Track and field: Warriors on track

DN girls take 1st place in the HDN

Morgan Laney is all smiles after setting a personal best mark in the shot put. She came in first place. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

On Friday at home at the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference Championships, the Warrior girls took the top spot with 131.5 points, while the boys came in third.

“They did very well,” head coach Robyn Parker said.

Several Warriors earned first place White Star honors.

This included a very strong showing by senior Brandon Kakitsuka.

He took first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.50 seconds. He also took first place in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 40.94 seconds, as well as a third place finish in the 200-meter dash.

Mark Standring participates in the triple jump. He came in fourth place. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Parker said Laney’s mark on Friday would had been enough last season at the Meet of Champions in Berkeley to earn a berth in state. If she continues throwing the way she has this season she has a shot at making state this year, her coach said.

“I’m really excited,” Laney said about her performance. “I was determined to do well today.”

Laney said she has put in a lot of extra time to improve her throws and said it paid off on Friday.

When she completed her personal best throw and received the result, surprise was her first emotion.

“I didn’t believe it was happening,” Laney said.

Junior Kylee Bruder took first place in the pole vault with a jump of nine feet. In second place was teammate Vanessa Alexandre. Bruder also took third place in the high jump.

Kylee Bruder took first place in the pole vault. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The teams consisted of members Jennifer Goacher, Nikki Fugate, Katelynn Rowe and Zara Gastineau.

The boys 4x400 meter relay team of Kakitsuka, Mark Standring, Johnny Dorman and Gabe Bradley took second place.

Other strong finishers included Goacher, who took second in the 100-and-200-meter events.

Fugate came in second in the 100-meter hurdles and in the 300-meter hurdles. Rowe was second in the 400-meter dash.

Gastineau finished in second in the triple jump. Dorman was second in the 800-meter dash. 

Next Saturday, Del Norte will compete at the Northcoast Section Redwood Empire Championships in Santa Rosa.