MOSSYROCK — Some athletes in podium positions at a track meet last Tuesday set personal records along the way.

Two standouts among the girls were Naselle sophomore Jessica Underwood, who threw 81-07 feet to win the discus in a field of 16, and NHS freshman Sophia Colombo, who won the 100-meter hurdles with a personal record (PR) of 19.08 seconds.

Ilwaco sophomore Juliet Perez set a PR of 25-02 in the shot put to place second; Naselle’s Paige Haataja, also a sophomore, was fourth with a season best of 24-06.

Another NHS sophomore, Mylee Dunagan, won the long jump (14-10) with freshman teammate Aubrey Katyryniuk second with a PR of 11-11; freshmen Shaylee Suomela and Briana Johnson were inches behind.

In the 400-meter, the Comets enjoyed a 1-2-3 sweep with Dunagan, Suomela and Johnson all recording PRs. Dunagan ran third in the 200; Katyryniuk won the 800, in a PR of 3:00.20.

Ilwaco junior Mya Cunningham placed second in the 1,600 with a PR of 6:26.75.

For the boys, Naselle senior Derek Suomela won the 800 ahead of Ilwaco senior Jacob Mathison. Suomela won the high jump with 5-6, and placed third in the 100 with a PR of 12.12 seconds, just ahead of IHS junior Wade Smith. Smith was second in the 200 with a PR of 24.84, with NHS senior Jacob Pakenen third, bettering his best at 25.15.

Pakenen had two wins, both setting PRs. He won a crowded discus field, throwing 106-03, with Ilwaco junior Skyler Saltzman third, and won the long jump, leaping 20-03.5.

Smith was second in the 400 with Pakenen third.

Ilwaco enjoyed a sweep in the 1,600 with Mathison winning in a PR of 5:10.10, ahead of sophomore Cody Miller and junior Sammy Lloyd. The 3,200 saw a win for NHS freshman Caesar Garcia with Ilwaco’s Druv Athmanathan second; NHS junior Alexx Johnson placed third.

IHS junior Caleb Brundage placed fourth in javelin and sixth in the shot put.

Team points for both boys and girls saw the hosts winning, with Naselle second and Ilwaco fourth.

Next for south county squads is a Pacific League meet at South Bend Thursday before Ilwaco hosts on May 2.

Success at Kalama

A couple of days later, Naselle and Ilwaco’s best athletes competed against some of the biggest schools in the region at the Kalama Twilight Invitational.

The standout performance came from Dunagan, who won the triple jump with a personal best of 32-10. The leap was more than six inches farther than she jumped at last year’s state meet to place fifth.

The NHS sophomore was second in the high jump with 4-10 and sixth in long jump with 14-4. She placed in both events at the championships at Yakima in May.

Ilwaco’s Cunningham was seventh in the 1,600 meters and eighth in the 800.

For the boys, Pakenen took third in pole vault, clearing 12-6, then tied with senior teammate Suomela for fourth in long jump with 18-11. Suomela placed third in the 400, tied with another runner for fourth in the 800 and with two others for fourth in high jump.

IHS’ Mathison set a PR in the 1,600m with 5:05.23; junior teammate Saltzman improved his PR to 105-8 in the discus.

Raymond meet

Pacific County track athletes recently discovered the breadth of regional competition at the Leo Rubstello Invitational.

Naselle senior Derek Suomela again led the way for south county schools with a season’s best time of 53.53 seconds to win the 400 meters. He was second in the 800, two seconds behind the winner, and fourth in long jump with 18-4.

Classmate Jacob Pakenen tied for third in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet along with Ilwaco junior Wade Smith, who was also fifth in the 200.

Comet freshman Andy Rosas had his season’s best 35-4 for fourth in triple jump, close to his state meet leap last year as an eighth grader.

IHS senior Jacob Mathison was fourth in the 800 and fifth in the 400.

With two exceptions, hosts Raymond had a tough time against the out-of-county schools, with Morton-White Pass winning the boys’ team title, Kalama second and Rainier, Wash., third.

Raymond senior Austin Snodgrass won the 100, ahead of sophomore teammate Chris Banker, and extended his personal best to 51-2 in winning the shot put. Snodgrass placed second in discus behind South Bend senior Robby Stigal, who threw 149-4. Banker won the high jump, clearing 6 feet.

Willapa Valley boys’ best finish was by junior Cody Strozyk, who threw 141-7 in the javelin for third, just ahead of sophomore teammate Hank Swartz.

Wahkiakum senior Filip Tesar placed fourth in the 400.

In the girls’ meet, Rainier came out ahead of Kalama and Toutle Lake.

Naselle sophomore Mylee Dunagan was second in triple jump at 31-9, one inch behind the winner, fourth in the 100 and sixth in a close long jump contest. Freshman teammate Sophia Colombo was third in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal best of 19.88 seconds.

Ilwaco junior Mya Cunningham placed third in the 800 with a season’s best of 2:47.33 and was fifth in the 400.

For north county girls, Willapa Valley junior Sam Sheary threw 32 feet for second in the shot put and 105-9 in discus, also for second, ahead of South Bend freshman Avalyn Stigall.

Raymond’s most successful competitor was high jumper Ava Baugher, a sophomore, who placed fourth. Wahkiakum’s highest placing girl was freshman Sam Dela Cruz, third in triple jump.

Naselle battles Oregon teams

Naselle squeezed in another track meet earlier this month, with some creditable scores against opposition from Washington and Oregon. Naselle’s Derek Suomela and Mylee Dunagan, who led Comet performances at state last year, improved their records at the Lower Columbia Invitational.

Suomela, a senior, placed second in the 400 meters with a season best of 52.62 seconds, one-tenth of a second behind the Astoria winner. In the 800, he was also second in a giant field with a personal record (PR) of 2:06.07 and fifth in long jump with 19-1.5 amid 31 competitors.

Sophomore Jason Gardner placed third in the pole vault with a PR of 9-6. Eighth grader Gus Burkhalter set a PR of 36-2.25 in the triple jump, but did not place.

Dunagan, a sophomore, was second in the triple jump with a season’s best of 32-9, ahead of eighth-grade teammate June Miller, who had a PR of 32-4.5. They also placed 2-3 in the high jump, both clearing 4-8, a PR for Miller. Halle Miller, an eighth grader, improved her PR to 4-6.

In long jump, Dunagan was fourth with 15-6.5, also a PR, and Miller placed fifth among 33 competitors in the 100 with a PR of 13.50 seconds.