Lagerwey gets jump on State track meet foes

Matty Lagerwey soared through the air with the greatest of ease.

Others didn’t.

At least not when compared to the La Conner High junior, who swept the long jump and triple jump events at the State 2B Track Meet in Cheney last week.

Lagerwey set a new personal mark with a leap of 18’-0” in the long jump, winning the event by eight inches. Her triple jump effort of 36’-4” topped the field by half a foot.

Lagerwey didn’t need all her attempts to record her winning distance in the latter event.

“She didn’t let the competition get in the way,” La Conner High head coach Jacob Grantham told the media afterward.

The twin gold medals secured by Lagerwey led the Lady Braves to a third place finish on the team leaderboard, trailing only Northwest Christian and St. George’s of Spokane. La Conner had the highest point total among 2B public schools on the girls’ side of the meet.

Northwest Christian finished with 70 points. St. George’s followed with 64. La Conner’s 53 points gained bronze ahead of Asotin.

La Conner sprint standout Emma Lee added significantly to the Lady Braves’ medal count and point total.

This despite running against a strong headwind and St. George’s star runner Ashley Sande, who left Cheney with four golds.

Sande edged Lee by the narrowest of margins in the 100 meters, hitting the tape in 0:12.92. Lee settled for silver with a 0:12.99 finish.

Sande won the 200 in 0:26.27, besting Rachel Schell of Lind-Ritzville, who was clocked at 0:26.64.

Lee placed third with a time of 0:26.87.

Sande went on to win the 400 (0:57.67) and anchor the Lady Dragons’ mile relay entry, which took top honors for a fourth straight year.

Lagerwey and Lee enjoyed success in the relays. They joined La Conner teammates Addie Reinstra and Sage Burgmeier to place second in the sprint relay. The Lady Braves’ quartet posted a time of 0:52.06.

Life Christian Academy won the 4x100 with Landyn Lovelady, whom the Lady Braves faced in the State 2B Basketball Tournament, running a leg for the victors.

Lagerwey, Lee, Burgmeier and Joanie Benson teamed to finish fourth in the 4x200 (1:51.41), further adding to La Conner’s team tally.

Burgmeier was coming off a seventh place finish in the javelin, where her toss of 118’-4” was a new personal best.

Sarah Hastings rounded out a strong Lady Braves performance in the field events. She placed fourth in the shot put at 35’-4 1/4”, and was 10th in the discus with a heave of 97’-10”.

In the boys’ half of the meet, La Conner was 35th overall.

Kaden Murdock got the Braves on the scoreboard with a sixth place finish in the triple jump, going 38’-10 1/2”.

Andre Knudson took 10th in the 1,600 meters (4:53.47) while Charlie Cram and Scottie Miller were 11th in the 3,200 meters and shot put, respectively.

Cram ran a season-best 10:57.33, with Miller setting a new personal standard in shot at 40’-2 1/2”.