Bad luck befalls Cashion track
Trip on final relay leg costs team shot at state runner-up
CASHION JUNIOR Kaitin Taylor made the medal stand in two events for Cashion, which finished third at the Class 2A state track meet last weekend. [Photo by Brad Stone]
Before the Class 2A state track and field championships began, Cashion coach Tony Wood knew his team’s chances of a repeat title were slim.
“It’s Watonga’s to win,” Wood said. “The rest of us are truly gunning for second and I feel we’ve got a shot.”
Wood turned out to be prophetic.
Watonga easily won the state title and Cashion was in contention for a state runner-up finish.
Those chances, however, quite literally fell on hard times in the last race of the day.
Needing only to place in the top-eight, Cashion’s 1,600 meter relay team was in great position with Bella Schenk closing down the stretch on the final leg.
However, Warner’s anchor leg tripped and fell on the track and took Schenk down with her. Although Schenk finished the race, she did so without the baton, meaning Cashion got a DNF (did not finish) in its heat.
But the team still had a chance for second place. Cashion held a 61-42 lead over Pawhuska, which was in the second heat of the event.
Provided Pawhuska didn’t win, second place belonged to the Lady Wildcats.
Pawhuksa won by .3 to garner the 20 points and edge Cashion in the team standings by a single point.
“It was like we lost second place twice,” Wood said. “And both situations essentially happened at the finish line. We felt we were rolling all day and it was like our hopes fell off a cliff.”
Despite the heartbreaking ending, it was still another successful outing for the program.
It was highlighted by Madelyn McCabe, who became a four-time medal winner, including repeating as state champion in the high jump.
McCabe cleared 5-feet, 6 inches to claim gold in the event once again.
It took a monster jump by Ketchum’s Mattie Flanagan to keep McCabe from winning two golds.
Flanagan leapt 17 feet, 10 inches to win the long jump, besting McCabe’s 17-0.
McCabe, only a junior, made two more trips to the medal stand.
She was a part of the state runner-up 800 team, joined by Lauren Lamb, Rylee Nance and Schenk.
McCabe, Schenk, Lamb and Bella Woody took third in the 400 relay.
Sam Brown and Austin Vandruff took home bronze medals for the boys’ team. Brown was third in the 100 while Vandruff did the same in the 200.
Vandruff added more points for CHS with his sixth-place finish in the 400.