MHCC impresses against universities

The Saints track and field teams did a stellar job and represented Mt. Hood well this past weekend at the John Knight Twilight meet, held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

In a battle of quick starts, stamina and speed, the Lady Saints earned fifth place while the men earned fourth, out of 11 and 14 teams, respectively.

With Mt. Hood the only school from the NWAACC, their competitors were all four-year college teams, with more experience and more money to recruit. And, the Saints men and women were sensational against NCAA Division I, -II and -III athletes.

For the women, there were many strong performances. Earning first place in the women’s hammer event was Saints sophomore McKenzie Warren, killing the competition with a toss of 160 feet even.

In the 100-meter dash, sophomores Katchel Kristi (12.87) and Whitney Warren (13.67) each earned fifth place respectively in their heat. Freshman Rachel Woodcock finished fourth in the Javelin (111 feet, 2 1/4 inches), while sophomore Caitlyn Safley took second in the 400-meter run (1.00.04). Freshman Kim Smith earned fifth place in the 5,000-meter race. And high-flying freshman Marley Yates took first place in the high jump, with a mark of 5 feet, 5 inches.

The women’s success continued with freshman Katerina (Kat) Lucero, who finished second in the 800-meter run (2.36.45). Freshman Courtney Andre also took second in the 400-meter hurdles (107.50).

Freshman Xayna Robinson came out nervous but earned top-five finishes in four out of her five events.

“Competing against the D-I, -II, and -III schools makes me nervous, at first,” said Robinson. “They (competitors) are older than me and more experienced. I feel like they’ve had longer to prepare because in the fall they were practicing their events and I was still in the gym with my (MHCC) volleyball team.

“But once I hang with them and make it to the finals, I realize it’s not as intimidating as I thought going into it,” she said.

Robinson took fifth in the high jump at 5 feet, 1 inch,  and then won fifth again in the triple jump (32 feet, 11 1/4 inches).

“To be honest, after a meet I feel so tired and my legs are shot, but during a meet I have so much adrenaline it doesn’t faze me, my stamina just elevates and I’m really competitive,” said Robinson.

She showed that competitive edge in the 100-meter hurdles, where she placed fourth and in the long jump, where she earned her best finish, taking third (16 feet, 1/4 inch).

The men’s team finished fourth behind Western Oregon, Concordia, and Willamette University.

The Saints had a number of top-five performers, including freshman Josh Visan, who took second in the pole vault (11 feet, 11 3/4 inches). In the discus, sophomore Justin Schlaht took second, freshman Zach Killgore took third and sophomore Brian Sievers earned fourth place for the Saints.

Freshman runner Brock Otis finished third in the 400 meters (52.99), while in the 800-meter run, sophomore Cody Beierle took second (1.56.64) in his heat and freshman Taylor Hybl finished first in his (2.01.31).

In the men’s 100-meter and the 200-meter sprints, freshmen Devon Larson and Kingsley Mgbadigha produced mirror finishes, as they ran one-two in both races. Larson won both but Mgbadigha was close, with times of 11.72/11.80 and 23.84/24.12, respectively.

“He’s my teammate, so, of course I want to beat him, but also it’s nice just having someone on you that’s pushing you, you want to finish strong and you also wanna win,” said Larson.

Known as “Seattle” by teammates and friends, Larson is scorching the track and earning consistent top-five finishes in more than one event. In Monmouth, he also won fourth place in the 110-meter hurdles, trailing only three Division-II athletes.

Larson said he was comfortable going against higher-level athletes. “I think I’m young and I have lot of development, but as far as (my) athletic ability I feel like that I’m right there with those guys in the heat of the pack. I’m in the top three for each race and trying to fight for first. To me, those guys are talented but I think I have a lot of talent, too.”

The next meet for the Saints will start today and continues Saturday at the Lewis & Clark Invitational in Portland.

Freshman Brock Otis competes in the 400 meters last Saturday at the John Knight Twilight meet.

Advocate Staff