Ephrata's Anthony Evans, Quincy's Tyson Thornton qualify in three events for 2A state track meet

EPHRATA — Ephrata senior Anthony Evans is going back to the 2A state track and field championships one last time.

“It’s nice to compete against the best of the best, knowing that I’m one of them,” said Evans, who has the third-fastest 400-meter time in the state in all classes and the top 2A quarter-miler.

Evans proved his time of 49.39 seconds at the CWAC district meet was no fluke. The Tiger senior chased down Carson Brown (50.45) of Cheney on the grandstand straight to win the Region IV 400-meter dash in 49.88 to punch his ticket to the 2A state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma Stadium May 24-26.

Evans never did break the stagger, trailing Brown by four or five steps coming off the final curve onto the home stretch. Having raced the Cheney senior before, it all fell into Evans’ race strategy.

“I try to hit the first 300 meters in 36 seconds or less. I’ve raced against a lot of these guys since my freshman year. I knew how (Brown) raced and I knew I could catch him in the end,” said Evans. “We’ve had a friendly rivalry over the years. Sometimes he beats me, sometimes I beat him.”

Evans qualified in both the 400 and the 200, where he finished third in 22.56. He was also a part of the Tigers 4x100 relay, which put together a 44.35 to qualify in the fourth position. He along with his little brother Aaron, Carter Cox and Gabriel Green are going to get a run at the state level.

“It’s amazing and it felt great,” Anthony Evans said. “I’m looking forward to running with this group of kids. We’ve been practicing hand-offs all week for this and really didn’t do anything different.”

The first exchange is Aaron to Anthony Evans on the curve. Anthony runs the back straight and hands off to Cox, who runs the second curve. Green is the anchor and was able to maintain the fourth-place position in a race that saw Cheney win in 42.87.

“There were a lot of guys around me when I got the baton,” Green said. “I didn’t really realize what place I was in, but you’re alone in your head when you’re running.

“I count and see how many are in front of me and try to pick them off as I run down the straight away.”

Quincy senior Tyson Thornton had a field day to remember. He won the triple jump with a mark of 42-feet, 10 ¾ inches. He was second in the javelin with a throw of 162-9 and qualified in his third individual event in the high jump when he cleared 6-feet.

Ephrata senior Brad Flanigan chased Pullman sophomore Tyrus Thomas (15.33) right to the tape in the 110-meter high hurdles, finishing second with a personal best 15.47.

“I came out of the blocks with people right with me on both sides, but I was able to gain some separation,” Flanigan said. “When I get into the middle part of my race, I focus on my form and getting my leg down so I can get over the hurdles quicker. I ran a PR today, and hopefully I can do the same thing at state.”

Ephrata throwers Gavan Allen and Gabriel See both qualified in the discus. Allen won with a mark of 145-4 and See finished fourth (139-5).

In the girls’ meet, defending 2A 100-meter hurdles state champion McCall DeChenne finished second (15.22) in both the 100 lows and the 300 intermediates (45.91) behind Ellensburg senior Tia Hill. The two Region IV standouts will get after it again at the state meet, but it doesn’t hurt to have someone to race against in preparation for the state field.

“I’m very grateful that Tia’s in our district,” DeChenne said. “Every race has been competitive and we’ve been dropping times every race. It’s nice to have that challenge. My goal at the end of the day is to PR. I can only run faster than I ever have and see where that puts me when the race is over.”

Ephrata’s Katelyn Ostrowski finished third in the javelin to earn a spot at Mount Tahoma (116-feet).

Area 2A state qualifiers

Girls

100 hurdles: 2. McCall DeChenne, Ephrata, 15.22

300 hurdles: 2. McCall DeChenne, Ephrata, 45.91

Javelin: 3. Katelyn Ostrowski, Ephrata, 116-0

Boys

200: 3. Anthony Evans, Ephrata, 22.56

400: 1. Anthony Evans, Ephrata, 49.88

110 hurdles: 2. Brad Flanigan, Ephrata, 15.47

4x100 relay: 4. Ephrata (Aaron Evans, Anthony Evans, Carter Cox, Gabriel Green), 44.35

Discus: 1. Gavan Allen, Ephrata, 145-4; 4. Gabriel See, Ephrata, 139-5

Javelin: 2. Tyson Thornton, Quincy, 162-9; 3. Hunter James, Ephrata, 160-8

High jump: 4. Tyson Thornton, Quincy, 6-0

Triple jump: 1. Tyson Thornton, Quincy, 42-10 ¾