Daniel Maton feels like at this point of the season, he’s catching his stride.
The Camas junior won the elite mile in the Jesuit Twilight Relays at Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Ore., on Friday with a time of 4:08.13, beating a field containing some of the Pacific Northwest’s best prep distance runners.
Last year, Maton finished second by around one second and beat that time by two seconds on Friday, tying his personal best in the mile.
How confident is last year’s state champion in the 800 and 1,600?
“I still think I can go faster than that,” Maton said. “(I feel) better than last year. Training’s perfect. Racing’s going perfect. No injuries, knock on wood, and no sickness.”
Maton said he looks forward to competitive meets such as the Twilight Relays more than state, because the pace is faster.
“It’s not just championship style, it’s running fast,” Maton said. “Everybody wants to go fast, that’s why I like these kind of meets, because sometimes at the big ones it’s slow, kind of boring.”
Even then, he ran the first two laps around 2:05, which was a couple seconds slower than he anticipated. So when he made his kick with 400 to go, he had an easier time kicking.
Heritage’s Ryan Cibart was a late entry into the field. He finished 16th in the 21-person field with a time of 4:19.10. He knew the field would be tough, but didn’t expect to be sitting in last after running a 62-second first lap, which is quicker than he typically runs.
“That was rough I couldn’t hold after that.”
Cibart used Friday’s race as another notch on his belt before state, where he’ll look to compete in the 800 and 1,600.
— Andy Buhler, Columbian staff writer
Stars of the day
• Jasper Rank, Mountain View baseball, knocked in the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Union 4-3.
• Payton Bates, Camas softball, went 3 for 4 with two RBI in the Papermakers’ 13-0 win over Union.
• Jenna Remenar, Hockinson softball, was 3 for 4 with a double and three RBI in the Hawks’ 13-0 victory at Mark Morris.
• Grace Stillman, Battle Ground softball, was 2 for 5 with a home run and four RBI in the Tigers’ 20-7 win at Mountain View.
• Serena Fogg, Mountain View softball, went 3 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI in the loss to Battle Ground.
• Daniel Copeland, Skyview baseball, was 2 for 3 with a double, triple and three RBI from the leadoff spot as the Storm beat Washougal 18-0.
• Kaily Christensen, Woodland softball, was 3 for 4 with an RBI as the Beavers remained perfect on the season with a 4-1 win at Columbia River.
• Saige Keep, La Center baseball, went 3 for 4 with a double, home run, 3 runs, 3 RBI in a 10-3 win over Columbia-White Salmon.
• Brannan Meriweather, King’s Way Christian baseball, threw a five-inning one-hit shutout in 14-0 win over Stevenson. He also had two RBI.
