MIDDLETON — After the pictures were taken, the hugs given and the awards accepted, Bishop Kelly’s girls track and field team went for a victory lap — as a group.
It was fitting given the way the Knights overwhelmed the competition at the 4A state championships at Middleton High on Friday and Saturday — as a group. BK outscored second-place Jerome 127-86 despite just one individual victory in the two-day meet.
The Knights won three relays and scored in every event they were entered, 12 of 18 events, including six with multiple scorers. All 10 Bishop Kelly girls at the meet scored for the Knights. Six scored in four events.
“We worked so hard together as a team and we had a lot of team bonding and pushing ourselves in practice. It’s all about the team,” said senior Briana Tiffany, who scored in four events. “Without each other we definitely could not be here.”
Bishop Kelly, which won the title in 2010 and finished second last year, capped the dominant performance by winning the 4x400-meter relay for the fourth consecutive season in the meet’s final event.
“To cap it off my senior year with a win is great,” said senior Jillian Potterborg, who scored in three events. “Just having my team with me and winning the 4x4 was the best.”
• Columbia senior Alex Van Halder won the 100- and 200-meter races. She bested sophomore teammate and defending state champion Rhianna Birch in the 100. Van Halder won the 100 as a freshman.
“It was the best feeling ever. I had some unfinished business I had to take care of from freshman year,” said Van Halder, who helped Columbia to second place in the 4x100 relay. “I’m so glad I had so many supportive family and friends and coaches that kept pushing me.”
• Skyview senior Danielle Rausch won the pole vault, clearing 11 feet. She appeared on her way to a second title in the 100 hurdles as she led the race into the final hurdle. But she hit the hurdle, fell and finished eighth.
• Century junior Hannah McInturff edged Bishop Kelly senior Emily Nist in the 1,600. The two were shoulder-to-shoulder for the entire race with McInturff finishing in 5 minutes, 5.39 seconds. Nist, who ran a sub-5-minute mile earlier this season, finished in 5:05.73. Nist set the state record in the 3,200 meters Friday and finished fourth in the 800 earlier Saturday.
SKYVIEW BOYS TEAM PLACES SECOND
Skyview’s Dante Carter knew the rest of the field was aiming for the defending state champion Hawks in the 4x400-meter relay.
And still no one could touch Skyview.
Carter anchored the final leg, giving him four victories at the meet and helping the Hawks to a second-place finish in the 4A track and field state championship. Rigby won the title with 79 points. Skyview had 71.
“That was the race,” said Carter, who claimed the 200 title and raced on Skyview’s first-place 4x200 relay and 1,600 sprint medley relay teams. “We knew everybody was gunning for us and we had to go for it again.”
Teammate Wari Lado also won four events — the 400 and three relays. Lado was the defending state champ in the 400.
Skyview broke its own 4A classification record in the 4x200, set last year. The quintet of Lado, Mike Boisvert, Walker Jeffrods and Carter won in 1:28.21.
• Nampa senior Josh Bostrom won the 100 and placed second in the long jump and triple jump. But it was Nampa’s 4x100 relay victory that was the most satisfying for Bostrom, who ran the anchor leg and closed out the win for Brett Ma, Devan Lesley and Paul Ma. “I get to run it with my friends. It’s good to win it with all of them,” Bostrom said.
• Emmett senior Dakota Cole won the shot put (55 feet, 7.25 inches) and discus throw (165 feet, 7 inches).
• Twin Falls senior Erik Harris set the state record in the 3,200 on Friday, completing the event in 9 minutes, 4.13 seconds. The previous state mark was 9:06.58 set in 1999. Harris, a BYU signee, also won the 800 meters and finished second in the 1,600. Freshman Elijah Armstrong edged Harris by .01 to deny him the rare triple.
• Madison senior Kyler Wightman set 4A classification records in winning the long jump (24 feet, 4 inches) and triple jump (46-1).
• Moscow senior Wade Schumaker set 4A classification records in winning the high jump (6-8) and 100 hurdles (14.56 seconds).
Brian Murphy: 377-6444
