Lc Girl Harriers Sweet On Running At State Meet
After their pledge to abstain from sugary foods expired following the Washington State Cross-Country Championships last weekend, the Tiger harriers finally got to dig into their Halloween candy.
They earned it.
This year was just the second time in the history of the school that an LC girls cross-country team had ever qualified for state.
Led by a fourth-place overall finish from Jamie Borgan (17:54), the LC team equaled its 1986 state performance, when the Tigers also finished fourth.
Now, four LC runners are preparing for the Footlocker Western Regional Cross Country championships on Dec. 7 in Fresno, Calif. Borgan, Mindi Noble, Emily Fuller and Jamie Rosenquist have all received the support of the Bloomsday Roadrunners Association - which includes reduced plane fares and cheap hotel rates - to run at the prestigious event.
Ferris volleyball survives scare
A lot of people must have thought the Saxons’ loss to Mead (15-1, 7-15, 15-9) in the regional tournament on Saturday morning was a result of overconfidence, said Coach Stacy Ward.
“I think it was just the opposite,” Ward said.
Ward said the Saxons’ shaky nerves came after a week when team members were hit with a respiratory bug - junior Missy Blackshire arrived at the court Friday at Central Valley and promptly vomited - as well as the lingering specter of the “Gonzaga Prep jinx.” Last year, Gonzaga Prep also had a 16-0 regular season record but failed to qualify for state.
After the loss to the Panthers, Ward said she was unsure how she should handle the situation.
“The kids were frustrated, kind of scared,” she said. “They could see their dreams fading.”
Ward took her team into the wrestling room at Central Valley. She placed a volleyball in front of them and told them “it represented all of their frustrations.”
For the next 15 minutes, the Saxon girls pounded, kicked and screamed at the ball. Then they started laughing.
In the next game, against Walla Walla, “we just came out like gangbusters,” Ward said. The session in the wrestling room had obviously done the trick.
“Missy Blackshire was pretty much unbelievable,” Ward said. Despite her illness, Blackshire had 13 kills against Walla Walla. Janelle Morrisette also had 23 assists in the game.
Service specialist Katie Lee also emerged as a clutch player. Coming into the Walla Walla match when the second game was tied 13-13, she served two times, including the match-winning ace that set up Ferris’ match against LC.
Then in the LC match, Lee came on again as a substitute when the game was deadlocked at 16.
“This time Katie didn’t have any aces, but she served it tough where the (LC) setter was on the run,” Ward said.
Saxons’ Smith OK
Concerns about the slight muscle strain Jennifer Smith suffered 2-1/2 weeks ago grew more serious after the favored Ferris runner placed 13th in the Washington State AAA Cross Country Championships last weekend in Pasco.
But Coach Wayne Gilman said Smith’s time, about 40 seconds slower than what coaches had projected she would run, was affected more by her altered training schedule, which physical therapists and coaches modified following the injury, than the hip-flexor injury itself.
She’s still planning to run in the Footlocker Western Regional Cross Country Championships in Fresno, Calif., on Dec. 7.
Two other Ferris runners did well at state.
Jill Johnson duplicated her time of 18:00 from a year ago at the state meet but moved up a spot to finish in seventh place. Twelfth-place Emily Hawkins’ time of 18:10 over the three-mile course was 16 seconds faster than she ran last year on the Sun Willows Golf Course.
Saxon soccer seniors will be missed
Even though his five seniors might not have seen a lot of playing time this season, Ferris soccer coach Robin Crain said losing those upperclass players is going to hurt in subtler ways than show up in the scorebook.
Crain said it was the seniors’ support from the bench and during practices that helped push the Saxons into the playoffs this year.
“The seniors led by example,” he said. “They didn’t have to talk the talk.”
Saturday’s 3-2 loss against Richland was the last match for Heather Lynn, a midfielder who had started until she injured her knee halfway through the season; Katie Kimeling, an enthusiastic defender and forward; striker Sarah Topping; defender and midfielder Katie Kusske; and goalkeeper Katie DuBois.
“It’s really tough not to play all the time, but they were really positive,” Crain said. “We’re going to miss that example they set and the willingness to make sacrifices on the part of the team.”
, DataTimes