Strong Showing for Eagle Track Team in Portland
Aiden Ellis placed first in javelin and triple jump to lead the Eagle track and field team to a better-than-expected performance at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Classic in Portland March 17 and 18.
Several Eagles set personal records during a meet that featured a mixed level of competition including community colleges and four-year schools as large as Portland State University.
In their last meet before a planned two-week break, the Eagle men placed 6th in a field of 16 teams and were only 2 points out of fourth place and 7 points out of third. Teya Amidei scored the only points for the Siskiyous women with a 5th place finish in javelin.
Head coach Julius Jones said Eagle athletes have worked their way into "a first peak" by this point in the season. The time off now will allow them to "de-load, refresh mentally, and see family. Then they'll put the pedal to the metal for the end of the regular season and postseason."
The trip to Portland also included some team-bonding events. After Friday's throwing events, the Eagles attended the Boston Celtics at Portland Trail Blazers NBA game. The Blazers lost by 14 points, but their star Damian Lillard scored 41 points. The coach said getting together like that "might have primed our athletes to have a great day Saturday."
Ellis, the returning GVC champion, won the javelin in Portland with a throw of 48.61 meters (159-6 feet), more than 2 full meters ahead of the second-best throw. The triple jump was much closer with Ellis winning by a little more than 5 inches at 13.02m (42-8.75 feet).
Ellis had the Eagles' best time in the 100 meter dash (11.85 seconds) and scored a point with an 8th place finish in the long jump (6.5m), two spots ahead of teammate Marcus Dilworth (5.86m).
Freshman JeHan King also had a good day for the Eagles, setting personal records in the shot put and hammer throw. He placed 4th in hammer at 27.49m, ahead of teammates Elijah Grover (25.53) and Zane Callison (19.7m). King placed 5th in both shot put and discus.
Zane Callison set PRs in hammer, shot put, and discus. Chase Callison ran 4:52 in the 1500 meter to break his previous best in that event by 2 seconds.
Nevin Malchow competed in five events and set personal records in three of them: triple jump, 100 meter dash and shot put. Jones said Malchow used the beginner stage standing throw in the shot put and still earned a 9th place finish. "As the season progresses, he should have a good outcome in GVC," Jones said.
Dylan Kier and Caleb Ramos both sprinted to PRs in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes and teamed with William Allen and Christian Givan in the 4x100 meter relay.
William Allen had PRs in both javelin and long jump and scored team points with a 7th place in javelin.
For the Eagle women, Frances Fleener set PRs in javelin and hammer. In her first season throwing hammer, Jones said she has improved from 18.44m to 29.62m in just two weeks.
The Eagles have three meets remaining before the GVC Championships April 29 at Butte College. They'll go south for the Shasta Invitational April 8 in Redding, the Butte Spring Invitational April 14, and the Yuba Last Chance Meet April 22.
By Steve Gerace