BOISE — Four years ago, there were no Blackfoot representatives at the 4A state track meet.

Saturday, three Broncos won state championships and the Blackfoot girls took third place overall as a team.

Matt Peterson and Rachel Cannon, two seniors who were Blackfoot’s lone state qualifiers two years ago, both claimed a pair of championships. Peterson won the long jump and the 300-meter hurdles, and Cannon defended her 3,200 title and took the 1,600 crown.

Sophomore Michelle Pratt won the 800. She was a member of Blackfoot’s 800-meter medley relay team that won state Friday and finished second to Cannon in the 1,600.

But the event that earned Blackfoot a trophy wasn’t one that ended with the Broncos in first.

With one race remaining, the Blackfoot girls trailed Moscow for third by a half of a point. Both teams were competing in the 4x400 relay, meaning whoever finished higher in the event would claim third place.

The four relay members had no idea.

“I didn’t tell them how close it was,” said coach Heidi Graham.

Down the final stretch, Cannon and Moscow’s anchor were in a dead heat for second. The Bronco senior, clad in neon-green, knee-high socks, edged Moscow by 18 one-hundredths of a second.

Whether she knew it or not, Cannon had just put one final stamp on her legacy. The third-place trophy, Graham believes, is Blackfoot’s first team track and field trophy since 2000.

“Two years ago we were a struggling program,” Peterson said after winning the 300 hurdles. “It’s good to see it get better.”

Peterson finally clutched the state gold that eluded him. The Idaho State-bound wide receiver finished second in the hurdles and third in the long jump at state a year ago.

He was in fifth place before his final jump but secured the title with a leap of 21 feet, 0.25 inches.

Immediately after, he left the pit to join his 4x200 relay team.

It was only after his father yelled to him from the stands that he knew he’d won a state championship.

“It felt good, but I wasn’t sure if it was far enough,” Peterson said of his last jump.

Blackfoot’s 4x200 boys team finished in sixth, freshman Audri Jones took seventh in the 400 and freshman Derek Thomas finished sixth in the 800 and fifth in the 1,600.

Other southeast Idaho results from day two

Highland’s Emily Frasure took fourth in the discus, Devin Grady placed third in high jump, Vincent Kelemete finished eighth in the boys discus, the 4x100 girls team took seventh and the 4x400 girls relay finished eighth.

Pocatello’s girls took seventh in the team standings. Carly Parker finished sixth in the long jump and seventh in the 300 hurdles. Rachel McGovern finished seventh in the 1,600 and Molly Vitale-Sullivan placed fourth. Vitale-Sullivan also finished sixth in the 800.

The Poky boys finished sixth with 45 points. The 4x200 relay team finished fifth and the 4x400 unit took third.

Century’s boys finished 12th. Braden Nez took eighth in the 110 hurdles and the 4x200 relay team was third overall.

The Diamondback girls finished in 16th, led on day two by Alysa Spillett’s fourth-place finish in the 400 and Kaya Evans’ sixth-place result in the 200. The 4x100 team took third.

Preston had three multi-event placers Saturday.

Bailey Roberts was seventh in the girls pole vault and sixth in the 100 hurdles, Kelly Short finished fifth in the boys 100-meter dash and eighth in the 200 and Tyler Wakley claimed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles. The Preston boys finished ninth overall and the girls were sixth.