2019-2020 Royal Valley Track and Field Team Preview
Prior to the cancellation of all high school spring sports, three state qualifiers, including two medalists, were set to help lead the Royal Valley Panther track team this spring season.
In what would have been his fourth season as head coach, David Boucher said the team had several returning letterwinners, as well as some new faces ready to gain some experience.
“We would have been a hard-working bunch that had an exciting blend of youth and experience,” Coach Boucher said.
Senior Gavin Cumpton took fifth place in the 110-meter hurdles last year at state in Class 3A with a time of 15.85. At regionals last year, Cumpton posted a second-place finish with a time of 15.52.
Other returning state qualifiers were junior jumpers Morgan Harvey and Ivy Fink. At state last year, Harvey won fifth place in the girls triple jump 35’8.25”. At regionals, she took first with a jump of 36’10.5”.
Harvey was also a member of the team’s 4x100-meter relay at the state meet last year. The relay team took eighth place at state with a time of 51.17 and took first at the regional meet.
Fink took 13th place in the high jump at the Class 3A girls track meet last year with a jump of 4’8”. To qualify for the state tournament, Fink took fourth at regionals with a 4’10” jump.
As a team, the Panther girls took second at regionals and tied for third at the Big Seven League track meet last year. The RV boys team took fifth at the Big Seven meet.
“We did well last year and finished in the top half of the league, and we had a strong showing at state,” Coach Boucher said.
In addition to Fink and Harvey, other returning letterwinners for the girls team would have included senior Emma Poort (throws), juniors Sammie Sender (throws) and Josslyn Coulter (sprints and pole vault) and sophomore Lily Cannon (long distance).
For the boys team, other returning letterwinners would have included seniors Komesh Spoonhunter (throws), Kain Fink (jumps), Judson Mathis (long distance), Holden Mundy (long distance), Christian McAlister (pole vault), Anthony Zeller (throws), juniors Kyler Steinbach (throws), Skylar Mechtley (sprints and 4x100), Luke Boyden (pole vault and 4x800) and Alek Mitchell (sprints and 4x400) and sophomores Levi Parrett (throws) and Calvin Ogden (long distance).
Newcomers to the team that Coach Boucher expected to make an impact included sophomores Sam Nuener (throws), Shanokwe Price (mid-distance) and Audrey Pamaska (sprints and hurdles) and freshmen Tressa Jim (mid-distance), Morgan Davis (throws), Jamison Shane (sprints) and Daniel Coleman (jumps and sprints).
Other track coaches for RV include Joe Baumchen, Steve Hardesty, Jake Lott, Nathan Smith and Dawson DeShazo.
