Ezra Gordon and Ram Relays

This week the team was split up into two parts one going to Colville on Thursday and the other going to Yakima to race at the Ram Relays hosted by West Valley of Yakima for their last competition until after spring break. But, don't worry Knut, our team mascot went to both places and stayed plenty warm on Saturday (on right).

First in Colville we had some very good performances highlighted by Matt, Jesse, Derek and Charlie in the 3200m all racing that distance for the first time and running respectable times of 11:21, 11:22, 11:22 and 12:06 which will drop easily with more experience at that distance. They all worked well together through the first 5-6 laps and then started to move, passing multiple runners from other teams finishing in 7, 8, 9, and 12 respectfully. Other competitors at Colville include Regan who had a very good double in the 800/1600, PRing in both races with times of 2:24 and 5:10, both being his first official races at those distances. Spence and Tom also ran doubles of the 800/1600 and competed well, both just starting to get used to track meets and racing on the track compared to cross country. Running the 1600 for the first time officially Chris PRed running 5:35 well on his way to a great season.

As for Saturday's meet in Yakima the day started out with sunshine in Cheney and by the time we arrived it was rainy, but with no wind and temperatures in the 40s. Good racing weather. The first race of the meet was the rarely run 4x800m in which Ashlyn, Jewel, Corey, and Mark competed in running very well for their first relay experiences of the year. Since this was a 'relay' meet the open races were limited by numbers of entries and by events, only including the 1600m and 3200m distance races. In the 1600m coming back from injuries both Amie and Kali ran very well coming with 10sec of their PRs from last season already running 5:47 and 5:55. While freshman Mariah continued toward her goal of breaking 6 minutes by coming closer than last week with a 6:05. On the guys side, Nash took a chance going out fast trying to break 4:30 for the first time before running 4:36 for second place overall. Also in the guys 1600m, Mark doubled back from his earlier 800m relay leg to run a very strong 5:09.

In between the two distance races was the Millard relay which included coed runners with legs of 200m, 400m, 600m, and 1200m. Two distance kids were on the team, Ashlyn and Corey who both ran strong and competed well running 2:05 and 3:47 for their respected distances. To conclude the distances kids day was the 3200m which feature some of our strongest runners. On the guys side Devon and Aaron both PRed running very strong and negative splitting both of their racings finishing in 3rd and 5th with times of 10:20 and 10:25 to position themselves in the top two spots in the region at the conclusion of the weekend. For the girls Sanne continued her dominance running away from the field  coming within one second of her state time from last year with a 11:22, placing her second in the state for right now. Also in the race was Sydney who came back with a strong performance of 13:00 after a big break through last week.

Next up for a select few Blackhawks is the Birger Invite in Bellingham on the second weekend of spring break to meet some good competition from the west side of the state. And don't forget to check out the new documents on the right side of the page, which includes CHS top 10 lists as well as the most recent regional rankings in the distance events.

Start of Track...

After a winter of running, eating, Frostbite 5k, watching movies, our 'trip to Alaska,' Partners in Pain, hill sprints, and many many more adventures the Cheney Distance kids just finished up their third week of practice and the first Invite of the year. Hosted by West Valley (Spokane), yesterday marked the start of the racing season and a good start it turned out to be for the Blackhawks. Led by Sanne and Nash there were many good performances.

The day started with the girls 3200m in which Sydney placed 12th with a PR of 12:49, a 39 second improvement, just seconds away from the district auto qualifying mark. Also in the race Savannah finished 16th with a time of 13:16, a great effort. The boys 3200m featured returner Corey plus 3 new comers to the event; Mark, Spencer, and Regan. Running a fairly even paced race Mark finished up first out of the quartet in 14th overall and 11:00, with Corey 21st in 11:10, Spencer 25th in 11:14 and Regan 27th in 11:20. This is a tough event and a good start for all four.

In the boys 1600m race, including many strong GSL teams, Nash finished 5th overall in 4:32 followed closely by Aaron with a PR of 13 seconds in 4:38, good for 7th place. Devon coming off a winter injury finished strong with a PR of 6 seconds in 4:47. Heat 2 included 3 of our up and coming underclassmen. Jesse kicking home the last lap finished in a PR of 5:11 bring his time down from Wednesday's Jamboree, as well as Matt running 5:14 and Derek a strong 5:17. All six of these guys put in a very good winter of running and they are seeing the benefits early this track season. On the girls side of the 1600m, Sanne won with a time of 5:25 to start her season a full 10 seconds faster than last year's debut race. While Mariah ran 6:08, a very fast time for a freshman, which will only be lowered throughout the season. Running together near the finish Jewel finished in 6:33 and Ashlyn finished in 6:34; a good start for those two as well.

The last distance race included the 800m. On the girls side Sanne doubled back to win her second event, running a PR of 2:24, while Mariah and Ashlyn both PRed running 2:44 and 2:57 respectfully. Also in the race for the girls was Jewel who finished in 2:53. As for the guys, Nash doubled back to run a very impressive 2:03 for 2nd place overall while Aaron ran 2:08 for 4th place. Others in the 800 included Jesse, Derek, and Matt PRing in 2:19, 2:20, and 2:30 respectfully.


Up next for the Blackhawks this week are the Ezra Gordon Invite at Colville on Thursday at 3pm and the Ram Relays in Yakima on Saturday starting at noon. Check with your athlete for an info sheet on the meet that they will be attending which will include what to brings, meet schedule, and directions to the meet.