Priest River Star Can’t Quite Keep Up With Rush Of Events

Small-school track

Missy Ennis didn’t have enough time for the disappointment to fully set in.

After receiving a third-place medal in the high jump - the event she was favored to win - the Priest River High senior had to run off for her third sprint preliminary.

Therein was her problem: When you try to do everything, it’s often difficult to give your best in your best event.

Ennis had to leave the high jump for her 400 heat in the hottest time of the day on the Boise State University track, with temperatures pushing 100 degrees.

She qualified for the 400 finals today, but collapsed at the finish line. Officials had to cool her down with a wet towel.

Across the stadium about 100 yards away, high-jump officials were beckoning Ennis.

She had 10 minutes before taking her first attempt at 5-0. Then she had 90 seconds between jumps.

Ennis missed on three straight attempts at 5-0, a height she normally has no problem clearing.

She took second last year on a technicality despite matching the winning height. Officials placed her second because she entered at an earlier height than the winner.

“It was too hot, too many races,” said a dejected Ennis, who tied for the bronze with Kellogg’s Wendy Vork. “It ticks me off. It’s my senior year. They started the high jump 45 minutes late, too. If they’d started on time I’d been done jumping before the 400.”

Ennis ended her day on a bad note when she didn’t make the finals in the 200.

Some other local athletes didn’t fare much better.

Lakeland senior Amber Jamison, the defending state champion in the triple jump, didn’t make it out of her flight. She made one jump and scratched on two others. She also missed the finals in the long jump.

Lakeland sophomore Levi Cushman took second in the discus. His first throw in the finals soared him into first at 146-11-3/4. He dropped to second when Salmon’s Sony Galvan threw 152-6 on his final throw.

In A-4 field events, Lakeside’s Brendon Nelson collected two medals but they weren’t the colors he wanted. Nelson, a senior, placed second in the long jump (20-11) and third in the triple jump (42-3/4), where he was seeded first.

He placed third in both events last year.

Kootenai’s weight specialists, Danyel Hunter and Jamie Bornitz, also won medals.

Hunter took second in the discus and fourth in the shot put. Bornitz was sixth in the shot.

Their marks weren’t available because of computer problems. Their teammate, standout Annie Goodson, will be out to defend her title in the high jump today.

, DataTimes