Several local athletes came out victorious in the 2019 Simplot Games, where more than 2,000 athletes from across the United States and Canada gathered to compete in track and field.
Maya Malony, a senior from Boise, took first place in the girls' pole vault with a height of 12 feet and 5 and a half inches. Malony says facing the height in the finals was no problem
“I knew it was a height I could clear,” Malony said. “I just had to clear my mind and do it.”
Malony trained with Olympian Stacy Dragilia at the Dragilia Vault Company in Boise.
Brook Weimer, a junior from Boise, won the girls' long jump, with a mark of 18 feet and 10 and a quarter inches. Weimer says she's improved a lot from last year.
“This jump was a big PR for me,” Weimer said. “Last year I placed seventh, so placing first was quite an improvement.”
Weimer had the same distance as second-place finisher Alysah Hickey, a senior from Tualatin, Oregon. To break the tie, they went back to the second jump where Weimer had the further distance by a quarter of an inch.
Weimer’s teammate, senior Lauren Foster, took third place with a mark of 18’8.25”.
Nathan Green, a sophomore from Boise, won the boys’ 1600 meters with a time of 4:18.74. He says the win gives him confidence.
“There was tough competition this year, so to come out on top gives me more confidence,” Green said. “I finished 12th last year. To come back and win, it gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
He was first in qualifiers on Friday and that transferred into Saturday’s final competition to place him on top. This is Green’s second year competing at Simplot Games.
Team Idaho won the All Idaho girls’ 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:48.26.
Mya McArthur ran the first leg, Jenna Sutten ran the second leg, Jylian Bitner ran the third leg, and Brooke Weimer was the anchor.
“It feels so good to win,” Bitner said. “We only met on Thursday, so to work so well with a group of girls and to win is pretty amazing.”
The Idaho Dash Track Club ‘B’ from Boise, Idaho, won the All Idaho boys’ 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:35.25.
Freshman Cormac Mullin started the relay for the team as the first leg, senior Jack Eastmond ran the second leg, senior Samuel Gross ran the third leg, and junior Pieter van Wissen finished the relay as the anchor.
“I told my teammates before the race that the other teams want it as much as we do,” Eastmond said. “We performed at a high level and we feel like we came closer together as a team.”
This was the first time the team has competed together as a relay team at the Simplot Games. The team improved their PR by three seconds.
“It was a surprising finish,” van Wissen said. “It was a really good way to end the indoor season.”
