Host Oak Harbor wins boys district title; Glacier Peak takes girls

OAK HARBOR — Oak Harbor hosted the Northwest 3A District 1 track and field championships at Wildcat Stadium, which can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on who you ask.

“I personally think it’s a disadvantage because you can’t really coach your kids,” said Oak Harbor boys head coach Jay Turner. “I’d rather be somewhere else. But (the kids) love it. That’s why we host.”

Friday night while Turner was busy running around the infield, setting up hurdles and doing whatever else was necessary to host the event, the Wildcat boys thanked their coach by sweeping the 3,200 meter run — the second to last event — and winning the team district title.

“It’s really great for the kids,” Turner said. “They work hard.”

Oak Harbor’s first district title since 1992 was helped by an experienced veteran and a newcomer. Senior Matt Reith (9 minutes, 46.48 seconds) and freshman John Rodeheffer (9:47.41) finished 1-2 in the 3,200 to help position the Wildcats to win the team title.

Turner said that Rodeheffer was one of the meet’s biggest surprises.

“John Rodeheffer came out of nowhere to place second,” Turner said.

Josiah Miller also had a strong showing for Oak Harbor, which won with 109 points. Miller won the 200 title, finishing in 22.01 seconds. He also qualified for state in the 100 dash, the closest event of the day. David Fan of Shorewood edged out Miller by .002.

Both had an official final time of 10.83.

Turner said the photo finish had to be analyzed a bit to determine a winner.

“They looked almost identical,” Turner said. “The computer was zoomed way in. The Shorewood guy had it by a pixel.”

Shorecrest finished second with 85 points and Glacier Peak third with 72.

A scary moment came in the 300 hurdles when Glacier Peak freshman Cole McFadden caught his foot on the second to last hurdle. McFadden, who was leading the race, fell to the ground and into the next lane, giving Duane Dahl of Mountlake Terrace an additional hurdle.

After his tumble McFadden — who looked injured and upset as he writhed on the track — got up and finished the race. Logan Coleman, McFadden’s teammate, finished the race first in 42.28 seconds.

McFadden came back and ran in the 400 relay, the final event of the day, helping the Grizzlies take first place, with a time of 3:28.66.

“He was just really disappointed,” said Glacier Peak head coach Warren Eickhoff. “He’s his biggest critic. But he was able to pick up the pieces. … He said, ‘I won’t let you down coach.’ And he didn’t.”

The Grizzlies took home the girls team title with a score of 131, more than 30 points ahead of second place Shorewood (101).

The Glacier Peak girls were led by Amy-Eloise Neale, who set a meet record in the 800 run with a time of 2:12.12. It beat the previous record — set by Lynnwood’s Karen Vann in 1992 — by more than 2 seconds).

Neale was one of six individual Grizzlies to qualify for the 3A state track and field championships, which start Thursday at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma. Glacier Peak also had its 1,600 relay team — which Neale anchors — qualify for state.

“That’s the pinnacle,” Eickhoff said of getting to the state tourney. “The first practice we have I say, ‘We shoot for May.’”

It was the first district title for Eickhoff, who is in his second year at the helm of the Glacier Peak team. The Grizzlies finished third at last year’s district championships and won the team title the year before.

“They deserve it. They work hard. They get better every week. That’s our motto,” Eickhoff said. “… When you improve and you’re talented, it gets you to state.”

Shorecrest (96) took third and the hometown Oak Harbor Wildcats fourth, behind junior Christina Wicker, who beat Grace Lemley (Mount Vernon) by .11 to clinch the second state berth in the 400 dash with a time of 1:00.83.

At Oak Harbor High School

Boys

Team Scores: 1. Oak Harbor 109, 2. Shorecrest 85, 3. Glacier Peak 72, 4. Lynnwood 68.5, 5. Shorewood 64.5, 6. Mountlake Terrace 60, 7. Sedro-Woolley 58.5, 8. Marysville Getchell 47, 9. Ferndale 41.5, 10. Everett 29, 11. Mount Vernon 18, 12. Meadowdale 7.

Local state qualifiers: 100—1. David Fan (SW) 10.83; 2. Josiah Miller (OH) 10.83. Discus—1. John Higgins (GP) 163-3; 2. Andrew Basham (L) 160-0. Javelin—1. Beau Kennedy (MT) 163-8; 2. Arious (Taz) Frazier (SH) 161-3. 400 relay—1. Shorewood (Chris Namba, Erik Johnson, Niko Frazier, David Fan) 43.46; 2. Shorecrest (Rotimi Bolonduro, Michael Doquilo, Will McNamara, Adrian Monroe) 43.6. 400—1. Andrew Prentice (GP) 49.68; 2. Austin Tarvin (GP) 51.84. Triple jump—1. Daryl Derbecker (GP) 43-5.75; 2. John Odion (SC) 43-2. 300 hurdles—1. Logan Coleman (GP) 42.28. 800—1. Ryan McArthur (L) 1:56.05; 2. Carter Osborne (SC) 1:56.85. 200—1. Josiah Miller (OH) 22.01; 2. Niko Frazier (SW) 22.42. 3,200—1. Matt Reith (OH) 9:46.48; 2. John Rodeheffer (OH) 9:47.41. 1,600 relay—1. Glacier Peak (Cole McFadden, Malachi Dunbar, Austin Tarvin, Andrew Prentice) 3:28.66; 2. Lynnwood (Modou Janneh, Corey Newman, Ryan McArthur, Tyler McArthur) 3:29.67.

Girls

Team scores: 1. Glacier Peak 131.5, 2. Shorewood 101, 3. Shorecrest 96, 4. Oak Harbor 72.5, 5. Everett 64.5, 6. Sedro-Woolley 60.5, 7. Ferndale 38.5, 8. Marysville Getchell 36.5, 9. Meadowdale 36, 10. Mountlake Terrace 31, 11. Mount Vernon 23, 12. Lynnwood 10.

Local state qualifiers: 800 relay—1. Shorecrest (Kathryn Andria-Habermann, Sarah Beland, Nicole Harris, Amanda Banks) 1:46.17; 2. Oak Harbor (Sierra Seabolt, Christina Alexander, Maura McKole, Jessica Hollins) 1:48.01. Shot put—1. Diandre Musikachart (Sh) 37-7; 2. Calea Carr (E) 37-3.5. 100 hurdles—1. Leah Bennett (Me) 15.55; 2. Renee Hudson (E) 15.79. Pole vault—1. Jenna Hess (GP) 10-1. 100—1. Charity Ijiomah (SW) 12.37. 400 relay—1. Shorewood (Erin Arslanoglu, Jennifer Franklin, Bethany Smith, Charity Ijiomah) 50.61; 2. Everett (Renee Hudson, Tenika Wentworth, Calea Carr, Jazzmin Carroll) 50.78. 400—1. Kathryn Andria-Habermann (SC) 59.43; 2. Christina Wicker (OH) 1:00.83. Triple jump—India Smith (GP) 35-1.25; 2. Mikayla Ingram (GP) 34-6.5. 300 hurdles—1. Nicole Harris (SC) 45.55; 2. McKenna Hunt (MT) 45.99. 800—1. Amy-Eloise Neale (GP) 2:12.12; 2. Nina Penner (MT) 2:18.82. 200—1. Jessica Miller (GP) 26.24. 3,200—1. Katie Bianchini (GP) 11:00.7; 2. Haley Suarez (Me) 11:16.72. 1,600 relay—1. Glacier Peak (Sydney Mendenhall, Baylee Barnes, Jessica Miller, Amy-Eloise Neale) 4:07.16.