SNOHOMISH — The Tomahawk girls took first place in four event finals en route to a conference championship in the two-day league meet at Snohomish High School, May 7 and 9.
The 400 relay of Cali Cull, Nicolette Runyan, Sarah Zellweger and Alisha Oden followed its victory in prelims May 7 with a win in the finals two days later.
Sprinters Runyan and Oden were also individual champions. Runyan, who won the 100 and 200 prelims, took first in the 200 finals and second in the 100. Oden competed in the 200 and 400, winning both the prelims and finals of the quarter-mile race as the only competitor to complete the course in less than a minute.
Cull was a runner-up in both of her individual events, taking second to Snohomish’s Jessica Yates in the long jump (16-2 1/2) and the triple jump (35-3).
Another pair of M-P athletes had runner-up marks in their event, breaking the school record in doing so. Senior pole vaulters Michaela Caldwell and Robin Mueller broke Mueller’s week-old pole vault record of 10-10 by clearing 11 feet each to take second and third place behind Stanwood’s Colleen Meas.
Perhaps one of the biggest individual scoring efforts for the Tomahawk girls came from M-P distance runner Haley Nemra. The senior won the 3,200, edging long-time cross country rivals Lyndy Davis of Monroe and Ellie Bonner of Snohomish with a personal best time of 11:06.06. She also ran on the second-place 1,600 relay and took the proverbial silver in the 800 and 1,600 to Oak Harbor’s Mietra Smollack.
After a junior season competing in the middle distance, Nemra said she’s glad to be back in her comfort zone.
“Last year was more of a recovery year,” the senior said as she prepared for the 800 finals. “I’m having a great senior year. I hope it keeps going.”
The boys took fifth, thanks to good positioning coming out of the preliminaries May 7.
Junior Andy Abadam won the long jump with a personal record, his 22-5 1/2 mark half an inch over Arlington’s Bryan Mack. Abadam also won the 100 preliminaries, although a rough start off the block hindered his ability to repeat in the finals. He rebounded, as the boys 400 relay of Abadam, Travis Sanderson, Mark Pangilinan and Cody Dockendorf improved one place over their finish in prelims to take third in a time of 43.42.
Senior Brandon Greene took second by an inch in the boys high jump, his 6-2 mark eclipsed only by Oak Harbor’s Roderick Rumble, while senior Taylor Gibson took third place in the pole vault with a 13-0 mark after a late start to his season. Senior Blake Lovell also placed, taking third in the javelin with a 158-7 throw.
