North Idaho Meet of Champions
BFHS Assistant Track Coach
North Idaho’s best track athletes met at Post
Falls High School for the annual District I Meet
of Champions. The meet featured the top 16
athletes in each event from schools as small as
Mullan to as large as Lake City High School. For
many athletes it was a good chance to get pushed
by top opponents and to prepare for state
competition. A strong head wind for most of the
meet made for slower finishes in many of the
sprinting events and gave distance runners fits,
but the top-notch competition brought out some
of the best in Badger track athletes.Bonners Ferry had 18 qualifiers at the Meet of Champions, including three relay teams. The girls sprint medley, consisting of Kendra Urbaniak, Natasha Webster, Mackenzie Mendenhall, and Jordan Young finished second with a time of 2:02.25. The strong headwind caused problems for Mackenzie Mendenhall in the 200m leg and for Jordan Young in the 400m leg, but the solid finish against tough opponents gives the girls hope for qualifying for state. In the boys 4x400, Jack Wade filled in for an injured teammate and helped propel the team to a 5th place finish, but with a season best 3:52.54. “Jack may be our missing piece,” said head coach George Hays.
Jack also had a strong day in the discus, throwing a 128-07, an all-time personal best by nearly a foot, good for 6th place. Zack Egge also threw well, achieving 9th place with a throw of 121-06. Junior Evan Ellis also competed, throwing at 104-09. For the ladies, Breanna Copeland broke 100 feet again, tossing the discus 100-01 for a 7th place finish.
The Badger distance runners had several personal best marks at the meet. Junior Hannah Lysne ran a 13:48
in the 3200, breaking her personal best
from last week’s Timberlake Invite, which was a
14:17. “That’s a monster improvement,” said
distance coach Tyler Warner. “It is awesome to
see her at this meet and making huge leaps like
that.” Tucker Cavender also ran a personal best
11:11 for 12th place in the 3200m. Alva Swanson,
who ran an 11:34, remarked that the pace was
really hard. Kyler Little of Lake City won the
race with a time of 9:42. “That race went out
super fast,” said Alva, “which I expected. I
knew it would be fast, so I tried not to get
pulled into that trap of going out too quick,
but at the same time you don’t want to get left
behind.” Both 3200 runners felt the strain of
having top athlete’s to run against, but coaches
noted that is what brings the best out of
others.Rounding out the day was Mackenzie Mendenhall in the hurdles. Mackenzie took second in both the 100m and 300m hurdles with times of 17.32 and 48.36 respectively. She also took 4th in the long jump with a leap of 15-04. Junior Warren Carle, in addition to the relays, finished 3rd in the men’s 300m hurdles with a time of 45.75
The rest of the Badgers will converge on Timberlake High School again on Thursday and Friday for the District 1 3A Championships. Events will begin at 4:00 p.m. The top three individuals and winning relay teams will earn berths to the Idaho State 3A Track and Field Championships at Middleton High School on May 15 and 16. Jacob Perkins, Mackenzie Mendenhall, Breanna Copeland, Jack Wade, and Kendra Urbaniak are all ranked in the 3A Idaho Top 10 heading into Districts.
(See list of results for the Meet of Champions below this picture)
Results from District I Meet of Champions 4/30/15
Men’s Results
400m
5. Jacob Perkins 54:30
800m
4. Jacob Perkins 2:08.88
11. Chase Dinning 2:15.15
3200m
12. Tucker Cavender 11:11
14. Alva Swanson 11:34
300m Hurdles
3. Warren Carle 45.75
4x200 Relay
7. Bertling, Dinning, Carle, Lavala 1:42.06
4x400 Relay
5. Dinning, Wade, Carle, Lavala 3:52.54
Discus
6. Jack Wade 128-07
9. Zack Egge 121-06
15. Evan Ellis 104-09
Women’s Results
200m
13. Natasha Webster 30.33
400m
12. Jordan Young 1:13.32
800m
8. Jordan Young 2:38.65
3200m
9. Hannah Lysne 13:48
100m Hurdles
2. Mackenzie Mendenhall 17.32
300m Hurdles
2. Mackenzie Mendenhall 48.36
Sprint Medley 1-1-2-4
2. Urbaniak, Webster, Mendenhall, Young 2:02.25
Shot Put
16. Haley Wenk 29-01.5
Discus
7. Breanna Copeland 100-1
Pole Vault
8. Kendra Urbaniak 8-00
12. Victoria Smith 7-06
Long Jump
4. Mackenzie Mendenhall 15-04