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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nea Girls Near Year’s First Meets Turnout Big At Lakeside, Deer Park, Riverside

Ward Sanderson Staff Writer

Northeast A League girls track teams will begin season competition next week.

Riverside, Deer Park and Lakeside High Schools all will lace up their spikes against NEA rivals next Thursday.

Here’s how the North Side squads look:

Riverside

Rams coach Cory NeVille said his team is big in number and has some outstanding individual talent, but he said overall placing will suffer.

Two of the team’s outstanding veteran girls - Jessica Hall and Catrena Denning - are out because of serious illness.

“I’ve got lots of young kids, so if we don’t have anything else smiling at us, it’s still the best numbers we’ve ever had,” NeVille said.

Senior scoring power lies in throwers Ramona Peterson, who has a shot at being the District 7 shot-put and discus champion; and April Kimber, who is specializing in the shotput.

“Throwing, I’ve got some of the best in the league,” NeVille said.

Juniors are Erin Nelson in the javelin and Melanie Erickson in the sprints, relay and long jump.

“She’s a good athlete with decent speed,” NeVille said of Erickson.

Leading the sophomores is Sadie Heilman, who has a shot at winning the hurdle events at the District 7 championships. Promising freshman are Abbie Wood in the jumps and Brooke Snyder in the throwing events.

The Rams start their season in a home meet against Kettle Falls and Colfax.

Deer Park

New head coach Cheryl Yoke said her biggest positive surprise is the size of her team.

“We’ve got 19 girls, and usually we’re down to 14, so I was happy about that,” she said. “We should be more competitive this year because we have more kids and shouldn’t have trouble filling in events.”

Seniors are Megan Holey, a returning thrower; Laura Lanegan, a hurdler who transferred from Newport; and Mindee Hubbard, a first-year trackster with promise in the long jump and sprints.

Juniors include Kellie Crary in the middle-distance and relay events and Patricia Murphy in the sprints.

Sophomores include Tara Rooney, a sprinter; Michelle and Nicole Gunning, both distance runners; Kara Palmer, throwing events; and Kristin Cole, distance.

Lisa Rooney is a freshman who shows promise in the distance events.

Deer Park will begin its season with an away meet at Medical Lake, where it also will compete against Freeman.

Lakeside

The Lakeside girls, who finished fifth in the NEA last year, are just about starting from scratch. But because of the large turnout, the green squad could move its league placing to somewhere in the middle of the pack.

“Our threats are Riverside and Chewelah, but our kids have big hearts,” Coach Jim Pettet said.

The lone veteran is sophomore Lindsey McElroy, competing in the distance events.

Freshmen with promise include hurdlers Brandi Smith and Katie Neuchterlein. Also joining is freshman Breanne Jolley in the sprint events.

Lakeside starts its season in a meet at Newport, where it also will face Chewelah.