Postseason track roundup: Mead’s Joseph Heitman shines on toasty day

Joseph Heitman wanted to conserve all the fuel he could Friday during a busy afternoon at the 4A Regional track and field meet.

The plan worked for the Mead junior.

He leaped a state-leading 23 feet, 6 inches in the long jump on the second of three attempts in the prelims at Richland’s Fran Risch Stadium.

Heitman then passed on his final attempt and skipped all three opportunities in the finals because he had prelims in the 110-meter hurdles and 300 hurdles to go along with running the second leg in the 400 relay final.

His winning jump came minutes after he ran the 110 highs. He didn’t need much of a warm up on a toasty day that reached 80 degrees.

His previous best this season was 22-8¼.

“I talked to (jumps coach Quantae Anderson) before the meet and we wanted to keep my jumps to a minimum,” Heitman said. “That jump has been there the whole year for sure. The last few weeks we’ve been working on my landing and trying to get it down.”

He met his season distance goal. Now he’ll see if he can extend it to 24 at state next week.

Heitman was fresh for his leg on the 400 relay. He teamed with Brendon Green, Aaron Flaa and anchor Thomas Dammarell as the Panthers foursome won in 43.06 seconds.

Ferris senior pole vaulter Clay Somes has been oh so close to breaking through 15 feet. For a fourth time this season, he hit 15-0 and that was more than good enough to win Friday.

Somes took three attempts at 15-6 – the third time he’s done so this year. He had a couple good tries.

“It’s a hard barrier,” Somes said of cracking 15-0. “Once you get higher and higher the six-inch barriers become more and more difficult. I know I can go 15-6. I got on a new pole today. I just need to fix a couple things.”

Lewis and Clark’s Anna Rodgers won the long jump and anchored the winning 400 relay (47.75), which seemingly lowers the school record each time it runs.

Rodgers teamed with Emily Greene, Maya Lebar and Isabella Millsap.

In the long jump, Rodgers and Lebar finished 1-2. Rodgers leaped 19-1¼, a half inch further than she did last week, and Lebar went 18-1¼.

Kearan Nelson of CV started to pull away in the 3,200 on the next-to-last lap, winning in a time of 10:32.91 – a career best by 14 seconds.

2A Regional: Alsatta Bakana of Cheney was a four-event winner on her home track.

Bakana won the 200 (24.85), 400 (57.21) and high jump (5-7) and assisted the winning the 1,600 relay.

Chole Chalfant of East Valley on the javelin (141-7).

Rodrick Fisher of EV and Caleb Simpson of WV were double winners.

Fisher won the 100 (10.49) and 200 (21.26) and Simpson won the 110 (14.66) and 300 (38.85) hurdles.

Idaho

5A: Grady Leonard of Coeur d’Alene repeated as state shot put champion at Dona Larsen Park in Boise.

Leonard threw 61-5½. It was well short of

his career best (67-0) and short of the state record (64-9).

“I had a good warm up but once it started it went downhill,” Leonard said. “I didn’t perform the way I wanted. It’s still nice to win a state title. But I was really competing against myself with the marks I put up this year. It just didn’t line up today.”

Lake City junior Emily Hernandez won the shot, breaking her own school record with a throw of 43-2. Teammate Keara Simpson took third with a personal best (39-4).

“It was exhilarating and so much fun,” Hernandez said. “It’s probably the best experience of my high school career so far.”

The CdA boys distance relay took second (7:58.77).

4A: Also in Boise, Whitnee Skalskiy of Lakeland took second in the triple jump (35-9½) just eight months after ACL surgery.

Skalskiy captured a state title last year.

Katherine Ruck and Josh Corgatelli, both of Moscow, won titles in the 3,200. Ruck won in 11:09.50 and Corgatelli won in 9:21.03.

3A: Landon Chang of Coeur d’Alene Charter won the 3,200 (9:43.69) at Middleton High School.

CdA Charter took second in the medley relay.

In the pole vault, Isaac Lavala of Bonners Ferry won with a jump of 15-2. Corbin Maltba of Priest River took second (14-0).