QUINCY — The Ephrata Tigers, Othello Huskies and Quincy Jackrabbits competed in the 2A District 5 Track meet last week to determine which athletes will be heading to the state tournament in Tacoma. After the events were finished, all three teams saw athletes qualify for the championships.

EPHRATA 

The Tigers are sending five athletes to state, Hunter Mills, Caleb Fitts, Maddax Iverson, Cooper Black and Andy Addink.  

“The good part is they have all been there before, to the state meet, so the mental part we’re hoping is taken care of,” said Tigers Head Coach Dan Martin. “We just need to stay healthy, stay motivated. We tell the kids, ‘Same sleep patterns. Don’t do anything different that you don’t normally do during the season.’” 

Hunter Mills, a senior with the Tigers, qualified for the state meet after tying for third in the 100m with a time of 11.16. Caleb Fitts, a sophomore, finished second during the 800m event to qualify for state with a time of 1:57.09. 

EHS senior Maddax Iverson qualified for the 300m hurdles after finishing in second with a new personal record time of 39.71.  

In the 4x400 relay, the Tigers team of Iverson, senior Cooper Black, senior Andy Addink and Fitts qualified for state with a time of 3:25.66 and took second place overall. 

“The relay team coming back (to state) took eighth last year and it’s the same guys,” said Martin. 

Despite not qualifying any girls for the state championships, the Tigers still had some impressive performances. Ephrata senior Bella Wood took third in the 100m hurdles with a time of 16.72, junior Lila Buchmann took third in javelin with a throw if 110’ 8” and the 4x100 relay team of Addison Vasquez, Alexis St. Mary, Staci Guerrero and Cynthia Villagran Morales took fourth with a time of 54.57. 

The Tigers were all ready to head off to state early in the week and as they prepare to begin their competition, Martin said he is confident in the abilities of his athletes. 

“We’re pretty pleased with all the ones that qualified individually, and the relay has a golden opportunity if we compete to the utmost ability on the day of the meet, prelims and finals,” he said. 

OTHELLO 

The Huskies found success at the district meet as they qualified juniors Jonah Hahn and George Gentry and seniors Rylee Hilmes and Abby Douglas. 

“I thought for the most part we had a really good two-day meet,” said Huskies Head coach Mandi Perez. “Most of our kids performed really well, a lot of our younger kids did a really good job. They may not have qualified for state, but they placed and I thought we had a great meet overall.” 

Douglas found success qualified for state in two events as she took first in the 100m with a time of 12.18, first in the 200m with a time of 25.63. 

“She has just continued to trim time,” said Perez. “Our spurners have just been working super hard, and she’s just been the epitome of keeping up every day and working as hard as you can.” 

For the boys, Hahn qualified for state in the 110m Hurdles with a time of 15.26. The coach said this was Hahn’s first year doing hurdles after previously doing long jumps and sprints in years prior. 

“(He’s) just another really hard worker that’s just been putting in the work all season,” she said. 

Gentry took first in the high jump with a mark of 6’ 4” which the coach said can be attributed to his dedication to the event over the years.

Hilmes took third in Javelin with a mark of 164’ 10” and first in pole vault with a mark of 13’. 

“He’s just another one that’s just kind of put in the time over the years, and we’re really seeing a big payoff,” said Perez. “He hit the auto qualifier in both the javelin and pole vault so that’s a really good sign.” 

Other notable finishes that unfortunately did not get qualified for state include a fourth place finish by junior Betsaida Espindola in discus with a throw of 100’ 10”and a third place finish by Kate Mollotte in high jump with a height of 4; 10” which just put her short of auto qualification by an inch. 

“She was one inch away from the auto qualifier and ended up in third place, and we had to go into a tiebreaker with district one,” said Perez. “It was so tied all the way down that they did a coin flip and she lost the coin flip. We are so heartbroken, she just had a great meet.” 

As the team gets ready for state the main focus is going to be on staying warmed up and staying fresh and mentally prepared. 

QUINCY 

Brielle Baughman was the sole qualifier for Quincy’s track and field team as the freshman took third in the 100m with a time of 12.76 to just beat East Valley’s Haddy Mohler’s time of 12.77. 

“Brielle Baughman, (she’s) a fantastic three sport athlete, she’s an incredible soccer player, she’s a good wrestler as well and she is quite a sprinter and she was able to hit the automatic qualifying time for the 100 meter dash,” said Quincy Girls Head Coach Tim Weber. 

Baughman’s time not only qualified her for state but also broke the Quincy High School 100m record of 12.8 seconds that was made in 1992 by Amanda Doncaster, who is now a teacher at QHS. Weber said Doncaster told him that she is very happy with Brielle’s achievement as it shows that athletes are continuing to develop and put in the hard work. 

“She is also really close to breaking the 200-meter dash record set by Amanda Doncaster as well,” said Weber. “We’re excited to see how she continues to develop as a track athlete.” 

Notable finishes from other Jacks athletes that didn’t qualify include Alejandro Birrueta, a senior, who took third in the 800m with a time of 1:59.03 and a third place finish by the 4x100 girls relay team of Ruby Gonzelez, Chloe Compton, Nyomi Flores and Baughman with a time of 52.39. 

“I think things went pretty good for our team,” said Weber. “We had a really competitive showing and I will say that the Central Washington Athletic Conference ... is incredibly competitive. It’s a great league to be in because the competition is good.” 

As Baughman prepares to head on to the state tournament, Weber said he wants her to continue developing and is excited to see what the freshman can do as her career continues. 

“Brielle’s a great athlete, a great student, and she’s very coachable,” he said. “It’s awesome to see her have success so early on because she puts in the work and she’s very determined and she shows humility.” 

The Tigers, Huskies and Jacks athletes will head to Mount Tahoma High School starting Thursday and compete through Saturday. 

    Quincy freshman Brielle Baughman sprints down the lane during the district meet last week.
  

    Abby Douglas a senior from the Huskies speeds down the lane to take first in the 200m event at districts.
  

    Jacks freshman Jody Gardner leaps into the sand in the district long jump event.
  

    Ephrata sophomore Alexis St. Mary leaps over the hurdles during the district meet.
  

    Bella Wood from the Tigers, Kate Mollotte from the Huskies and Addison Vasquez from the Tigers make their way through the hurdles at districts.