Cardinals and Vikings compete at Division IV Championships
On Friday, May 19, West Valley High School hosted the Northern Athletic League Division IV Championship track and field meet for 20 competing schools, two of which included Big Valley and Herlong High.
The Big Valley Cardinals had a total of five athletes compete and the Herlong Vikings had one athlete.
Varsity Cardinal competitors Reagan Dahle and Tanner Bidwell competed in a combined total of six events and ultimately worked together to grant Big Valley the fifth-place finisher of the 16 schools competing in the varsity boys’ division. The boys earned a combined total of 33 points.
Dahle competed in three events and finished each with a personal record. In the 110-meter 39-inch hurdle event, he was the seventh finisher with a time of 21.04 seconds. In the 300-meter 36-inch hurdle event, he finished sixth with a time of 50.31 seconds. In the 12-pound shot put, he was the first-place finisher with a throw distance of 42 feet and 11.5 inches.
Bidwell competed in four events with three personal record finishes. In the 110-meter 39-inch hurdle event, he was the fourth to finish with a personal record time of 19.25 seconds. He was the second-place finisher in the high jump with a personal record height of 6 feet and 2 inches. For the pole vault, Bidwell finished fourth with a distance of exactly 9 feet, and in the long jump, he was the third to finish with a personal record distance of 19 feet and 3.5 inches.
Herlong High School’s only competitor was varsity member Kyle Nelson. Despite his solitary status, Nelson managed to earn a total of 12 points to tie Herlong with CORE Butte for 12th place of the 16 teams competing in the varsity boys’ division.
Nelson was the fourth finisher of the 1,600-meter dash with a personal record time of 5:10.64. He then finished in second place for the 3,200-meter dash with a personal record time of 11:19.92.
Big Valley’s Hope Dodgen was the sole varsity athlete competing in the girls’ division. Dodgen had two second-place finishes and ultimately allowed Big Valley to tie with Hayfork for the eighth-place spot in the varsity girls’ division. Her two event finishes earned a total of 16 points.
Dodgen finished second in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:41.88. She then competed in the 1,600-meter dash to finish second with a personal record time of 5:56.27.
Garrett Schmitt and Indigo Starr were the two Cardinals competing in the junior varsity boys’ division. With a combined total of four events with the boys’ participation, Big Valley ultimately finished sixth in the junior varsity boys’ division with a total of 25 points.
Schmitt was the fourth-place finisher in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.97 seconds. He then went on to finish third in the high jump with a personal record height of 5 feet, and he ultimately ended the meet with a first-place finish for the pole vault with a personal record distance of exactly 9 feet.
Starr was the sixth finisher of the 200-meter dash with a personal record time of 29.47 seconds. He then competed in the 400-meter dash and finished fourth with a personal record time of 1:04.50.
Next on the calendar for both schools was the Northern Section Finals held in West Valley, California on Friday, May 26. Results will be published in the Tuesday, June 6 issue.
