The Cedar Rapids Washington girls basketball team lost a tough game to Iowa City West in the quarterfinals of the state tournament on Wednesday, March 2, in Des Moines.

The next day, Layloni Beard and Brooke Foreman reported for track practice. Alyssa Oney waited a few days, but she quickly made the transition as well.

"I think getting right into track gives you something else to look forward to," said Oney. "We can all burn out our anger or disappointment that we had."

The Warriors will not easily forget their 67-58 loss to Iowa City West, considering they had a six-point lead after three quarters. But Beard, Foreman and Oney felt good about what happened at the Mississippi Valley Conference indoor track meet March 15 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

The three Washington basketball players joined freshman Elena Burke to capture the shuttle hurdle relay in 40.71 seconds, nipping Iowa City West by eight-hundredths of a second.

"It was good," said Beard. "All of us ran well."

There were more good things to come for the Warriors.

Beard returned to the same stretch of track later in the day and captured the 60-meter hurdles in 9.35 seconds, nipping Foreman by six-hundredths of a second as the Warriors finished 1-2.

Taylor Vogel won two sprint events for Washington at the MVC indoor meet. She claimed the 400-meter dash in 1:00.84, beating Lori Lines of Iowa City High by a whopping four seconds, and captured the 200-meter dash in 27.30 seconds for a tight win over Aariona Craig-Dothard of Kennedy (27.32).

Eveline Niyokwizigigwa captured the 3000-meter run for the Warriors in 11:14.08, beating teammate Kristin Rogers by three seconds in another 1-2 showing for Washington.

Beard went home with two victories March 15, but claimed she was not in top form at the time. "I'm kind of two weeks behind, so I have to work a little harder," said Beard, a key reserve for the basketball team. "I'm kind of pushing  myself."

Beard said jumping from basketball to track without taking a day off is nothing new for her. "I do it every year," she said. "I just go from one sport to the next."

Foreman takes the same approach. As soon as basketball ends, she's ready for track, with no time in between.

"I did the same thing, because I didn't play as much (basketball) and track is my main sport. I didn't really want to take a break," she remarked.

Foreman placed in four events at the 2010 state track meet, helping the Warriors finish 10th in the team standings. She placed fourth in the 4x400 relay, fourth in the shuttle hurdle relay, fifth in the 400 hurdles and seventh in the 100.

"It was a great season," she said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Foreman is asking for more this year, though. "I definitely want to be No. 1 or 2 in the 400 hurdles," she said.

Foreman stands only 5-foot-3, but sails over those hurdles with grace and speed. "I don't think it really matters about height, as long you're strong enough to get over (the hurdles) and you're fast enough. It's all about form," she said.

Callie Stone of Washington placed second in the long jump at 15-7 1/4 at the MVC indoor meet.