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Track and field athletes to watch at regional meets

Central Valley track athlete Anna Fomin leads a strong group in girls regional this year. She is seen April 28, 2016, crossing the finish line in first place in the girls 400 meters. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)
By Steve Christilaw steve.christilaw@gmail.com

Joseph Heitman is one hurdle away from the 4A state track and field meet in his favorite event, the 300-meter hurdles – and that hurdle comes this weekend at Richland’s Fran Risch Stadium in the 4A regional meet.

A year ago the Mead junior ran 40.48 in the 300-meter final as a sophomore against seven seniors. This year, heading into this weekend’s regional meet, Heitman already has run 39.09 seconds and could easily drop his personal best time into the 38-second range before the state meet convenes.

Heitman hoped to break 39 seconds at the district meet, but had trouble with the second hurdle, clipping it with his toe.

Don’t be surprised if Heitman isn’t the only hurdler to break 39 seconds, however. This week and next.

Heitman owns the second-best time heading into the regional, .05 behind Chiawana’s Germain Barnes’ 39.04. State leader Aiden Basco of Mount Rainier has run 39.01.

The 110 hurdles final should be just as intense, where Barnes’ PR of 14.43 is just .06 faster than Heitman’s 14.49 at last week’s Bi-District Championships. Gonzaga Prep’s Jeremiah Cooney has run 14.83, and Thomas Dammarell of Mead owns a PR of 14.92.

Heitman and Barnes will race three times at the regional, with the third challenge coming when the Panthers will challenge Chiawana in the 4x100 relay. Chiawana owns the state’s best time in the event heading into the meet, turning in a 42.24. Mead ran 43.06 last weekend for the fifth fastest time in 4A. Hanford will figure into the mix, running 43.14, and Ferris has run 43.25.

Central Valley won both the boys and girls titles at last week’s district meet and heads into the regional with plenty of depth.

Senior Anna Fomin, who will run for the University of Idaho next year, heads a strong group in the girls regional.

Fomin had an outstanding sophomore season, but struggled with injuries last year even as she qualified for the state meet in four events.

This year, with a new training regimen, Fomin heads into the regional meet with top 10 times in both the 400 and 800 and is part of two relay teams that rank among the state’s best.

Changing from a sprint-oriented workout to one designed for middle distances, Fomin has returned to form and she’s intent on breaking the school record at 800 meters (2:13.65).

Last week she shaved two seconds off her season best, turning in a 2:16.30 and giving the Bears a chance to sweep the top three spots in the event, with Anna Pecha posting a 2:14.63 and Erica Pecha a 2:16.51.

Fomin has run 57.92 in the 400 meters and is the favorite to win the regional title.

Fomin, along with Ahna Dugan, Katie Hawkins and Hayden McAuliff, have run the 4x200 relay in 1:42.70, the fifth fastest time so far this season in Class 4A. Fomin, Erica Pecha, Kearan Nelson and Anna Pecha are one of three teams in the state to have run a sub-4-minute 4x400 relay with a 3:59.14.

Anna Rodgers is inching closer to full health at just the right time.

The Lewis and Clark junior, who has battled problems with a tendon in her hip, jumped 19 feet, ¾ inch to win the long jump at last week’s district meet and is one of just three jumpers to surpass 19 feet.

A healthy Rodgers has her sights set on 20 feet.

Rodgers owns a 12.22 in the 100, .03 behind Wenatchee’s Skyler Walton among the state’s top 10, setting up a showdown in the regional.

Richland and Ferris will go head-to-head in the boys 4x400 relay at regionals. The Bombers have run 3:25.62 and have the second-fastest relay in the state, .22 behind Kamiak. The Saxons, behind Connor Black, Evan Kittel, Shamrock Campbell and Mike Ervin, enter the regional with a best time of 3:26.07.

Ferris’ Clay Somes has cleared 15 feet in the pole vault, one of just three to have cleared that height this season.

Sophomore Ryan Kline of Central Valley and Ferris’ Amir Ado both are among the state’s leaders at 1,600 meters, running 4:16.83 and 4:17.59, respectively. Sophomore Riley Moore of Richland comes in with a PR of 4:17.76.

Kline, Ado and Moore should battle it out in the 3,200 meters as well. Moore’s PR is 9:18.58, Ado 9:21.42, and Kline’s is 9:24.03.

In Class 3A, North Central’s Noland Wick and the Shadle Park duo of Tony Pizzillo and Vinny Epefanio owns the three fastest 100 meter times in the state heading into a regional battle in Seattle, and the Highlander pair also own the two top times in the 200.

Isaiah Carsten-Hill owns the fourth fastest 110 hurdle time with a PR of 14.95, which is just .03 behind the second-fastest time.

Mt. Spokane’s Dillon Lionello enters the regional with the state’s best marks in both the shot put (61-2½) and the discus (176-10).

Shadle Park’s Jakobe’ Ford is the only high jumper in Class 3A to have cleared 7-0 and owns the state’s best marks in the long jump and triple jump with personal-best marks of 23-8¼ and 47-9½, respectively. Mt. Spokane pole vaulter Cade Neumann has cleared a state-best 15-1.