State track roundup: This Capital junior is a refugee from Congo. And now a state champ

Rachel Roberts
·9 min read

At 7 years old, Victor Byaundaombe came to Boise with his family from the Congo in central Africa.

He didn’t speak English, and track and field wasn’t a part of his vocabulary, either.

But the Capital High junior has now mastered both, winning the 5A boys triple jump with a leap of 47 feet, 11 3/4 inches at the state track and field championships Saturday at Mountain View High School.

“He’s an incredible competitor. He has a lot of passion for the sport,” Capital track coach Bryan Stith said. “He’s a great kid. He works really hard. ... He always wants to get better and is always driving to better himself. Who knows, he’s only a junior, we’ll see what the future holds.”

Stith knew Byaundaombe was a good athlete after watching him play football, where he was a 5A SIC Foothills Division first-teamer at cornerback.

Recruiting him for the track team was a no-brainer, but it’s surprising how far Byaundaombe has come in such a short time. This is only his second season in the sport. Impressively, he took second at state last year.

“Stith actually brought me into this,” Byaundaombe said. “We started off fighting and stuff, but I just came out and tried out. My first jump I jumped a 41 and I realized it just comes easy to me, so why not just keep on doing it? So I ended up just falling in love with this, and now I just work, work. I just want to be at the top, so I keep grinding.”

Hard work wasn’t the only thing pushing Byaundaombe this season. Fellow junior Jeremiah Wesseh wasn’t far behind Byaundaombe in the sport, with Wessah taking third on Saturday with a leap of 45-1.

“It’s great to have a teammate to push you,” Wessah said. “The things he does, I just try to follow through along with as well. It helps me see where I want to get and how to get better at it.”

Byaundaombe hopes to become the first member of his family to attend college, and when the time comes, it won’t be an easy decision regarding sports.

“My favorite sport is football, because it’s only my second season of track,” he said. “I’m still getting up there, but it’s going to be a tough decision senior year picking which one to pursue in college, but I am looking forward to it.”

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS (OR NOT)

▪ Columbia senior Ethan Hammer won the 4A boys pole vault by more than a foot. His vault of 15-7 also set a new class record, besting the previous record of 15-6 set by Emmett’s Landon Helms in 2019.

▪ Gatlin Bair kept up his torrid pace from Friday’s prelims, matching his record-setting 100 time in the 4A finals in 10.15. Although he didn’t better his record from the first day, Bair ate up the stagger in the opening 50 meters to win the 4A boys 200 in a dominant 20.56.

Gatlin Bair of Burley takes first place in the 4A boys 100 meters.
Gatlin Bair of Burley takes first place in the 4A boys 100 meters.

▪ A new classification record was set in the 4A girls 4x100 relay thanks to Skyview’s Makayla Naylor, Megan Cahoon, Melissa Eyer and Christine Huckins, who combined to win in 48.18. The previous record of 48.40 was set by Bishop Kelly in 2019.

▪ The wind robbed two 100-meter runners of a place in the record books. Rigby senior Abby Hancock ran an 11.82 in the 5A race, while Skyline senior Claire Petersen crossed in 11.81 in the 4A race. Petersen set the overall meet record in Friday’s prelims with a 12.01, which will stand.

Rakeem Johnson of Bishop Kelly competes in the 4A boys shot put at the state track and field championships Saturday at Mountain View High School. Johnson took third place.
Rakeem Johnson of Bishop Kelly competes in the 4A boys shot put at the state track and field championships Saturday at Mountain View High School. Johnson took third place.

Rocky, Boise, BK repeat as team winners

The team winners for the state track and field championships are starting to feel pretty easy to predict.

For the 11th time in the past 12 seasons, Rocky Mountain took home the boys first-place trophy with 109 points to second-place Boise’s 95.

As they are apt to do, the Grizzlies won with incredible depth, amassing 23 points in the boys 3,200 alone.

“I think we have some great athletes and also a great coaching staff,” Rocky Mountain senior Crew Kelson said. “They know how to train us the right way to perform when we need to.”

The Boise girls won the 5A title for the third year in a row with 135 points.

“I think our team bond is just awesome,” Boise junior Sophia Clark said. “Every practice we come ready to go and we’re always helping each other. We’re never in a bad mood. Every meet and every practice, we’re always pushing each other to do the best. We have a really good connection with each other.”

The Bishop Kelly boys added their sixth 4A championship in the last seven seasons, reaching deep into their lineup to amass 159 points, including using three alternates in the 4x100 relay.

“We had a few injuries happen this week,” Bishop Kelly’s Noah Bornes said. “Through that, we still have depth as a team where we can still be high-functional and actually participate and win a state championship, which is pretty impressive.”

The only newbie to this year’s winner’s circle was Skyline, which claimed the 4A girls championship with 85 points. It was the Grizzlies’ first title since winning back-to-back in 1992 and 1993.

TREASURE VALLEY WINNERS

▪ After finishing just out of the medals a year ago, Boise junior Alexandra Gustavel won the 5A girls high jump as the only athlete to clear 5-4.

▪ With a mark of 37-5 3/4, Timberline junior Ashlyn Sandow won the 5A girls triple jump by more than one foot over her nearest competitor. It was her second straight title in the event.

▪ Ridgevue junior Kaylee Wuest had the best toss in the 4A girls discus, winning with a throw of 120-6.

▪ Timberline’s Stella Hart, Lauren McCall, Elli Lewis and Kate Mace teamed up to win the 5A girls 4x200 relay in 1:41.68. McCall, a senior, later added her second straight state title in the 5A girls 300 hurdles in 44.23.

▪ The Kuna quartet of Luke Selto, Myles Johnson-Nicholson, Micah Teague and Jay Monroe ran to victory in the 5A boys 4x200 relay in 1:27.17.

▪ Brothers Trevor and Caden Warren teamed with Caleb Washington and Xavier Fraley to claim the title in the 4A boys 4x200 relay. Their winning time was 1:29.30. Ridgevue added to its relay prowess with a victory in the 4x100 (42.36) as well.

Bishop Kelly’s Cam Davis had a busy Saturday morning, winning both the 4A boys long jump and high jump. Davis cleared 6-4 in the high jump and posted a personal-best 23-3 in the long jump.

Bishop Kelly’s Cam Davis competes in the 4A boys long jump. Davis took first place with a jump of 23 feet, 3 inches.
Bishop Kelly’s Cam Davis competes in the 4A boys long jump. Davis took first place with a jump of 23 feet, 3 inches.

▪ After finishing as the runner-up two years in a row, Boise junior Allie Bruce broke through for a victory in the 5A girls 1,600, crossing the line in 4:55.87. It was Bruce’s second gold medal of the meet, as she also ran a leg on the Brave’s winning 4x800 relay.

▪ BYU commit Tyler Sainsbury, of Rocky Mountain, held off teammate Landon Heemeyer for a victory in the 5A boys 1,600. Sainsbury won in 4:09.37, but that’s not his best time of the season. He ran a 4:04.91 in April, which ranks among the Top 10 in the nation this season. Sainsbury kept up his winning ways in the 800, running a personal-best 1:52.82.

Tyler Sainsbury of Rocky Mountain crosses the finish line first in the 5A boys 800 meters.
Tyler Sainsbury of Rocky Mountain crosses the finish line first in the 5A boys 800 meters.

▪ Ridgevue senior Augustas Haynes ran a season-best 14.37 to win the 4A boys 110 hurdles. He then ran another personal best in winning the 300 hurdles (38.18).

▪ Boise junior Sophia Clark turned on the jets over the final 100 meters to overtake Rocky Mountain’s Ciara Brown for the win in the 5A girls 400 in personal-best 56.69. “This year, I knew I could win and I wanted to win and I wanted it really bad. And I got it,” Clark said.

▪ Adeline Wimer went out a winner as a senior at Columbia, claiming victory in the 4A girls 400 by more than 10 meters with her time of 56.67.

▪ Vallivue sophomore David Gummersall saved his best race for last. Gummersall ran a personal-best 48.95 to win the 4A boys 400.

David Gummersall of Vallivue takes first place in the 4A boys 400 meters at the state track and field championships Saturday at Mountain View High School.
David Gummersall of Vallivue takes first place in the 4A boys 400 meters at the state track and field championships Saturday at Mountain View High School.

▪ In a race where the top three placers were separated by just hundredths of a second, Centennial junior Kolton Osborn (10.73) edged teammate Jacob Webster (10.76) for the victory in the 5A boys 100. Osborn and Webster then teamed with Thomas Clark and Jacob Carney to win the 5A boys 4x100 relay (41.88). Webster finished the day with a victory in the 5A boys 200 (21.67).

▪ In a three-way race between teammates, reigning District Three champion Lydia Nance (2:15.22) outleaned fellow Boise runners Sammy Smith (2:15.27) and Allie Bruce (2:15.34) for the win in the 5A girls 800. “They battle in practice and they’re the best of friends,” Olswanger said. “We were joking around, they’re gonna fight each other out here on the track and then they’re gonna turn around and hug each other and be excited for each other.”

Boise runners Sammy Smith, left, Allie Bruce, center, and Lydia Nance, right, make a tight race to the finish line of the 5A girls 800 meters. Nance took first place, Smith took second, and Bruce took third.
Boise runners Sammy Smith, left, Allie Bruce, center, and Lydia Nance, right, make a tight race to the finish line of the 5A girls 800 meters. Nance took first place, Smith took second, and Bruce took third.

▪ After a second-place finish in the 110 hurdles, Rocky Mountain senior Crew Kelson held off the field in the 5A boys 300 hurdles with his time of 38.10. “I just wanted to leave it all on the track and not have any regrets for the end of my senior season,” Kelson said. “It felt great. It was almost a full second PR and it was the best race of my high school career.”

▪ Boise’s Joe Kreizenbeck, Cooper Smith, Kaden Helder and Noe Kemper closed out the 2023 state meet with a victory in the 5A boys 4x400 relay (3:21.23).

▪ Bishop Kelly put the cherry on top of its boys team title as Saul Lorenzana, Noah Bornes, Sebastian Kou and Kevin Corrigan combined to win the 4A boys 4x400 relay in 3:22.09.