MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks hosted the second Columbia Basin Big 9 league meet Thursday which saw them compete against Davis, Sunnyside and Wenatchee. Head Coach Mark Ward was pleased with his team’s effort.  

“I was happy... time wise aside, I thought our kids competed well,” he said. “We're definitely a solid team. The nice thing is I don't see any weak spots, if you will, which is nice. In most years, I would say most teams would say, ‘Oh we're really tearing it up in the sprints and jumps, but we've got some challenges maybe here.’” 

Several players earned new personal records in multiple competitions, Ward said. A total of 41 personal bests were set Thursday by several Mavs, according to Athletic.net.  

“In the 400 (meters) we had some great PRs from Rachel Nofziger and Addie Burns. Boys (4x100 relay) continue to drop time. I think it dropped another tenth (of a second), so I’m happy with that. Reese Porter got another nice PR in the shotput. He's been really coming on the last three weeks and seems to really be finding his groove,” Ward said.  

Finishing in the top three of the boys 1600 race was Noah Demchuk with a time of 4:42.43. Coach Ward said he did a good job of staying with stiff competition.  

“The two guys ahead of him are easily two of the better (runners) in the district right now and he held his own. Found himself in kind of a no man's land, if you will. He was between the top two and battling to stay ahead of the group behind him. That's always tough, even if it's only (by) a second or two, you're battling by yourself... that takes a lot of mental strength, and so I'll give him credit for that,” Ward said.  

For Demchuk, though he was not feeling his best on Thursday, he was determined to dig deep.  

“I came in ranked 10th today, and I was like, ‘I don't feel like a 10 today, (but) I can get at least a medal,’” Demchuk said. “I looked at (who was in) third place, and he's (about) 10 seconds faster than me, and in a mile, that's like three seconds per lap. That's like adding 10 meters. So I was like, ‘I'm going to let myself relax in the first three mile laps,’ and as soon as I started passing, I was like, ‘I know what I have to do,’ and so I kicked past and I got him.” 

Other standout performers from Ward’s perspective were Aspen Hoenes and Sarah Humpherys in the girls 1600 race. Hoenes finished third with a 5:21.76 while Humpherys recorded a new personal best with a time of 5:46.92.  

The girls 800 meter race shined as Natalie Vehrs, Amelia Olascon, Humpherys, Khloe Helm and Kaytlyn Russell took the top five times.  

With several student athletes starting to record new personal bests and make strides as the regular season nears its end, Ward feels confident his team is beginning to peak at the right time.  

“I think it's both the athletes and what they're able to do, as well as the coaching staff making sure that we're tailoring our training to each individual. We're starting to hone in on athlete strengths a little bit more as we get to the postseason. Instead of just loading everybody up with three or four events, maybe somebody is going to be looking at, ‘Okay, your best shot at districts and state are these two events. Let's focus on these a little bit more.’ It's nice that the kids are buying into that,” Ward said. 

The Mavericks traveled to Hermiston High School Friday for another meet, results were not available at press time. Their final home meet is slated for May 12 at 3:45 p.m. for the Moses Lake Field Event Festival, which will also serve as their senior night.  

In the final weeks before districts and state competition, Ward said the most important thing all his athletes will be focused on is staying healthy.  

Full results of Wednesday’s meet can be found here: https://bit.ly/MavsTrack   

    The Mavericks’ Aspen Hoenes (ML) keeps pace with two runners from Wenatchee in the girls 1600-meter race.
  

    Brady Jay breaks ahead of the pack during the Mavericks 100-meter dash. Jay finished in first place with a time of 10.94.
  

    Megan Rolfs takes a leap during the long jump competition Thursday.
  

    The Mavs’ Matthias Kalmbach steps into his throw during the boys javelin competition.
  

    The Mavericks’ Dash Luiten, right, makes a hurdle as he tries to pass up a Davis runner.