Meridian track and field swept the team titles at its annual home meet, the six-team Trojan Twilight, on Friday, March 29, powered by 16 event wins and a tie for first in another.
Three Trojans, all freshmen and sophomores, set new personal records with their victories. The Meridian boys have won all four of the program’s meets this season.
Mount Baker captured second in both the boys and girls ranks, while Blaine, Nooksack Valley and Lummi Nation had varying finishes.
Meridian freshman Reuben TeVelde swept the boys distance races (800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs), while sophomore Logan Ignacio did the same on the girls side. TeVelde set a new personal record in the 1,600-meter with his time of 4:39.59.
Freshman Amelia Koning set a personal-best mark in the triple jump, winning the event with her jump of 32-10 — currently tied for sixth best in the state in Class 1A.
Mount Baker had far fewer event wins, but the Mountaineers placed second in 12 events across its boys and girls teams. Junior Darius Gilstrap finished first in the boys long jump and triple jump, and he set a personal record in the former (19-1).
The Mountaineers also snagged a relay win in the girls 4X400, with senior Erica Cook and sophomores Ellie Hanstead, Jane Lentz and Natalie Van Liew posting a time of 4:27.30.
In addition to its boys 4X400 relay victory, Blaine had four individual event wins with each athlete posting new bests. Freshman Cheyenne Parker won the girls 200- and 400-meter dashes, while junior Juliana Zuzarte (100-meter dash) and senior Deja Dube (discus) also finished first.
Senior Cian Coppinger led Nooksack Valley with a pair of wins in the shot put (48-7) and discus (160-6). His discus mark was a new personal record and he is currently ranked second in 1A. Fellow Pioneers senior Joey Brown won the boys javelin with a mark of 167-7.
NV’s girls 4X200 relay team, which is currently ranked sixth in 1A, also finished first. One of its members, junior Kate Shintaffer, tied for first in the pole vault (8-0).
A full list of Whatcom County event winners and team scores is below.
Team scores
Boys
- Meridian (218)
- Mount Baker (107)
- Nooksack Valley (84)
- Blaine (70)
- La Conner (42)
Girls
- Meridian (180)
- Mount Baker (148)
- La Conner (83)
- Blaine (74)
- Nooksack Valley (58)
- Lummi Nation (2)
Event winners
* denotes personal record
Meridian
Boys 100-meter dash: Jase Klinkhammer (:11.02)
Boys 200-meter dash: Jase Klinkhammer (:22.13)
Boys 400-meter dash: Jase Klinkhammer (:52.35)
Boys 800-meter run: Reuben TeVelde (2:09.19)
Boys 1,600-meter run: Reuben TeVelde (4:39.59)*
Boys 3,200-meter run: Reuben TeVelde (11:07.49)
Boys 4X100 relay: Josh Elmer, Jase Klinkhammer, Dane Beishline, Caleb Young (:43.78)
Boys pole vault: Willem Nichols (12-6.00)*
Girls 800-meter run: Logan Ignacio (2:29.67)
Girls 1,600-meter run: Logan Ignacio (5:25.76)
Girls 3,200-meter run: Logan Ignacio (12:45.98)
Girls 300-meter hurdles: Erica Stotts (:49.94)
Girls 4X100 relay: Amelia Koning, Gracie Pap, Eden Bernardy, Erica Stotts (:52.89)
Girls shotput: Olivia Ng (31-4.00)
(T-1st) Girls high jump: Gracie Pap (4-10.00)
Girls long jump: Erica Stotts (15-9.00)
Girls triple jump: Amelia Koning (32-10.00)*
Mount Baker
Boys high jump: Cole Lukes (5-6.00)
Boys long jump: Darius Gilstrap (19-1.00)*
Boys triple jump: Darius Gilstrap (37-11.50)
Girls 4X400: Ellie Hanstead, Erica Cook, Jane Lentz, Natalie Van Liew (4:27.30)
(T-1st) Girls pole vault: Natalie Horsmon (8-0.00)
Nooksack Valley
Boys shotput: Cian Coppinger (48-7.00)
Boys discus: Cian Coppinger (160-6.00)*
Boys javelin: Joey Brown (167-7.00)
Girls 4X200 relay: Kate Shintaffer, Kennedy Brown, Gretchen Elmendorf, Charlize Miller (1:52.26)
(T-1st) Girls pole vault: Kate Shintaffer (8-0.00)
Blaine
Boys 4X400 relay: Dylan Johnson, Justin Minjarez, Colin Davis, Tyler Bouma (3:42.51)
Girls 100-meter dash: Juliana Zuzarte (:13.41)*
Girls 200-meter dash: Cheyenne Parker (:27.22)*
Girls 400-meter dash: Cheyenne Parker (1:03.18)*
Girls discus: Deja Dube (100-8.00)*
Connor J. Benintendi is CDN’s sports editor; reach him at connorbenintendi@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
