Butorac sets a blistering pace

The hotter it got Friday afternoon, the faster Chad Butorac seemingly ran.

Butorac zipped around the Spokane Falls Community College track in record times as the Northport senior captured the 100, 200 and 400 meters in the District 7 B meet.

Butorac, who tries to simulate running under hot conditions by wearing sweats in practice, broke the 400 district record he tied a year ago and claimed the 200 district mark under sizzling conditions. He bolted to a career-best time of 48.75 seconds in the 400, easily eclipsing the meet record he shared with Doug Wellsandt of Ritzville (50.80), and his 22.03 in the 200 erased the 22.30 set by Chris Phipps of Ritzville in 1994.

The meet records followed an otherwise pedestrian time of 11.15 in the 100.

“I’m ready to toss my cookies,” Butorac uttered moments after his blazing 400 in which he was unchallenged. “That race takes it out of me.”

Butorac’s 48.75 blew away his previous best (49.6).

“I’m used to not having anybody around me the first half of the race,” said Butorac, the defending state champ in the 100 and 200. “So I go out as fast as I can. Usually people come along side me the last 150 meters.”

Perhaps they will at state. But not Friday. In fact, the defending state champ in the event, Braidy Haden of Wilbur-Creston, finished nearly 2 seconds behind Butorac (50.50). Butorac was runner-up to Haden at state last year.

Butorac suspects Haden may have been holding back. Butorac beat Haden in the 400 at district last year only to watch his rival prevail at state.

“I think he’s saving something for state,” Butorac said. “He’s a tournament runner.”

Haden finished second in the 200 and third in the 100. The top four in each event advance to state, which will be held Thursday through next Saturday at Eastern Washington University.

Butorac, whose school doesn’t have a track, practiced out of blocks for the first time this year when he traveled 20 miles into Canada on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to practice on a rubberized track in Warfield, British Columbia.

“It helped quite a bit this week,” Butorac said.

He will be out to capture three state titles next week.

“I have to run for the right reasons at state – run for God and just giving it everything I’ve got,” said Butorac, who plans to attend EWU.

The chase for the district team titles were both decided by the slimmest margins. Odessa’s boys posted 78 points to edge Republic (77), while St. George’s girls tallied 74 to slip past Odessa (73).

Odessa’s boys won without the benefit of one individual winner.

The other multiple boys winners were: Adam Thompson of Springdale in the high jump (6-4) and triple jump (45-7); Brad Serdar of Reardan in the 1,600 (4:44.0) and 3,200 (10:31.61); and Justin Carstensen of Almira/Coulee-Hartline in the pole vault (11-0) and long jump (21-1½).

Thompson’s 45-7 in the triple jump broke the meet mark of 44-4½ set by Bill Ryan of Odessa in 1985.

Kirsten Fix led St. George’s with victories in the 800 (2:24.44) and 1,600 (5:19.0). Her time in the 1,600 broke the record (5:19.70) set by Kari McKay of Almira in 1987. Fix was the lone individual winner for the district champs.

Freshman Kaprina Goodwin of Northport – perhaps the school’s future Butorac among the girls – swept the hurdles, winning the 100 in 15.78 and 300 in 47.93. The 5-foot-10 athlete also captured the triple jump (35-3).

The only other multiple-event winner among the girls was Kaylee Semprimoznik of Davenport. She captured the 100 (13.23) and long jump (15-11¾).