Seven Wolverines earn tri-district bids

The Wolverines track team heads to the tri-district meet athlete-heavy this weekend, as seven students did well enough at last week’s sub-district meet at Lynden Christian to qualify for the next level.

The Wolverines track team heads to the tri-district meet athlete-heavy this weekend, as seven students did well enough at last week’s sub-district meet at Lynden Christian to qualify for the next level.

The tri-district meet is at King’s Thursday and Saturday.

Kelsey Barnes, Megan Brown, Christine GrosJacques, Matthew Porter, Whitney Porter, Otto Schmidt and Kayla Short all qualified.

“I am very pleased with the athletic performances of all the athletes that performed,” Coach Darrin Scheffer said. “Several others set personal bests as well but didn’t quite qualify.”

Freshman Barnes qualified in shot put, with her best throw of the season coming in at 31 feet 11 inches, which puts her fourth in the combined District 1/2/3 standings. She also qualified in the discus with a throw of 89 feet 2 inches, 19 feet short of the tri-district’s best mark.

Brown, a junior, blew away her previous best mark in the long jump by almost a foot, with a jump of 14 feet 1 inch, She’s got her work cut out for her, however, and needs to uncork a monster jump of almost a foot longer to make it into the tri-district’s top 10.

GrosJacques, a junior who joined the team late in the season, qualified for competition in the high jump with a jump of 4.5 feet. Two more inches and she breaks into the tri-district top 10.

Senior Matthew Porter has been dominating meets all season and qualified for the next level in three events: the 400 meter run, the long jump and the triple jump. His best 400-meter time of 52.24 seconds puts him seventh going into the next meet. He needs to pull two seconds off his best time to be in contention to win. In the long jump, his 20 feet 3.5 inch jump ties him for fourth. His triple jump of 42 feet 2 inches also puts him in fourth.

Whitney Porter qualified in the 100 meter high hurdles, the 200-meter run and the high jump. Her recent best time of 17.44 seconds puts her in sixth, less than eight-tenths out of first. Her best time in the 200-meter run is 29.54 seconds. Currently fourth in the tri-district, her high jump of 4 feet 8 inches puts her in contention.

Distance runner Schmidt, a junior, came into the season looking strong and he’s putting his best marks forward in the 1600- and 3200-meter races. He’s currently 10th going to tri-district in the 1600-meter race with a time of 4:39.74 — 17 seconds off rival Kyle King in first place. Schmidt shaved five seconds off his 3200-meter time and is currently fourth in the tri-district with a time of 10:15.50.

Sophomore Short qualified in the 100-meter run, the long jump and javelin. Her personal best time of 13.89 seconds in the 100-meter doesn’t put her in the top 10, but her 101-foot-2 -inch javelin throw puts her in seventh. Her recent personal best long jump of 14 feet 7.25 inchs qualifies her for the next level there too.

Coach Scheffer was pulled aside by the coordinator of last week’s meet and complimented on how much the team showed great sportsmanship. “It was a good meet, all around,” Scheffer said.

For updated track results visit www.SanJuanJournal.com.