Ephrata puts on a clinic at the Best of the Basin track and field meet
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin HeraldEthan Green, center, and Jayden Lopez, left, of Ephrata make their way to the front of the pack at the beginning of the boys 1600-meter run Thurday at the Best of the Basin track and field meet at Jacks Stadium in Quincy.
Rodney Harwood/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata’s Hunter James lets fly a throw during the javelin competition Thursday at the Best of the Basin track and field meet in Quincy.
QUINCY — The wind was brutal. The weather was warm, so welcome to track and field in the Columbia Basin. But the Best of the Basin track and field meet Thursday afternoon was a nice showcase of talent and a chance to get some work in.
The Ephrata girls won 10 events to distance themselves with a monster score of 304, winning in dominating fashion. The Quincy girls were the best of the rest, competing well in spots to finish second at 159, and Wahluke (74) was third.
The Tiger boys weren’t quite as dominating, but put together a nice meet, holding off 1A Royal in the process. The Best of the Basin boys meet shook out like this — Ephrata (185), Royal (146) and Quincy (142) in the top three spots.
Ephrata sophomore Mya Spencer won both the 200 (27.89 seconds) and the 400 meters (1:02.00). Tiger teammate McCall DeChenne ran a personal best, winning the 100-meter hurdles (16.24) and also defeated the field in the 300 hurdles (48.02). Spencer and DeChenne teamed with Nikola Brzezny and Hailey Miller to win the 4x100 relay (53.73). That same team also won the 4x200 relay (1:53.50).
Quincy freshman Bryn Heikes showed no fear running against some of the best middle distance talent in the Basin. The Jacks ninth-grader won the 800 (2:44.17) by 19 seconds and turned around and won the 1600 (5:52.16), taking on a brutal headwind on the back stretch.
“The 1600 was a fun race even with the wind,” she said. “My best time so far is a 5:48.00. My goal is to run faster than that. Today I just tried to stay with the pack and started picking it up after the first lap.”
It was a day where wind dictated pace and running for place was more prevalent than eye-popping times or distances. Quincy’s Mashayla Schaapman won the discus with a mark of 99-feet-10. Jack teammate Avery Vanderveen had the top throw in the javelin (98-9). Wahluke’s Abby Yorgesen won the high jump (4-8).
Boys meet
The Ephrata boys won eight events, including both relays. In fact, their new lineup in the 4x100 relay had it clicking with a winning time of 46.99.
“We added Josh Benthem, who was a soccer player that’s pretty quick. I’m not sure if this is the permanent lineup, but I feel like we ran a pretty good race today,” said anchor Anthony Evans, who also won the 800 meters (2:11.35). “We had good exchanges and I got to run with the wind, so it was good.”
The 4x100 lineup also included Aaron Evans and Chris Walker. Benthem is already proving his worth, winning both the 100 (12.06) and the 400 meters (57.19). Tiger sophomore Hunter James is also in his first year of track and finished second in the javelin with a mark of 151-7.
“My coaches have been really helpful showing me the fundamentals since this is my first year of track,” said James. “They’ve been working me with my footwork and staying focused. My PR is 159, which I had on my very first throw ever. I’m just trying to get better each time out.”
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