Competing in the best weather of the season, La Conner High School thinclads posted some of their best results of the 2026 campaign at the elite Cashmere Invitational Meet, 150 miles away on the eastern slope of the Cascades.

Under sunny skies and with the high approaching 70 degrees on Saturday, the La Conner track teams established several season high and personal best marks against top-flight competition from mostly larger programs gathered for the 16-school event.

Faith Jenkins finished second in the 100 meters while Nora McCormick was runner-up in the 100 meter hurdles and placed third in the 300 meter hurdles as the La Conner girls clinched eighth place on their side of the team leaderboard.

Jenkins ran a 12.75 in the 100, only eight one-hundredths of a second off the pace set by Ivy Stringham of 1A King’s High. McCormick, meanwhile, established new personal bests in the 100 hurdles (16.12) and 300 hurdles (48.51).

For the La Conner boys, who were 11th overall, Yandel Rosales-Rojas clinched second place in the long jump with a leap of 20-05.75, a new personal standard. His 11.48 time in the 100 meters, sixth best in the boys’ half of the meet, was also a personal best.

Josh Dowry added to the La Conner highlights with a new Braves school record 12-00.00 effort in the pole vault, good enough for third place.

“It was a great meet with perfect weather,” La Conner head coach Peter Voorhees said afterward. “I think the weather made it easier to run faster times and we had several kids reach those landmark numbers.

“It was a great time for our teams,” Voorhees added. “It’s always a fun day to get to compete against really good competition in a beautiful setting.”

La Conner relay squads definitely warmed to the occasion.

The girls’ 4×100 quartet of McCormick, Maicy Bowles, Kiana Jenkins and Faith Jenkins finished a close second in 51.86 to Cashmere’s winning entry, which clocked a 51.65.

Faith Jenkins, the reigning State 2B 100-meter champion who ran La Conner’s anchor leg, nearly overcame a 15-meter Cashmere lead in the home stretch.

“Faith ran a blazing split, which was really good to see,” Voorhees said.

The La Conner boys’ 4×100, consisting of Keaton Bailey, Ryan Reynolds, Maxwell Page and Rosales-Rojas placed sixth in 45.64, their best time of the year.

Bailey, Reynolds, Kale Navarrete Higgins and Vireo Angell also posted the Braves boys’ top 4×400 clocking this season, taking 11th in 3:56.43.

In addition, Angell ran a personal best in the 110-meter hurdles (19.15), placing 11th. Navarette Higgins set a new personal record in the 300 hurdles (48.09), finishing 17th. Reynolds turned in his best time in the 400, at 59.74, a 19th place finish.

La Conner girls’ middle distance specialist Finley Hancock clocked her best-ever time in the 1500 meters, a 5:47.53 finish that was 12th among two dozen entrants. She also ran a personal best 57.20 in the 300 hurdles, taking 18th.

Kiana Jenkins continued making strides recovering from a severe ankle injury sustained during basketball season. She placed fourth at Cashmere in the girls’ 400 meters in 1:02.67, her best time of the season at that event.

“Kiana ran real well,” Voorhees said. “It takes time coming back from an injury like that and she’s getting more consistent all the time.”

Kiana Jenkins also joined Bowles, McCormick and Faith Jenkins to place fifth in the 4×400 with a season best time of 4:27.98. Kiana Jenkins, Bowles, Amelia Schwab and Reese Bird were 12th in the 4×200, at 2:01.65, their fastest finish in that contest thus far this spring.

Faith Jenkins and Bird entered field events to add to the La Conner girls’ point total. Jenkins was sixth in the long jump at 15-11.25 and Bird finished eighth in the javelin with a toss of 88-4, her longest of the season.

The Braves were without their seniors at the Cashmere meet as it conflicted with Senior Prom that night. The La Conner teams expect to be at full strength when they take part in the Western Washington University Viking High School Invitational Meet on April 24 and 25 at Civic Stadium in Bellingham.

The high school meet will be held in conjunction with Western’s Ralph Vernacchia Collegiate Invitational. Events get underway at 9 a.m. Friday.

Bill Reynolds is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.

Photo by Bill Reynolds / La Conner Community News