Braves outperform big schools in Skagit Showdown

First Street isn't the only place in town with parking issues.

The Whittaker Field parking lot on N. Sixth Street was jammed with vehicles April 10 when La Conner hosted the annual Skagit Showdown Track & Field Meet, drawing teams and fans from 2A Burlington-Edison and Sedro-Woolley and 1B Mount Vernon Christian.

Some visitors thought their only parking option was inside an open gate leading to the school bus garage. One driver even parked in front of the gate, briefly causing heartburn for La Conner bus drivers returning from afternoon routes.

La Conner High School head track coach Peter Voorhees warned drivers to move their vehicles lest they be locked inside. People got the message.

Meanwhile, the pace was fast and furious on the Whittaker Field oval. La Conner standout and reigning state 2B hurdles champion Tommy Murdock won his two signature events while placing fourth in the long jump and running a leg of the Braves' third-place 4x200-meter relay team.

Murdock swept the Skagit Showdown boys' 110-meter (15.61) and 300-meter hurdles (40.29), hitting the tape first with a large throng at the finish.

Murdock showed his versatility with a long-jump leap of 18-10.5. He also joined teammates Yandel Rosales-Rojas, Marlin Bralens and Simon Bouwens in posting a 1:40.19 finish and new school mark in the 800-meter relay.

For his part, Bralens earned boys' athlete of the week honors for handling the baton. He ran second, taking the handoff from Rosales-Rojas.

"Yandel was moving faster than I anticipated," Bralens told the Weekly News afterward. "He was running around the corner pretty quickly."

Their smooth exchange set the tone for a nearly 2 second edge over the Sedro-Woolley quartet of Mason Requa, Anthony Pena, Theo Ellsworth and Riley Bowen.

Meanwhile, Bouwens added to the Braves' point total in the double dual competition by placing second in the 100 meters (11.94) and fifth in the 300 hurdles (45.57).

La Conner's Flint Huizenga contributed a second-place effort in the 60 meters (8.17) and a third in javelin (136-8).

"He keeps improving by the week," Voorhees said.

Alex Martin likewise chalked up a pair of top five finishes for the Braves. He claimed third in the discus (111-8) and fifth in the shot put (36-5).

On the girls' side, La Conner's Morgan Huizenga captured two golds (javelin and high jump) and eighth-grader Nora McCormick won the 100-meter hurdles in 16.82.

Huizenga led a 1-2-3 Lady Braves finish in the javelin, letting fly with a toss of 90-1. Addison Wigal placed second at 79-11 and Reese Bird, another eighth-grader, was third with a 79-3 throw.

In the high jump, Huizenga cleared the bar at 4-10 while Kiana Jenkins, also an eighth-grader, took third at 4-6.

Jenkins added silver in the 400 meters (1.02.71). Lydia Grossglass clinched third in the 100 hurdles (17.67) and fourth in the 300 hurdles (54.43).

Wigal, the Lady Braves' athlete of the week, also produced a fifth-place finish in the discus (60-0) and teamed with eighth-graders Aisley Zimmerman, Finley Hancock and Kim Williams to place fourth in the sprint relay with a 59.44 clocking.

"Addison had a very good meet overall," Voorhees said.

In addition, Nora McCormick, Maeve McCormick, Huizenga and Grossglass were third in the 4x200 relay (1:58.59).

Voorhees noted that it was a big day for La Conner's eighth graders as they competed against high school students from bigger schools.

"It was cool to see them have these awesome performances," Voorhees said.

He said La Conner didn't enter some Skagit Showdown events to save energy ahead of the 24-team Cashmere Invitational.

"That's always a big meet," Voorhees said. "We're looking forward to it."