By RICHARD STROUD
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Despite the rainy conditions, the Sequoyah and Keys track teams competed at the Class 3A regional track meet held in Catoosa on Saturday.
For Sequoyah, wins by Nikki Lewis in the 400 meters, Ashley Ross in the 1600 meters and Saharra Henson in the long jump highlighted a day that saw 13 Indian athletes qualify for the state meet. To qualify for state, an athlete needed to finish in the top three in their event.
Lewis and Ross led the Lady Indians to a third place team finish on the girls' side. Lewis' time of 1:00.14 in the 400 was over two seconds ahead of teammate Ashton Parent, who finished second. Meanwhile Ross' time of 5:41.31 in the 1600 was five seconds faster than runner-up Alyssa Bridges of Keys.
Sequoyah's Shakota Cutnose also qualified for state in the 1600, finishing in third place. Cutnose also qualified for state with a third place finish in the 800 meters.
In the field events, Henson's 15 feet, seven inch jump won the long jump by five inches. Sequoyah's Andi Pickup qualified in two events with runner-up finished in both the shot put and the discus.
On the boys' side, the Indians continued their dominance in the middle distances as they finished fourth overall. David Lewis and Traven McCoy finished second and third, respectively, to qualify for state in the 800 meters. Robert Ketcher finished third in the 3200 meters with a time of 10:44.7
In the 1600-meter relay, the team of Lewis, McCoy, Corri Horsechief and Logan Francis finished third with a time of 3:50.8. Sequoyah also qualified in the 3200 meter relay, finishing second with the team of McCoy, Horsechief, Ketcher and Lewis.
The lone Indian to qualify in the field events was Caleb Deardueff, who finished third in the shot put.
"I actually thought we'd do better," Sequoyah head coach Sam Horsechief said. "Obviously the weather didn't help, but that's something everyone had to deal with."
Horsechief was especially impressed with his three individual champions on the girls' side.
"I think those three [Lewis, Ross and Henson] have real good shots at state titles. And our boys' 3200 meter relay has a real good chance to medal."
In addition to Bridges in the 1600, the Cougars qualified athletes in three other events. Taylor Smith finished third in the girls' 3200 meters with a time of 13:02.47, while Ellic Miller finished third in the boys' long jump with a jump of 19'2".
But the highlight of the day for Keys was a school record in the girls' 3200-meter relay. In addition to Bridges and Smith, the team was composed of Linsey Hewitt and Taylor Terrell. The team finished in third place with a time of 10:45.23.
The Class 3A-4A State Championship will begin on Friday at East Central High School in Tulsa. Field events begin at 10 a.m. with track events beginning at 1 p.m.
