A challenging day
Usually, wind chill isn’t something to be alarmed about unless one is skiing or snowmobiling.
A strong wind out of the west, which was especially challenging to sprinters, had track and field athletes and spectators scrambling for extra layers of clothing Thursday afternoon at the eighth annual District I Meet of Champions.
The meet, which showcases the top athletes in the region, had all the warmth of a walk-in freezer. Believe it or not, a couple of meet records were broken. More than anything, it was a day of survival – especially with state-qualifying meets looming next week.
No team points are kept. It’s a final opportunity for athletes to tune up for the most important meets of their season. And it’s a chance to earn bragging rights since athletes from all classifications go head to head.
There were four double winners. They were: Angie Whalen (800 meters and 1,600) of Post Falls, Kaitie Poston of Bonners Ferry (shot put and discus), Brad Reynolds of Post Falls (110 and 300 hurdles) and Levi Powers of Timberlake (triple and long jump).
Whalen, a sophomore, set a meet record in the 800 in a time of 2 minutes, 22.88 seconds. She broke the mark of 2:23.30 set by Amy Collins of Kootenai in 2003. Whalen held off Anna Stone of Coeur d’Alene for the win. Stone was an easy victor in the 3,200 (11:20.91).
Whalen came back later in the meet to win the 1,600 (5:34.22) by nearly nine seconds.
Poston, the most dominant thrower the past four years, was rather pedestrian. She won the shot put with a throw of 42 feet, 7 inches and followed it up with a win in the discus (138-11), a heave that was nearly 14 feet short of the meet record she set last year and 9 feet short of her season best.
Reynolds had perhaps the most difficult double considering he had to go against a difficult headwind in the hurdles. He won the 110 highs in a time of 15.54 before coming back later to take the 300 intermediates (40.65). It was the first time since early April that Reynolds had not broken 40 seconds.
“It’s crazy how much time the wind takes off your times,” Reynolds said. “I was hoping the wind would lighten up. I went over the last hurdle (in the 300) with my wrong leg. It was just bad. What you try to do is avoid getting hurt this close to state.”
Powers squeezed out wins in the long jump (20-3½) and triple jump (41-8).
One of the more impressive victories was the win posted by Lake City junior John Coyle in the 800. He broke his meet record (1:58.01) with a time of 1:57.33.
One of the guttiest races, considering it was against the teeth of the wind early in the meet, was the boys 100. Jake Rhodes of Coeur d’Alene and Nick Puckett of Timberlake battled to the finish as Rhodes prevailed in 11.50, six one-hundredths of a second ahead of Puckett.
Timberlake coach Brian Kluss thought Puckett actually should have been disqualified in the 100 for a false start. Puckett agreed.
“I didn’t have a good start out of the blocks,” Puckett said of the 100. “The headwind wasn’t fun. I’ve really been having trouble in the 100 lately. I have to give props to Jake (Rhodes). He ran a good race.”
Puckett avenged the loss in the 200 when he tied the meet record in a time of 22.73, topping Rhodes by .21 of a second.
“I feel really confident about my 200 (races),” Puckett said. “I really like the first 100 meters in the 200. I really try to put the race away in the first corner. I just put it all in the corner and then run that last 100 like there’s no tomorrow. I’m a 400 runner so I know that last 100 isn’t going to kill me like it does (other runners).”
Puckett later came back and anchored Timberlake’s winning 1,600 relay (3:29.93), which broke the old mark (3:30.5).
“All we wanted to do was stay healthy,” Timberlake coach Brian Kluss said. “We love the competition when we come to this meet, but on a day like today we just want to stay healthy.”