Richland boys, Kamiakin girls, Walla Walla boys and girls win MCC track & field titles

Mid-Columbia Conference track and field athletes are expecting to make their marks in late May at the WIAA state championships in Tacoma.

But before they can get there, those athletes have to battle their way through two big meets to qualify.

They got through the first step at last weekend’s MCC championships, which were held Friday and Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium.

There were plenty of highlights, starting with the Kamiakin girls 4x200 relay team of Danica Helms, Aubrey Herrin, Kate Christian and Adelyn Mitchell. That team finished first in the 4A girls race with a time of 1 minute, 43.10 seconds.

That gave the foursome the fastest time in the state, regardless of classification.

In addition, the Braves’ season-long rivals from Richland — Kylie Gilmore, Naly Khamlue-Pratt, Hailey Summers and Alyssa Marsh — finished second in that MCC race with a time of 1:43.50, which is the third-fastest in the state.

This coming weekend, all MCC qualifiers will battle the Greater Spokane League’s best in the District 8 meet, which will be held at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland.

Friday’s events begin at 3 p.m., while Saturday gets going at 9 a.m.

Here’s a look at the highlights of all four MCC meets from last weekend:

4A boys

Richland’s boys won the team title, scoring 106 points.

The Bombers were led by senior Keenan Kuntz, won won titles in the 100 and 200 meters finals.

Kuntz — who transferred to Richland from Mead right after the Christmas holidays — clocked a 10.47 seconds time in the 100. That’s the third fastest time in the entire state.

Kuntz was also part of the Bombers’ winning 4x100 relay team.

Two other local athletes — Pasco senior Jose Banuelos and Chiawana senior Kade Smith — each won two individual events.

Banuelos pulled off the 800-1600 double, while Smith won in the long jump and triple jump.

Smith is the defending 4A state champion in the triple jump.

Chiawana’s Michael Mendoza won the 300 hurdles title, and he ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay team for the Riverhawks.

Richland’s Seth Shook was also part of that winning 4x100 relay team with Kuntz. But Shook also won the 110 hurdles title.

4A girls

Kamiakin’s girls rolled to the team title with 113 points.

Mitchell was clearly the star, as she won the 100 and 200 meters finals, as well as running legs on the winning 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.

Mitchell’s teammate, Louesa Gledhill, was a double winner in the hurdles — both 100 highs and 300 hurdles.

Meanwhile, Herrin also scored points for the Braves, running legs on those two relay teams and taking the triple jump title with a mark of 37 feet, 3.75 inches.

Hanford’s Landry Allen was a double winner — taking the pole vault with a height of 11 feet, 9 inches; and winning the high jump with a leap of 5-5.

Richland’s Baylee Wroble won the javelin with a throw of 131 feet, 1 inch. That is the third-best javelin throw in the entire state right now.

3A boys

Walla Walla handled the other 3A schools, winning the team title with 99 points.

Leading the way is Blue Devils senior Brody Hartley. Heading to Notre Dame this fall to run cross country and track, Hartley won three titles — the 800, 1600 and 3200 meters.

Meanwhile Hartley’s teammate, Jake Hisaw, won two individual events and ran a leg on the winning 4x100 relay team.

Hisaw — who will compete for the University of Idaho’s track and field team next year — blazed to victories in the 200 meters and 300 hurdles.

Southridge’s Abdelrahim Abdelrahim was a double winner in the long jump and triple jump, while Suns teammate Lucien Cone was the 100 meters champion, and ran a leg on the winning 4x400 relay team.

Finally, Kennewick’s Jackson Burns won the 110 high hurdles in a time of 14.41 seconds. That’s the third fastest time in the state.

3A girls

Walla Walla also won the team title, scoring 95 points.

Ashlyn Nielsen was the star of the meet for the Blue Devils, as she women the 100 and 200 meter finals. Nielsen also ran legs on the Blue Devils’ winning 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.

Blue Devils teammate Cami Martin was also on the winning 4x100 relay team, and she won the triple jump title.

Jaquelin Garcia Sandoval of Hermiston was also a double winner, taking the 800 meters title, and running a leg on the winning 4x400 relay team.

▪ River View’s boys and girls track and field teams got the postseason off to a great start by winning the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference East 2B sub-regional meet last Tuesday, winning both team titles.

Leading the way on the boys’ side were the Panthers’ Anthuan Beltran and Cody Brown.

Beltran won the 100 and 200 meters, as well as being part of the winning 4x100 relay team.

Brown was a champion in both the 110 high hurdles and the discus.

Walla Walla Valley Academy’s boys had two double winners, with Travis Lyford (400 meters and long jump) and Andrew Soltero taking the 800 and 1600 meter race titles.

On the girls side, River View’s Aliyah Malone — the area’s leader in the high jump — won that event with a leap of 5-0 feet. She also won in the 100 hurdles, and was part of the winning 4x100 relay team.

Malone’s teammate, Marina Ramirez, won the 100 and 200 meter events, as well as being part of the Panthers’ winning 4x100 relay team.

Other highlights included Mabton’s Esmeralda Sanchez, who won the 400 and 800 meter races, as well as running a leg on the winning 4x400 relay team; and WWVA’s Makiah Stepper, won both the long jump and triple jump.

The top four placers in all events advance to the 2B district meet, which is set for this week at Columbia-Burbank, and will determine who will advance to the state 2B meet in a few weeks.

Boys soccer

The Pasco Bulldogs’ season came to an abrupt end on Tuesday night when they lost 2-0 to visiting Sumner in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.

Pasco had won the MCC regular-season title, and had beaten Gonzaga Prep 2-1 last Saturday to take the District 8 crown.

The Bulldogs were assigned the No. 3 seed into the 16-team state tournament, while visiting Sumner was the 14 seed.

Matt Potter’s squad, which finished third last season in the 4A state tournament, finished with an 18-2 record.

Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.