A Richland Beat Down - By Sage Olsen

    On Thursday, April 29, the Bomber boy’s Track and Field team faced off against the Southridge Suns and the Hanford Falcons at Fran Rish. With all of the competition that was there, Richland knew they had to show up and perform at their best if they wanted a shot to take home the win. 

Photo: Jim Qualheim

    The Bombers came out at a very hot start in the 100-meter range, with the top four finishers being from Richland. Levi Stiver comes out with a strikingly fast time of 11.1; following close behind were Jack Forbes and Jalen Brightful, running 11.12, which is a PR for both of them, along with Brayden Pratt running 11.35, also a new PR. This has brought a lot of hope to the Bombers because these top four finishers make up our dominant 4x100 relay team. I asked Forbes, “How are you feeling coming up on the postseason as an individual? What about your relay team?” He replies, “I’m really excited; this is my first year doing track, so I really like seeing all the new competitors. I am super confident about our team; we have bonded over the season and have improved. I just can’t wait to get out there and prove ourselves on the big state stage.” Their performance speaks for itself, as they are ranked first in the state for 4A. I went up to a spectator by the name of John Simons, and I asked him, “Seeing all of the competition and the environment created from the track, does it ever make you want to be out there and see how you could do? He replies, “I have always wanted to run track, actually. If I wasn’t playing baseball, I would definitely be running track. Just the energy, competition, and environment are places I would like to be. I have always wanted to be a part of a 4x100 team and throw javelin. I asked Mr. Stadelman about doing both baseball and track, but he told me that they made a rule around 20 years ago that said you can’t do both sports at the same time.” 

Photo: Jim Qualheim

    Another standout performance was done by Crew Martell, who showed why he is one of the tops in the state, placing first place in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:39; he also placed 2nd in the 800-meter right behind his fellow teammate Om Nair, who ran an astounding 2:06. Kellan Nelson, who competed in the 3200-meter run, showed his incredible endurance and speed getting first place. Nelson put on a show, beating his competitors by over 40 seconds and running a 10:22. In the 300-meter hurdles, there was a dominant performance by Jaden Booker, who ran a 41:91, placing first by a large margin. Not only did he place first in the 300 hurdles, but he also placed first in the 100-meter hurdles in an extremely tight battle against his teammate Matthew Stanfield, showing how strong Richland is with their hurdlers. 

Photo: Jim Qualheim

    On to the Field events, Kooper Schmitt demonstrated his brute strength and athleticism, throwing 161”08’, which was more than enough to help him take home first place by more than eight feet. In the High Jump, Stanfield and Rose demonstrated their extreme bounce and technique, putting them in a four-way tie for first place, jumping 5”08’. The dominance continues for Richland, going into depth with Pole Vault; we had the top three finishers in this event being Elijah Lynch and Arsenios Harrington jumping an astonishing 13”6’ and Riley Berry, who jumped 12”0’. An athlete that stood out from the pack was Jalen Brightful, showing his extreme athleticism, placing first place jumping 21”02’. I went up to Jalen and said, “You have proven to be one of the top jumpers in the District; how are you feeling about your marks so far this season?”. He replied, “Going towards the end of the season, I’m working on just perfecting my mechanics and improving on those inches I can gain from my jumps.”. 

Photo: Jim Qualheim

    To top things off, Matthew Stanfield placed first place in the triple jump, showing wonderful technique and power, jumping 40”4, which was a PR and led him to be the first to jump 40 feet plus on this team. Overall, it was a Richland beat down, and it expressed their elite athleticism throughout their entire team. Giving all teams the chance to face hard-fought and tough competition and never letting anybody off easily.