Buoyed by a slew of personal bests, both the Oak Harbor High School boys and girls track teams finished second in the Western Conference 3A North divisional meet Wednesday and Friday, May 13 and 15, at Wildcat Memorial Stadium.
“We were really happy with how the girls performed on Wednesday and Friday,” Oak Harbor girls coach Eric Peterson said. “Finishing behind Arlington and ahead of all the other teams in the North was a great surprise. The girls worked really hard, and it showed.”
“I thought this kids performed really well,” boys coach Jay Turner added. “We had a lot of PRs, and the hard work that they have put in all season was well rewarded. I was extremely pleased in how they all competed.”
Arlington dominated both the boys and girls meets.
The Eagles piled up 315.5 points in the boys meet, easily outdistancing Oak Harbor (140), Marysville Getchell (95), Everett (94), Marysville-Pilchuck (66.5) and Stanwood (61).
The Arlington girls finished with 308.5 points; Oak Harbor was next at 154. Stanwood (136.5), Marysville Getchell (92), Marysville-Pilchuck (85) and Everett (37) trailed.
The Wildcats earned two firsts in both meets.
Dejon Devroe (400, 50.99) and John Rodeheffer (1,600, 4:15.40) picked up the wins for the boys. Both also added a second, Devroe in the 800 (1:56.68) and Rodeheffer in the 3,200 (9:21.97).
Devroe also finished second in the 4×400 relay (3:31.37) with Mac Nuanez, Jared Grey and Sebastian Ceaser.
For the girls, Alana Austin (200, 26.32) and Jonalynn Horn (3,200, 11:29.3) were victors. Horn also finished third in the 1,600 (5:20.61).
Gray had a strong meet for the boys, finishing second in the 300 hurdles (40.23), third in the 110 hurdles (15.86) and fourth in the 100 (11.4).
Kris Medina ran third in the 200 (23.56) and fifth in the 100 (11.47).
For the girls, Kaitlyn Chelberg was second in the 300 hurdles (49.04) and fourth in the 110 hurdles (16.4).
Claire Anderson leaped to second in the triple jump (34-01), Julie Jansen was third in the discus (103) and Taylor Deconzo was fourth in the shot put (32-09.5) and javelin (105-07).
The girls relay teams also had a solid meet. Amaya Rittierodt, Jenna Cooley, Alora Callier and Austin placed second in the 4×200 (1:48.96); Rittierodt, Cooley, Matti Miesle and Janae Payne were third in the 4×100 (51.62); and Deja Bunch, Suzanne Kaltenbach, Megdaline Fink and Austin were second in the 4×400 (4:21.61).
Oak Harbor will travel to Shoreline Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, and 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 22, for the district championship meet.
Other top-eight finishes by Oak Harbor athletes at the North meet:
Fourth, boys: Tyler Adamson, shot put, 48-00.5; Mark Johnston, long jump, 19-03; 4×100 relay (Medina, Mac Carr, Daniel Guerrero, Andrew Miller), 46.19.
Fourth, girls: Bunch, 400, 1:03.67.
Fifth, boys: Nuanez, 400, 54.05; Ceaser, 1,600, 4:36.55.
Fifth, girls: Kaltenbach, 400, 1:04.71; Carolynn Wicker, 3,200, 12:47.05; Hayley Lundstrom, high jump, 4-10; triple jump, 32-03.5; Cooley, long jump, 15-09.
Sixth, boys: Michael Lym, 800, 2:08.58; Garren Guerrero, 110 hurdles, 17.12; 300 hurdles, 44.93; Nuanez, high jump, 5-06; Diangelo McKinney, long jump, 19.
Sixth, girls: Anderson, high jump, 4-08; Kaltenbach, pole vault, 7; Priya Osborne, long jump (tie), 15-08.5; Lundstrom, long jump (tie), 15-08.5.
Seventh, boys: Nuanez, 200, 24.31; Ekberg, 400, 54.22; Joseph Nolan, discus, 129-04; Blaine Coleman, javelin, 134-08.
Seventh, girls: Fink, 400, 1:05.07; Samantha Hines, 100 hurdles, 17.39; 300 hurdles, 53.36; javelin, 102-05; Kaylee Lamb, shot put, 32; Kenna Prosch, discus, 92-03; Taliah Black, pole vault, 7.
Eighth, boys: Quinn Karney, pole vault, 9; Zach Norton, triple jump, 39-01.
Eighth, girls: Austin, 100, 13.68; Rittierodt, 200, 28.28.
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From the top (photos by John Fisken)…
Alana Austin runs the anchor leg of the girls 4×200 relay.
Taylor Deconzo places fourth in the shot put.
Dejon Devroe wins the 400 meters.
Jared Gray runs to second in the 300 hurdles.
Kris Medina warms up before finishing third in the 200.
