Saints finish first and second at Southwestern CC

The Saints traveled to Coos Bay last Saturday for the Prefontaine Masters and Open meet, held by Southwestern Oregon Community College.

The event was held essentially as a dual meet for the Saints, as SWOCC was the only other college represented, and the men’s and women’s squads earned a split result.

The Saints women took second to the Lakers, scoring 158 points to SWOCC’s 177. On the men’s side, Mt. Hood took care of business, winning 185 points to 160.

Despite the small amount of competition, it was a hard-fought day.

“The team did great,” said team captain Josh Visan.

The women’s sprints were dominated by Saints Margaret Paul and Shanice Lakes. Between the two of them, they had three first-place finishes, and two second places. Paul won the 100 meters in 12.79, the 200 in 26.90, and took second in the 400 in 1:03.56. Lakes won the 400 in 1:00.62, and took second in the 200 in 27.43.

Visan said, “Everyone proved how hard they have been training, and represented Mt. Hood exceptionally well.”

Kayla Watkins won the 800 meters with a time of 2:40.51 and also grabbed a third-place finish in the javelin, at 31.3 meters. Courtney Andre jumped 5.25 meters in the long jump for second, while she took first in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:07.85. Madison Greenleaf competed in the hurdles as well, taking second in 1:08.06.

Emily Trosino and Haley McDonald dominated the 3,000-meter steeplechase, taking first and second with times of 12:14.5  and 12:33.3, respectively. Rachel Woodcock won the high jump, clearing 1.42 meters, and took second in the javelin with a throw of 36.51 meters.

For the men, Dennis Carline had a strong win in the 100 meters, at 11.34. Ngai Li also ran the 200 meters, taking third in 25.19.

Brandon Raleigh had a pair of wins in the 1500- and 800-meter races, with fellow Saint Jonathan Zacarius taking second in both events.

“Whenever I looked around, it seemed like we were always in the lead,” said Visan.

Joshua Turner took second in the 110 hurdles, running 15.94 seconds, and also won the triple jump with a mark of 13.53 meters. Bryce Evans took third in the triple jump in 12.29 meters, and tied for first in the long jump with Carline at 6.25 meters. Visan took second in the pole vault, clearing 3.66 meters.

Tyler Jackson had two solid wins in the throws, taking the shot put and the discus, with 13.75 meters and 44.85 meters in the two events. Nick Ham took first in the hammer, with a throw of 43.92 meters.

Visan was asked about the rest of the season.

“We have a two-week break right now. We are increasing our fitness a little bit, working on the little things, and getting ready to peak right at NWACs (the season-closing NWAC league championship meet),” he said.

The NWAC Multi-Championships are up next for a few athletes, taking place at Lane CC in Eugene on April 27-28. This event will count towards the Southern Region Championships, as well as the NWACs.

For the rest of the athletes, their next competition will be the Mt. Hood Track Festival on May 2. Events begin at 10 a.m.