrison (FV) 5:45.5.
100 hurdles — 1, Ellie Walker (CR) 15.73; 2, Valerie Schmidt (P) 17:05; 3, Sarra Soladay (K) 18.00.
800 relay — 1, Columbia River 1:48.02; 2, Prairie 1:50.20; 3, Kelso 1:52.50.
1,600 relay — 1, Prairie 4:22.43; 2, Fort Vancouver 4:29.78; 3, Kelso 4:29.95.
Shot put — 1, Yaiydenn Lopez-Perez (CR) 32-9.5; 2, Ally Harman (K) 31-9; 3, Abigail Brotherton (P) 31-0.
Long jump — 1, Tiarra Ringold (CR) 16-3.5; 2, Tayla Beavers (K) 15-11; 3, Andrea Demlow (CR) 33-5.