Even with mass absences due to spring break, Bellingham earned four event wins at the Sehome-hosted, 37-team Birger Solberg Invitational track and field meet on Saturday, April 6 at Civic Stadium.
Bellingham’s girls team posted the best finish out of the five Whatcom County teams present. The Bayhawks finished third with a team score of 62, while Sehome’s girls team captured eighth (40). Lynden Christian and Ferndale also attended, while Meridian had a lone competitor in senior Jackson Miller.
Senior Sofia Calabretta won the girls 100- and 200-meter dash events for Bellingham, posting personal records in both. Fellow Bayhawks senior Chayse Flick-Williams won the girls long jump with her mark of 16-6.75, and she also took second in the 100-meter dash behind Calabretta.
On the boys side, Bellingham junior Hunter Deschenes won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.59 seconds.
Sehome had the most total top-5 finishers among county teams with nine, led by second-place finishes from freshman Samantha Knipp (girls 800-meter run) and juniors Sydney Harri (girls 3,200-meter run) and Campbell Phillips (boys 800-meter run).
Lynden Christian senior Tabby DeJong led the Lyncs with her top finish in the girls shot put, setting a season-high mark of 37-1.75.
Ferndale senior Luke Jones notched a new personal record in the boys 400-meter dash with his time of 51.55 seconds — finishing second to lead all Golden Eagles present at the meet.
Miller, Meridian’s only athlete at the meet, took 17th in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, an event that isn’t typically run at the high school level. Annually, the Birger Solberg Invitational is often the only time Whatcom County athletes can get their feet wet in the water pit.
A full list of Whatcom County’s top-5 finishers and team scores is below.
Team scores
Girls
3. Bellingham (62)
8. Sehome (40)
10. Lynden Christian (32)
16. Ferndale (17)
Boys
9. Sehome (37)
17. Ferndale (16)
20. Bellingham (13)
22. Lynden Christian (7)
Top-5 finishers
* denotes personal record
Sehome
Girls 400-meter dash: 4th, Madeleine Hill (1:02.21)*
Girls 800-meter dash: 2nd, Samantha Knipp (2:22.84)*
Girls 1,600-meter run: 5th, Marcella Leita (5:16.75)*
Girls 3,200-meter run: 2nd, Sydney Harri (11:18.45)*
Girls 3,200-meter run: 5th, Lil Desler (11:33.18)*
Girls 4X400 relay: 4th; Samantha Knipp, Marcella Leita, Madeleine Hill, Amaia Reid (4:21.42)
Boys discus: 4th, Grant Gusukuma (135-11)
Boys 800-meter run: 2nd, Campbell Phillips (2:00.39)
Boys long jump: 4th, Maxton Rush (20-01)
Bellingham
Girls 100-meter dash: event champion, Sofia Calabretta (:12.31)*
Girls 100-meter dash: 2nd, Chayse Flick-Williams (:13.03)
Girls 200-meter dash: event champion, Sofia Calabretta (:25.65)*
Girls pole vault: 4th, Calla Young (9-0)
Girls long jump: event champion, Chayse Flick-Williams (16-6.75)
Girls long jump: 2nd, Genevieve Blum (16-0.75)
Girls triple jump: 2nd, Genevieve Blum (34-06)
Boys 110-meter hurdles: event champion, Hunter Deschenes (:15.59)
Lynden Christian
Boys 800-meter run: 3rd, Nickolas Luce (2:02.86)*
Girls shot put: event champion, Tabby DeJong (37-1.75)
Girls shot put: 3rd, Jessa Wynstra (31-4.25)
Girls discus: 3rd, Tabby DeJong (111-02)
Girls javelin: 5th, Morgan Bos (94-08)
Ferndale
Girls 100-meter dash: 4th, Audrey Holdridge (:13.22)
Girls javelin: 3rd, Amelie McKeon (95-10)
Girls javelin: 4th, Maleah Singson (95-02)
Boys 400-meter dash: 2nd, Luke Jones (:51.55)*
Boys javelin: 3rd, Marcus Perez (146-10)*
Connor J. Benintendi is a former CDN sports reporter, send tips and information to newstips@cascadiadaily.com.
