Raymond continues powerful performances; freshmen excel at Centralia

“We had a very busy week this past week,” Raymond HS Head Track and Field Coach Mike Tully told the Herald. “We started out with the Pacific County Invite. The boys continued their winning ways in Ilwaco on Tuesday. Once again our combination of depth and first-place punch came through. Rayce Newman was a double individual winner in the 100 and 200. Andrew Hamilton doubled in the shot and disc, scoring new PR's in both. Ally Phansisay leaped to victory in the long and triple jumps, including his first 20-foot. long jump. The 4 by 100 and 4 by 400 relays ran very well in picking up wins. Hunter Borden ran well in both hurdle races, winning the 110's and cruising in behind David Rockett in the 300's.

“The girls team once again competed well, finishing a close third behind Valley and South Bend,” Coach Tully said. “We don't have much depth on the girls side, but we did have some good performances. Hannah Dykes was a triple winner in the 100, long jump, and triple jump. Courtney Hagain out-dueled Jessica Cook down the stretch to take the 3200. Aiysha Garcia continued to throw well with PR's in the shot and disc to finish second and third respectively. It was a good competitive meet, and the weather cooperated, allowing for some good times and marks.

“On Thursday, we hosted a nine-team meet,” Tully said. The boy’s team ran away with the meet again, Rayce Newman continued running well in the sprints, taking the 100 and 200. Carte Bisbee outdistanced Ally Phansisay in the long jump and was second behind Rayce in the sprints. Ally easily outpaced the field in the triple jump and finished a close third in the 200 to go along with his runner-up finish in the long jump. Hunter Borden sprinted to victory in the 110 hurdles. Andrew Hamilton once again threw well in the shot put to beat out Darol Ratsavongsy. Freshman George Crow threw well in the discus to finish third in only his second competition since coming off an arm injury.  

“On the girls side, Aiysha Garcia had a good day, winning the high jump in her first try at the event this year. Aiysha also finished a close second in the shot put. Hannah Dykes ran and jumped well, but ran into some tough competition and had to settle for a pair of second's and a third. Hannah did help to secure a win in the 4 by 100 relay, coming from 10-to-15 meters behind on her anchor leg to pull ahead by a ½-step at the finish. In a reversal of Tuesday's result, Courtney Hagain was edged out by Jessica Cook of Valley in the 3200. It was a good end to the regular season for most of our athletes. Now we need to look ahead to the postseason and see if we can continue to improve when it really counts.