Strabala, Coons lead state qualifications for the Tigers

Douglas High School girls track and field had a pair of sophomores lead the way to the state meet at the Class 5A North regional track and field meet over the weekend at Carson High School.

The Tigers also won the Class 5A North girls team title after previously disqualifications were overruled. 

In the sprints, Grace Strabala broke two school records and can add two regional titles to her resume, winning both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.

Strabala’s time of 12.21 seconds in the 100 bested the previous school record (12.47) and shattered her own personal record by more than half a second (12.77).

In the 200, she ran a 25.50 to claim her second school record and regional title.

Strabala went 4-for-4 with regional titles, running with the 4x100- and 4x200-meter relay teams that were eventually reinstated as regional champs.

“Total credit to her for trusting our process and working extremely hard,” said Douglas head coach Steven Nelms. “She deserves everything she gets.”

Katelyn Coons PR’d in the 100-meter hurdles (16.26) to win the regional crown. She sits 0.02-second off of the school record, which she will take aim at next weekend.

It was a similar story in the 300-meter hurdles, where the Tiger broke the school record in 46.62.

“I don’t really think about anything when I run,” said Coons. “I feel like running against my sister and my teammates makes me go faster.”

Nelms felt that Coons has found success in a unique approach that fits her.

“She’s the cleanest four-stepper there is,” said Nelms. “She’s really kind of honed-in on that for this year. It’s paid off.”

(Tiger sophomore Katelyn Coons leaps over one of the final hurdles in the 300-meter hurdles event Saturday at the Class 5A North regional track and field meet. Coons qualified for state in the event and broke the school record, posting a time of 46.62. / Jeff Mulvihill, Jr. | InstaImage) 

In the long jump, senior Elizabeth Gneiting qualified for state after finishing third.

Fellow Tiger Bliss Moody won the regional title in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, six inches.

Gneiting will also be competing in the 5A state triple jump after posting a 35-5 to take second place at regionals.

Strabala, Logan Karwoski and Moody will accompany Gneiting in the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams that both won the regional crown.

The Tigers’ 4x100 relay team ran a 49.49, besting second place by a quarter of a second. The 4x200 team stopped the clock at 1 minute, 43.67 seconds.

In the high jump, Karwoski and freshman Malena Van Wagenen both tied for second with a jump of five feet, securing a spot in the state meet.

In the pole vault, junior Stella White finished with a mark of 11-6 to take fourth and earn another weekend of competition at state.

The Tigers’ 4x800 relay team of Ayla Nelson, Amy Van Wagenen, Logan Axtell and Lucy Nord took fourth in 9:59.58 to earn the group a spot at the state meet.

Nord just missed out on an individual state qualification after taking fifth in the 3,200 in 11:44.22. The time moves Nord into second place on the Tigers’ all-time 3,200 results.

For the Tiger boys, Luke Davis was fifth in the 3,200 in 9:54.31, missing out on a state spot by a little more than two seconds.

The Tigers’ 4x100 relay team — Evan Youmans, Zach Jackson, Lukas Neely and Reed Ward — were two-tenths of a second off a state qualification, taking fifth in 43.48.

The 4x200 fell in nearly the same boat as Mateo Esquivel joined Neely, Ward and Jackson in a fifth-place finish in 1:31.26.

Editor's note: This story was updated Monday at 2:30 p.m. following the reinstatement of the Tiger girls team title.