This year, the NWAACC Track and Field Championships will be held at MHCC, and the Saints are ready to compete.

“People keep on improving, working hard and improving their performance,” said head coach Tony Baracco. “We have some state-qualifying athletes on this team.”

Last weekend, the Saints went to the Western Oregon University Twilight Meet to compete against 18 colleges. For the women, Michel Wilson placed third in both the 800-and the 1500-meter run and Jessie Gallaher won the pole vault. Eli Carter helped out the guys by throwing 183-07 in the javelin, breaking his personal record by 12 feet.

“He (Carter) went from being one of those guys that would barely make the conference, to being one of the top guys,” said Baracco.

Two weeks ago the Saints won the Warner Pacific Meet with 107 points. Although Mt. Hood was scheduled to compete in the University of Oregon Invite on April 23, the team went to WPC so all of Mt. Hood’s athletes could compete. A lot of the credit for the win went to the women.

The women placed first in five events with Christa Attleberger leading the pack for jumps, Gallaher for the pole vault, Brittney Grizzard for sprints, Dede Sonis for hurdles, and Wilson for long distance.

“There are a lot of quality people on this team,” said Wilson earlier this season.

The women are very competitive up and down the track and the “big guns are doing well,” said Baracco referring to Attleberger, Gallaher, Grizzard, Sonis and Wilson.

As for the men, they placed first in three events with help from Jordan Hamblen in the 400 hurdles, and Tyler Hartsteen and Tim Bertram in the throws.

Baracco said that Hamblen is one of the best hurdlers in the Northwest and that Hartsteen and Bertram are solid for the throws. As for competing in the NWAACC Tournament, Baracco said that for the guys, the individuals would be the key players because the guys lack the depth that the women have. “We could use more guys to win the NWAACC.”

The Saints head to Vancouver, Wash., Saturday to compete in the Burns Invite. “The Burns Invite is a tune-up for Southern Region. We’ll go there and be competitive, but we’re not killing anyone,” said Baracco.