EAGLE - There really wasn't much doubt that Jordan Ward would win the 4A girls state high jump champion for the third straight time. The suspense was over whether or not she could set the state mark.

The Lakeland senior did just that Saturday, posting a record jump of 5 feet, 7 1/4 inches to break the previous mark by a half-inch at the state track and field meet at Eagle High,

Burley's Diane Blumer set the previous mark of 5-7 in 2008 and Ward missed on her first two attempts at the state mark before claiming the record on her last jump.

"All I wanted to do was come down here and break the state record," Ward said. "I had a chance at it last year but I didn't do it. It was nice to come back and defend my title and get the state record."

Also claiming state titles on Saturday were Post Falls pole vaulter Steven Beck, Post Falls 300-meter hurdler Wednesday Walton and Lake City 200 runner Maddison Ward.

In team competition, Coeur d'Alene made a strong second-day surge to finish third in 5A girls competition with 61 points. Lake City (40) placed sixth and Post Falls (27) tied for 11th. Eagle won with 102 points.

On the 5A boys' side of the ledger, Coeur d'Alene finished sixth with 36 points. Lake City (34) was seventh and Post Falls (28) was 10th. Rocky Mountain cruised to the title with 156 points.

Jordan Ward already had the title won on her first leap of 5-2 as nobody else in the field jumped better than 5-0. Her anxiety began when reality set in after she missed her first two shots at surpassing the state mark.

"It was definitely heartbreaking because most people don't get it on their third try," Ward said. "So I tried to put everything out of the way and really focus on what I could do and just hope for the best.

"I thought, 'this could be my last jump in high school' so I gave it all I got."

Ward cleared the bar and briefly celebrated, capping a stellar high school career in which the Boise State-bound athlete had winning marks of 5-3 as a sophomore and 5-6 as a junior. She also finished sixth Saturday in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.95 seconds.

Beck had a painful experience at last year's state meet when he fractured two vertebras in a fall at Rocky Mountain High.

This year's meet was much more enjoyable as he leapt to a personal-best 14 feet, six inches to win the 5A pole vault crown.

Beck endured a three-month recovery span after his injury. "I couldn't lift anything over 10 pounds or bend over," he said. Beck didn't return to competition until November.

He said there really weren't too many mental hurdles to overcome. But three weeks ago, he ran into another issue when he injured his left foot.

That meant more time spent icing the foot than working on his craft. Beck said he practiced one time to prepare for the state meet and he fine-tuned his repertoire on the fly Saturday.

"We had to adjust for each pole that I had," Beck said. "So we were starting off at really small steps with some really big poles. On my third attempt at 14-6, I bumped up to my bigger (pole) but I felt confident and went up."

Next up for Beck is competing at northwest regional competition for the Junior Olympics this summer.

Walton won the 300 hurdles in 44.61 seconds and also placed second in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.90 seconds.

The Idaho-bound senior has been envisioning a state title in her dreams and said the reality was more than she has imagined.

"This was so much better than my dream," Walton said. "When I came down to the last 100 meters, I started smiling because I knew (I had it won). It's the greatest feeling ever."

Walton was behind early in the race before finishing with a flourish.

"Honestly, I felt I could've gone so much faster," Walton said.

Maddison Ward, a sophomore, finished second in the 100 in 12.16 seconds earlier in the afternoon before winning the 200 in a state-record time of 24.68 seconds.

The previous mark of 24.80 was set last year by Mountain View's Kyli McSpadden. Not surprisingly, Ward termed the 200 race as her best of the season.

"I felt really good," Ward said. "My start was amazing and that's what I have been focusing on. I'm really glad I came through there."

Just minutes after claiming her first state title, Ward already was thinking ahead to repeating next season.

"It's all my hard work paying off," said Ward, "and knowing I have to work even harder so I can improve my times for next year and I'm going to start on that right away."

Lake City junior Chris Baker placed second in the boys 100 in 10.92 seconds and finished third in the 200 (22.15). Also earning medals in 5A boys competition were: Coeur d'Alene senior Mike Dunton (third, 800, 1:55.51), Post Falls senior Bret Davide (third, 400, 49.75 seconds), Coeur d'Alene junior Samuel Lee (fourth, 110 hurdles, 14.91) and Coeur d'Alene senior Makenzie Baker placed (sixth, triple jump, 42-10 1/2).

Lake City's quartet of sophomore Jerry Louie-McGee, junior Tucker Louie-McGee, junior Rhet Damschen and Chris Baker placed fourth in the 4x200 relay with a time of 1:30.70. Coeur d'Alene's 4x100 relay team of senior Reece Mahaffy, sophomore Anthony Dahlheimer, Makenzie Baker and junior Addison Johnson placed fourth in 43.37 seconds, while Lake City's group of sophomore Conner Newby, Chris Baker, junior Trent Greene and Damschen were fifth in 43.47.

Among 5A girls, Coeur d'Alene sophomore Kaitlyn Gunnerson finished third in the 100 hurdles (14.91) and sixth in the 300 hurdles (46.34). Also earning medals were Coeur d'Alene senior Makayla Strand (second, pole vault, 10-6), Coeur d'Alene sophomore Krista Story (second, 800, 2:19.26), Lake City junior Kassie Whitcomb (third, discus, 119-0), Coeur d'Alene junior Brittany Tackett (fourth, 200, 25.82) and Coeur d'Alene freshman Emily Calahan (fifth, 400, 59.39).

Coeur d'Alene's 4x400 relay team put forth a strong effort but was edged at the finish race by Eagle, finishing second by one-tenth of a second. The quartet of sophomore Victoria Goetz, Calahan, Tackett and Gunnerson finished in 3.58.41 with Eagle winning in 3:58.31 as Brittany Rawlins held off Gunnerson.

In the 4x200 relay, Lake City's quartet of sophomore Meaghan Bare, junior Jayden Hall, freshman Camryn Wendlendt and senior Rachel Ward placed third (1:46.60) and the Post Falls team of junior Brenna Meehan, sophomore Kylie Yarber, sophomore Shay Standon and Walton were fifth in 1:47.83. In the 4x100 relay, the Coeur d'Alene foursome of Tackett, junior Sara Chalich, Gunnerson and Goetz were third in 49.78 seconds.

Among 4A boys, Lakeland junior Michael Olsen placed second in the 110 hurdles in 15.46 seconds. Medaling for Sandpoint were junior Sam Levora (second, 1600, 4:21.22), senior Tim Prummer was (second, 400, 50.14), junior Grant Kennaly (fifth, high jump, 5-8), junior Matthew Burgstahler (sixth, 800, 1:58.89) and senior Todd Pays (sixth, shot put, 46-0).

Among 4A girls, Sandpoint junior Lily DeAragon finished third in the 400 (59.13) and fifth in the 200 (26.14). Other Sandpoint medalists were sophomore Mikhaela Woodward (second, 1600, 5:16.35), senior Maddie Suppigger (fifth, 5-0, pole vault) and junior Nikole Alamillo (sixth, 34-8, shot put).

In 4A team scores, Sandpoint finished fifth in girls competition with 43 points and seventh (39.5) among boys. Lakeland tied for 15th on the girls side with 13 points and was 20th among girls with eight points. Rigby (147) won the 4A girls title and Minico (76) edged Rigby (74.75) to win the boys crown.

Freshman Anna Gardom won the 400 in 1:00.9 for the Timberlake girls, which finished fifth in the state 3A meet on Saturday at Middleton High.

Kellogg’s girls finished third with 65 points.

In the 2A meet, St. Maries junior Luke Feasline won the shot put with a throw of 49 feet, 2 inches.