GRANDVIEW — East Valley (Yakima) swept the team podium Thursday (May 14) at the final Central Washington Athletic Conference tri-meet with Ephrata and Grandview, but the Tiger boys and girls teams each took second with multiple individual wins.

East Valley scored 66.5 points over Ephrata's 43 in the boys meet, with Grandview third at 35.5. On the girls side, East Valley posted 75 to Ephrata's 43, and Grandview took third with 32.

Boys

Hunter Mills was the Tigers' top sprinter, winning the 200 in a season-best time of 22.74 seconds and finishing second in the 100 with a personal record time of 11.13. The senior also ran on Ephrata's 4x100 relay, which placed second in 44.84 with teammates Alexander Belino, Andy Addink and Casey Melcher.

Cooper Black won the 800 in 2:08.22, leading Ephrata to a 1-2-4 finish with Adrian Negrete second in 2:12.89 and Connor Liffengren fourth in 2:14.78. 

Caleb Fitts kept slicing time off his 1600, running a personal-best 4:26.14 for second place, just steps behind Grandview's Brendan Kramer (4:25.74). The Tiger sophomore has improved his PR time by more than 15 seconds over the course of this season.

Niko Diaz placed third in the 1600 at 4:51.10 and claimed second in the 3200 at 10:45.05.

Maddax Iverson and Jacob Reyes went 2-3 in both hurdles races, each setting personal bests in the 110 highs: Reyes ran 16.15, nudging Iverson at 16.20. The two switched placings in the 300 intermediates – Iverson took second with a 41.38 clocking while Reyes was third at 43.48.

In the open 400, Andy Addink was second in 53.58.

In an exciting finish, Ephrata's 4x400 relay team of Iverson, Addink, Fitts and Black placed third in 3:33.72, just behind East Valley and Grandview (both timed at 3:33.46).

In field competition, the Tigers' Calvin Lybbert took third in the shot put at 47 feet-1/2 inch, and Tyler Kono produced a third-place discus throw of 133-9. Benson Bair finished fourth in the javelin at 142-4. Casey Melcher cleared 5-4 for third in the high jump, with James Cook fifth at the same height. Jens Bair and Nathan Wolther both cleared 11-0 in the pole vault for second and third.

Girls

Rebecca Wiser won the 1600 in 5:46.22, leading a Lady Tigers 1-2 finish with Hannah Malone second in 5:55.56. Malone also took second in the 800 with a season-best 2:44.52. Abigail Chamberlain won the 3200 in a season-best 11:40.98, with Savannah Harper second in a personal-best 12:16.41.

Cassidy Cox cleared 4-6 to win the high jump, and the Lady Tigers swept the event with Dee Bazan and Evangeline Springs both clearing 4-2 for second and third.

Bella Wood ran second in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.17. Addison Vasquez led a 3-4-5 Ephrata finish in the 300 hurdles at 52.99, with Brinlea Ohl fourth in 53.85 and McKinley Cobb fifth in a personal-best 54.09.

Jasmine Hernandez and Cynthia Villagran Morales went 2-3 in the 400 at 1:06.00 and 1:06.96. Amya Seblario placed third in the 200 in 28.78.

In field events, Lila Buchmann threw 101-5 for second in the javelin while Aliyah Lafferty was third at 93-6. Delanie Killinger took third in the triple jump at 31-9, and Alexis Edwards cleared 8-0 for third in the pole vault.

The 4x100 relay of Vasquez, Villagran Morales, Ohl and Alexis St. Mary placed second in 54.23. The 4x200 of Villagran Morales, Hernandez, Ohl and St. Mary took third in 1:55.55. The 4x400 team of Villagran Morales, Vasquez, Bailee Morris and Wiser ran 4:28.49 for third.

Concluding their regular season, the Ephrata boys finished third in the CWAC standings at 6-2, with their only losses to Ellensburg and East Valley (Yakima). The Lady Tigers placed fourth in league behind Prosser, Ellensburg and East Valley.

District Championships get underway

The 2A District 5 CWAC Championships begin today (May 19) at 3:30 p.m. in Quincy, with action continuing this Friday, May 22.

The top two district finishers per event qualify for the WIAA Class 2A state meet at Mount Tahoma High School beginning May 28. Also, athletes who match or beat 2A state qualifying standards at district will advance regardless of placing.

Two Tigers have already shown this season they are capable of hitting those state standards – Hunter Mills in the 100 at 11.13 and the 200 at 22.74, and Maddax Iverson in the 300 hurdles at 40.63. Both made state prelims in those events last year. 

The boys 300 hurdles may shape up as the district meet's tightest race, with Iverson tied with Othello's Jonah Hahn for the top CWAC time while East Valley's Preston Bates is just 1/100th of a second back.

Caleb Fitts is seeded second in CWAC in the 800 (1:57.70) and the 3200 (9:55.45), and fourth in a stacked 1600. The boys 4x400 relay of Iverson, Fitts, Cooper Black and Andy Addink is seeded second behind Ellensburg.

Three of the four returners, Iverson, Black and Andy Addink, ran in last year's relay that placed eighth in the state final in 3:29.58 with Alex Belino on the fourth leg.

For the Lady Tigers, Bella Wood (100 hurdles) and Delanie Killinger (triple jump) sit third in CWAC individual placings. Killinger qualified at state in the triple jump last year, and Abigail Chamberlain placed seventh in the girls 3200 as a sophomore in 11:20.07.