May 1—No single moment defined it; there were steady results across the board for many teams at Thursday’s District 2 Meet of Champions that brought many of the best track and field athletes from Idaho preps’ District II together at Lewiston High School.
The consistency carried Lewiston, Moscow, Logos of Moscow and Prairie of Cottonwood into top-three finishes out of a field of 19 schools on each side at the annual big late-season meet.
In boys team scoring, Lewiston beat out Moscow for first place by one point at 152.5, the Bears took second at 151.5 and Logos took third at 100.5.
In girls team scoring, Moscow dominated with a score of 198, Logos took second at 136 and Prairie got third with a score of 106.
It was a meet filled with numerous personal records across the board.
Lewiston coach Mike Jones explained why the event is called the “Meet of Champions.”
“I think it really is the area best,” Jones said. “It’s all of District II; there were like (19) schools here today. And you’re getting the best from all the area schools, both, big and small and it’s fun because the weather’s typically good, and you get great competition out of kids and it’s more of a regional event. Which kind of ties us all together. It’s pretty cool that way.”
Standout boys
Caleb Heywood of Moscow ran a personal best 10.65 seconds in the 100-meter dash to not only take first place but to move into the top spot in the state of Idaho among all classifications.
Heywood won the 200 as well with a time of 21.46 — just 0.03 seconds short of his state-best time in that event.
“(The) 100 felt really good,” Heywood said. “I’ve been kind of struggling with my start all year long, and this meet finally felt like good weather, so I was kind of already prepared. Like this gave me a good race, and then my blocks felt good. And just from there, it went super smoothly, and ran a season’s best, ran a PR, which felt really good.”
He said the 200 was “pretty standard procedure” and that he felt warmed up from the 100 and from the warm weather sunny Lewiston brought on Thursday.
Heywood said the 200 was one of his strongest finishes of the season.
“My strategy is to try and push for as long as I can still hold my acceleration and try not to get up right,” Heywood said. “Because at least for most elite sprinters, they’re able to get up top speed around 60 meters … and I can hold up to about 40 and 50, but each day, I try and push myself and continue to further that amount, because that’s what’s going to make me better.”
Benjamin Farr of Genesee set a school record and a personal best in the 1,600 with a time of 4:30.79, 3.76 seconds better than his own previous record he set at the Bantam Small School Invite on April 2.
Farr said it was important for him to treat his body well with what he consumes, the amount of sleep he gets and to realize that “God has blessed (him)” along with the science of running with the shoes he wears and how much he works out.
“So (for) my strategy, my coach said, ‘You need to come out and try and stick behind somebody, just to practice drafting off of them,'” Farr said. “And so I was like, ‘All right.’ So I got out, got behind the No. 2 guy, and eventually, when he started to die off, I was like, ‘Okay, I gotta go up ahead to make sure I get a PR.’ And so then I just got a hold first and kick it at the last lap to take that win.”
Farr said it was a “pretty stacked” race when he was looking at the heat sheets and he knew it would be a good race with the athletes in it.
Lewiston won the shot put and the discus — with personal best throws of 53 feet, 2 inches in the shot put by Parker Bagley and a discus throw of 157-2 by Gabe Kessinger.
After Kessinger threw his personal record throw, he let out a guttural scream.
“It was ecstatic,” Kessinger said about the scream. “I was super happy. It’s been coming for a long time. I’ve been working really hard.”
John Henry Crapuchettes of Logos lapped multiple racers and won the 3,200 in 9:33.10. He also won the 800 in 2:00.01.
Moscow’s Nuhn among the standout girls
Moscow’s Mattea Nuhn was in the top spot for all four events that she competed in.
She won the 100 hurdles in 14.36, the 300 hurdles in 45.75, and the long jump by over a foot and a half at 18-9. She also tied for first in the high jump with a height of 5-4.
Nuhn said it was nice to see consistency in the times and distances she’s been hitting recently; she said it was “very reassuring.”
She said racing against her own teammate, Jessa Skinner, and a “fantastic” coach brings consistency.
“It’s nice that in a sport like track and field, I can almost just race my ‘yesterday self’ in my times,” Nuhn said. “So even if there’s a little gap, I’m still racing the clock. So I always have that motivation, even if there’s not exactly someone right next to me.”
Moscow coach Phil Helbling said he expects nothing less out of Nuhn.
“I mean, she just does what she does,” Helbling said. “She wouldn’t expect anything less out of herself. And obviously, we wouldn’t expect anything less out of her too. She’s just the ultimate competitor, and she comes out here every day and works hard and she wants to win, and she does that quite often.”
Jasmine Carr of Moscow set a personal record in the 200, with a time of 25.14.
And according to records on athletic.net, she set the meet record in the girls 100-meter dash, with a time of 12.20.
She said that running without socks in her shoes helped her and that it gave her more traction.
“I have to slowly get up and then stay tall through the middle part of it,” Carr said of the 100. “So I think that helps.”
Sage Elven of Prairie set a personal record in the discus and threw nearly 20 feet further than second place with a distance of 146-8.
Elven said part of her strategy was to make sure she got over her left leg well, and when she did on her first throw, it was a PR.
“It’s pretty hard to compete with only myself a lot of the time,” Elven said of throwing 20 farther than second place. “But I like these big meets, they’re fun. I get to talk to people. I think it’s just a lot more enjoyable. I don’t really have to worry about not losing.”
Elven also took first in the shot put at 39-10 1/2.
Sydney Shears of Prairie won the 1,600 by a matter of less than a second with a time of 5:24.32.
Getting ready for districts
District competitions are next week for every one of these schools.
Jones and Helbling said the plan is to keep their athletes prepared.
“You just try and sharpen the stick,” Jones said. “Like I told them, this becomes the crunch time of the season. At the end of the day, it’s a zero-sum game. There’s only so many spots on the state bus. And you go and compete. You go out and compete for what you want. And, we just spend this week trying to fine-tune everything. And, yeah, just show up and compete.”
BOYS
Team scores — 1. Lewiston 152.5; 2. Moscow 151.5; 3. Logos 100.5; 4. Grangeville 70.5; 5. Troy 39.5; 6. Nezperce 37.5; 7. Kendrick 37; 8. Kamiah 33; 9. Prairie 26; 10. Orofino 22; 11. Genesee 19; 12. Timberline 13; 13. Deary 12; 14. Lapwai 6; 15. Clearwater Valley 4; 15. Potlatch 4.
100 — 1. Caleb Heywood, Mos, 10.65; 2. D.J. Wilkerson, Lew, 11.06; 3. Nate Monjure, Log, 11.16.
200 — 1. Heywood, Mos, 21.46; 2. Brandon Brower, Lew, 22.41; 3. Ben Secrest, Pra, 22.52.
400 — 1. Connor Horne, Mos, 50.09; 2. Ole Sundlie, Log, 50.14; 3. Asaph Grieser, Log, 52.48.
800 — 1. John Henry Crapuchettes, Log, 2:00.01; 2. Trenton Stypa, Mos, 2:04.11; 3. Renin Jackson, Lew, 2:04.16.
1,600 — 1. Benjamin Farr, Gen, 4:30.79; 2. Orion McClory, Mos, 4:33.45; 3. Gabriel Siegenthaler, Mos, 4:36.47.
3,200 — 1. Crapuchettes, Log, 9:33.10; 2. Manuel Mendez, Tim, 10:04.61; 3. Lucas Clements, Lew, 10:06.28.
110 hurdles — 1. Gatlin Griffith, Nez, 16.30; 2. Trip Eckert, Lew, 16.62; 3. Tate Schumacher, Gra, 17.10.
300 hurdles — 1. Bryce Sifers, Lew, 40.79; 2. Griffith, Nez, 42.53; 3. Eckert, Lew, 42.83.
400 relay — 1. Lewiston (Dawson Bernatz, Wilkerson, Hunter Edelen, Brower), 43.28; 2. Moscow, 44.78; 3. Kendrick, 45.55.
800 relay — 1. Moscow (Owen Lassen, Horne, George Stott, Heywood), 1:27.26; 2. Lewiston, 1:28.19; 3. Logos, 1:32.67.
1,600 relay — 1. Lewiston (Renin Jackson, Sifers, Edelen, Wilkerson), 3:24.56; 2. Moscow, 3:28.59; 3. Grangeville, 3:41.74.
Medley 1,600 relay — 1. Moscow (Izan Garcia, Mason Attebury-Marzolf, Trenton Stypa, John Dyer), 3:42.86; 2. Nezperce, 3:56.12; 3. Grangeville, 3:59.41.
Shot put — 1. Parker Bagley, Lew, 53-2; 2. Riley Bontrager, Mos, 47-2; 3. Gabe Kessinger, Lew, 46-5.
Discus — 1. Kessinger, Lew, 157-2; 2. Nate Forsmann, Pra, 144-2; 3. Bagley, Lew, 142-6.
Javelin — 1. Evan Kirkham, Tro, 161-2; 2. Tate Schumacher 150-8; 3. Koby Beach, 140-0.
High jump — 1. Kolt Koepp, Ken, 6-4; 2. David Brandt, Gra, 6-0; 3. Monjure, Log, 5-10.
Pole vault — 1. Gavin Schoening, Kam, 13-9; 2. Cameron Fairbanks, Mos, 12-3; 3. Hinder Hurst, Tro, 12-3.
Long jump — 1. Curtis Carr, Mos, 21-0; 2. Reid Krahn, Lew, 20-6; 3. Landon Sneve, Ken, 19-9 3/4.
Triple jump — 1. Monjure, Log, 41-7 3/4; 2. Sneve, Ken, 41-1; 3. Dawson Bernatz, Lew, 40-2.
GIRLS
Team scores — 1. Moscow 198; 2. Logos 136; 3. Prairie 106; 4. Lewiston 87; 5. Grangeville 43; 6. Potlatch 37; 7. Genesee 25; 8. Deary 19; 8. Nezperce 8; 10. Timberline 18; 11. Troy 15; 12. Kamiah 9; 13. Orofino 8; 14. Highland — C; 14. Clearwater Valley 4; 16. Kendrick 2.
100 — 1. Jasmine Carr, Mos, 12.20; 2. Bethany Porras, Log, 12.85; 3. Lizzie Egland, Gen, 12.90.
200 — 1. Carr, Mos, 25.14; 2. Egland, Gen, 26.38; 3. Porras, Log, 26.85.
400 — 1. Aubree Geis, Pra, 59.26; 2. Chloe Jankovic, Log, 59.41; 3. Marisol Wilson, Log, 1:00.77.
800 — 1. Wilson, Log, 2:21.86; 2. Lucy Points, Log, 2:23.10; 3. Chloe Jankovic, Log, 2:23.11.
1,600 — 1. Sydney Shears, Pra, 5:24.32; 2. Cora Crawford, Mos, 5:25.14; 3. Livvia Rench, Log, 5:32.10.
3,200 — 1. Nya Bonner, Tim, 12:47.04; 2. Evelyn Jutte, Mos, 13:58.03; 3. Isabella Visger, Mos, 14:06.83.
100 hurdles — 1. Mattea Nuhn, Mos, 14.36; 2. Cadance Carlson, Pot, 15.48; 3. Jessa Skinner, Mos, 15.52.
300 hurdles — 1. Nuhn, Mos, 45.75; 2. Carlson, Pot, 47.54; 3. Quinn Covington, Log, 49.13.
400 relay — 1. Moscow (Ella Julye, Ashlyn Fakhouri, Addie Lassen, Carr), 49.09; 2. Prairie, 52.74; 3. Nezperce, 53.48.
800 relay — 1. Moscow (Rebekah Abbott, Brooklyn Becker, Lassen, Fakhouri), 1:44.56; 2. Logos, 1:46.90; 3. Lewiston, 1:47.39.
1,600 relay — 1. Logos (Emily Bowen, Lucy Points, Wilson, Jankovic), 3:58.90; 2. Moscow, 4:03.16; 3. Prairie, 4:07.42.
Medley 800 relay — 1. Moscow (Julye, Fakhouri, Lassen, Izzabel Fender), 1:51.52; 2. Prairie, 1:59.93; 3. Grangeville, 2:03.96.
Shot put — 1. Sage Elven, Pra, 39-10 1/2; 2. Emmy Roberts, Lew, 35-10 1/2; 3. Ila Wilkinson, Gra, 33-3 1/2.
Discus — 1. Elven, Pra, 146-8; 2. Reagan Kessinger, Oro, 127-8; 3. Tallis Comis, Log, 118-10.
Javelin — 1. Kaylee Wood, Dea, 121-2; 2. Sage Elven, Pra, 109-8; 3. Brindle Beckner, Pot, 98-9.
High jump — T1. Nuhn, Mos, 5-4; T1. Sakai Hohenlohe, Mos, 5-4; 3. Carlson, Pot, 5-0.
Pole vault — 1. Julye, Mos, 9-0; 2. Blake Uhlenkott, Pra, 9-0; 3. Allie Rambo, Pra, 7-6.
Long jump — 1. Nuhn, Mos, 18-9; 2. Skinner, 17-1; 3. Carlson, Pot, 16-8.
Triple jump — 1. Hohenlohe, Mos, 36-3; 2. Aliah Winterbottom, Lew, 35-1 1/2; 3. Julye, Mos, 34-7.
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, tjunt@lmtribune.com or on X @TrevorJunt.