Cougar boys take third at Tomahawk Classic

MARYSVILLE — Despite competing against substantially bigger schools, the Lakewood track team won three events as the boys took third place in the 14-team field at Marysville’s annual Tomahawk Classic April 26.

MARYSVILLE — Despite competing against substantially bigger schools, the Lakewood track team won three events as the boys took third place in the 14-team field at Marysville’s annual Tomahawk Classic April 26.

After putting forth a valiant effort in the 200-meter dash, junior sprinter Devon Smith found his niche in the boys 400, finishing a lap of the track in 49.54 and besting Nathan Hale’s Adnan Omer for first place by more than two seconds. Smith was barely edged in the 200 by Arlington’s Marcus Dolan, finishing about a tenth of a second behind with a time of 22.97.

A two-second margin proved decisive in the boys 1,600 relay as well, where Cameron Jones, James Mattson, Chad Skiles and Terrence Ordonez took first place in a time of 3:29.82.

Senior thrower Ryan Culbertson was the third Lakewood event champion, beating 2A rival Steven Berghuis of Burlington-Edison in the discus with a throw of 141-2.

Lakewood’s Nic Borisov had top-five finishes in three events, taking fourth place in the 110 and 300 hurdles and fifth place in the pole vault, where he cleared 11-6.

Lakewood athletes named Hulslander also had a good meet.

In the boys pole vault, Spencer Hulslander tied for second place on jumps, clearing 11-6. Thrower Tawnya Hulslander pulled off top-four finishes in three events, most notably a second-place finish in the girls discus where her best throw of 119-4 put her within six inches of Arlington’s Kjirsten Jensen, last year’s 3A state champ in the event. Tawyna placed third in the shot put behind Jensen and teammate Rachael Hartman with a mark of 34-5, behind Hartman’s 35-1. Tawnya also took fourth in the javelin, hitting 106-10.

Senior Jeneca Hoidal also represented for the girls, joining a three-way tie for third place in the girls pole vault with a nine-foot leap.

With a mark of 6-0, sophomore Nathan Hesselman finished second in the high jump, beating Arlington’s Ryan Schimpf on jumps. A strong field performance also included a second-place finish by Lakewood’s Payden Butler, who hit 155-5 in the boys javelin.

Seniors and distance veterans Sarah Dunn and Terrence Ordonez had notable days in their respective mile races; Dunn finished fifth in a time of 5:31.76, while Ordonez took third in the boys race in 4:31.58.