Sizzle in the drizzle

It may have been a rainy day at the sixth annual District I Meet of Champions, but it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits or hamper the efforts of area track and field athletes.

Under a steady drizzle, athletes posted personal bests all over Post Falls High School’s second-year track.

The meet, which serves as a showcase for the top athletes in the region regardless of classification, is a final tuneup before state-qualifying meets next weekend. No team scores are kept.

Five meet records were broken, two by Bonners Ferry sophomore Katie Poston.

Poston, who set the meet bests last year in the discus and shot put, easily eclipsed those with some distance to spare. She heaved the discus 143 feet, 11 inches, topping her record mark by nearly 7 feet (136-11½).

Earlier in the meet, Poston extended the meet record in the shot with a toss of 42-9½, more than a foot better than a year ago (41-8).

As she always seems to do, Poston, who captured titles at the prestigious Pasco Invite last month, took the wins in stride.

While other athletes slipped in the discus ring, Poston managed to keep her balance.

“Everybody was afraid to throw because it was wet,” said Poston, who captured State 3A titles in both events last year. “A couple of girls fell. So my teammates wanted me to scale, but I just went for it.”

Kootenai junior Darcy Collins had no difficulty defending her titles in the high jump (5-2) and 300 hurdles (45.66 seconds) while also winning in the 100 hurdles (15.25). Her time in the 300 broke her meet record from last year (46.5).

Collins said the meet was a good warmup for next week. She will attempt to qualify for state in four individual events. She is 7 for 7 in attempts at state titles and will be heavily favored to add four more to that total.

Collins raced with her left leg taped up from her ankle to just below her knee.

“Shin splints,” Collins said. “I’ve been taping it the last couple of meets because it just keeps getting worse. I’m just being cautious. Taping it makes it feel better, too.”

Collins, whose career best in the high jump is 5-6, took three attempts at 5-7 after she wrapped up the win at 5-2.

“I didn’t want to waste my legs away,” Collins said of bypassing attempts at previously made heights.

Lake City senior Breanna Sande was a little under the weather fighting a cold. But she cruised to victory in the 3,200 (11:38.08) and 800 (2:26.02). She scratched out of the 1,600 and ran a leg on the Timberwolves’ winning 1,600 relay (4:17.18).

Priest River junior sprint standout AshLee Rey beat talented fields in the 200 (26.9) and 400 (59.23). Her win in the 400 was the second week in a row that she topped defending 3A state champ Jamie Brower of Kellogg.

The other meet record among the girls was by junior Lynsie Powers of Timberlake in the triple jump. Powers, a state champion in the event as a freshman, leaped 35-4, edging the meet record by a half inch.

One meet record was set among the boys. Sandpoint senior Brian Resso, a double winner in the throws, launched the discus 158-5, topping the record of 156-2.

Resso’s throw of 51-10½ held up by 2 feet in the shot put.

Coeur d’Alene sophomore Michael Armon was hoping to lower his personal bests in the 1,600 and 3,200 by considerable amounts.

In the first running event of the meet, the 3,200, Armon shot out quickly before finishing in 9:41.35, a season best by 10 seconds.

He came back in the next-to-last event, the 1,600, and won in a time of 4:33.1, about 8 seconds slower than his best this season.

Still, Armon sees himself on pace to fare much better at state this year than a year ago. He took second in the 3,200 last year and was ninth, one spot out of placing, in the 1,600.

Armon thought he still had some gas in his tank after the 3,200.

“I crossed the finish line and I felt a lot better than I should have,” Armon said. “I probably should have pushed a little harder. I felt tired during the race, but as soon as I crossed the line I had a couple of seconds to recover and I got things back fast. But it was my best (3,200) race this year. It was a good pre-state race.”

The only other multiple-event winner among the boys was Post Falls senior K.C. Billetz, who prevailed in the long jump (19-6) and triple jump (41-10). His winning mark in the triple jump came on his first vault of the meet.

Lucas Pope of Coeur d’Alene captured the pole vault in a personal-best 14-3. He took three attempts at 14-7, which would have broken the school record. He was over the bar on his second attempt, but wiggled it enough to knock it off.