The RiverHawk Track and Field teams competed at the NWAC South Region Championships on Saturday, May 11th at Mt. Hood CC in Gresham, OR. The men's team finished 2nd overall with 143 points and the women finished 4th with 79.5 points. The headshots in the graphic indicate all the RiverHawk men that scored points to lead to the 2nd place finish. Weather conditions were the best they had been all year with the sun shining and high temps throughout the day, while condusive for the sprinters and jumpers, it did make it tough on the track for distance runners. Note that athletes that finished in the top 5 receive All-South Region honors.
The men's side had incredibly strong performances, giving the RiverHawks their highest finish in shcool history at the meet, and earning the first regional trophy for the men's crew. Travis Tyler secured the win in the 100m with a personal best time of 10.69, and Oluwatomiwa Olubisi finished in 8th with a personal best of 11.18. In high jump, Xavier Hills had tied the school record with a winning jump of 1.98m/6-6ft, while Daniel Gee secured 7th place with 1.80m/5-10.75ft. The Hawks dominated the javelin, as they tend to do, finishing in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th. Leikel Cabrera-Gay had the win with 64.11m/210-4ft, Ismayil Abdoulaye threw 59.50m/195-2ft, Isaac Heard threw a personal best of 57.09m/187-3ft, and Ethan Sumpter threw 49.02m/160-10. The RiverHawks also flooded the podium in pole vault, with finishes of 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th. Daniel Gee jumped a personal best of 4.93m/16-2ft for the win, James Kelly matched Daniel's height, Tarron Metz cleared 4.53m/14-10.25ft, and Angel Mendoza matched his personal best at 4.28m/14-0.5ft. The men's 4x400m relay team secured the win in 3:28.22 with Oluwatomiwa Olubisi, Daniel Gee, Will Hills, and Travis Tyler. In the 110m hurdles, James Kelly ran a smooth 15.57 for 3rd, and just behind him in 4th was Ezekiel Wright in 15.91 for his first hurdle race of the season. Ezekiel Wright then ran the 400m hurdles for the first time in his career, finishing in 3rd with a dominate time of 58.53 from the slow heat as he went in with no time. Jacob Loudenslager had a 4th place finish of 2:02.04 in the 800m. Both James Kelly and Xavier Hills placed in the long jump as James jumped a personal best of 6.81m/22-4.25ft for 4th and Xavier went 6.70m/21-11.75ft. Okenoko Pascall scored in both the shot put and the discus, throwing 13.76m/45-1.75ft for 3rd in shot put and 40.33m/132-3ft for 8th in discus. Connor Deveny took on the steeplechase for the second time, running a slight personal best of 11:54.08. Athletes finishing in the top 5 places receive All-South Region honors.
The women's side was small, but managed a few strong performances. Rachel Noyce, the reigning south region and conference champion, jumped a personal best in high jump, clearing 1.64m/5-4.5m to secure the win once again. Gabrielle Hrdlicka placed 4th with 1.37m/4-6ft and Taylor Heie placed 5th with 1.32m/4-4ft. Kylie Rubrecht won the javelin in her final attempt, throwing a personal best of 38.19m/125-3ft. Madelyn Sharp finished just behind her in 3rd with 36.01m/118-1ft. Kylie Anderson had a big performance in the shot put, going over 12m for the first time in her collegiate career, as she finished 2nd with 12.06m/39-6.75, just inches away from her personal best. Kylie Anderson also finished 4th in the Hammer throw with 40.02m/131-3ft. Rachel Noyce competed in the triple jump for the first time and finished in 3rd with 8.96m/29-4.75ft. In pole vault, Taylor Heie finished 3rd with a jump of 3.23m/10-7ft and Lydia Fricke jumped a personal best of 2.48m/8-1.5ft for 6th place. The Hawks put together the first women's 4x400m relay team of the season consisting of Gabrielle Hrdlicka, Mia McCormack, Lexi McWilliam, and Kasemsri Miele, and they finished in 4:31.96 for 4th. Gabrielle Hrdlicka and Mia McCormack also had a pair of 5th places finishes in their respective events. Gabrielle ran a season best 1:13.47 in the 400m hurdles and Mia McCormack ran 2:41.96 in the 800m. In discus, Male'ata Snuka Polamalu took 8th with a personal best of 32.54m/106-9ft.
Placements from the NWAC Multi-Events Championships also carried over into the meet, with Daniel Gee winning the decathlon with a school record of 6,084 points and just behind him was James Kelly with 6,000 points in 2nd (also over the previous school record held by James). Rachel Noyce finished 5th in the heptathlon as she broke her own school record with 3,260 points.
Roll Hawks!!
The following are all automatically qualified for the NWAC Championships Monday and Tuesday, May 20-21:
Ismayil Abdoulaye: Javelin
Kylie Anderson: Hammer and Shot Put
Amy Barnwell: Hammer
Leikel Cabrera-Gay: Javelin
Daniel Gee: Pole Vault and Decathlon (1st: 10pts)
Isaac Heard: Javelin
Taylor Heie: Pole Vault
Will Hills: Triple Jump
Xavier Hills: Triple Jump, Long Jump, and High Jump
James Kelly: Pole Vault, 110m Hurdles, Long Jump, and Decathlon (2nd: 8pts)
Lexi McWilliam: Steeplechase
Angel Mendoza: Pole Vault
Tarron Metz: Pole Vault
Okenoko Pascall: Discus and Shot Put
Rachel Noyce: High Jump and Heptathlon (5th: 4pts)
Kylie Rubrecht: Javelin
Madelyn Sharp: Javelin
Ethan Sumpter: Javelin
Travis Tyler: 100m and 200m
Ezekiel Wright: 400m Hurdles
Men's 4x100m Relay
Men's 4x400m Relay
Women's 4x400m Relay
