Healthy Howard prevails
It was a beautiful day, a perfect day for second chances and last chances, and Greater Spokane League track and field athletes took advantage.
David Howard, plagued all season with poor health, won the shot put and the Cheney boys 400-meter relay team, disqualified last week at the District 8 track meet, won handily to highlight the first day of the Eastern 3A Regional meet at University on Friday.
“It took me all season but I came back,” Howard, an East Valley senior, said. “It was really frustrating because this was going to be a big season for me and it wasn’t. Now it is. It counts in May.”
Howard, who threw 52 feet, 9 inches last year, opened the season with a throw of 51-4 but in the rain and cold the next week caught pneumonia. He was never the same and it didn’t help that he injured a finger on his throwing hand along the way.
Then he popped a 53-6 on his first throw Friday.
“I wasn’t too worried getting out of districts (when five advance) but getting to state was a concern,” he said. “I knew I was throwing well in warm-ups but I didn’t know what to expect.”
That’s because four GSL throwers had reached 50 feet this season, as had one from the Mid-Valley League, and only two advance to state next weekend in Pasco.
“I was feeling really good coming into the season,” Howard said. “What I was hoping was 55. Realistically I think I could have got that and now I still can.”
Cheney’s relay team got into the regional despite the district mishap because only three of the five GSL 3A schools entered 400 relay teams and three advanced to regional. They took advantage of that second chance to win in 43.46-seconds, easily a season best.
“It made us all thankful we got a second chance and we gave it all we had,” junior anchor Josh Black said.
The Blackhawks started the year with great potential, but star senior Brett Igbinoba pulled a hamstring in mid-April and never recovered. With Igbinoba out, Black stepped in with Jon Schaffer, Nick Gaddy and Tyreil Poosri.
The other GSL winner on the boys side was West Valley long jumper Rashad Toussaint, who went 21-2 1/2 .
East Valley got an extra qualifier when Cody Irbe, who was third in the javelin, surpassed the state-qualifying standard of 176-0 with a toss of 178-6. Teammate Chris Shearer was second at 179-8 behind state leader Tyler Cathey of Hanford, who went 193-5.
“I’m happy we’re going to state,” Shearer said. “My goal coming in was to throw over 190 because I’ve been throwing real well in practice.”
GSL girls only won one event and that was a sweep with North Central sophomore Mary Graesser and West Valley junior Larsen Agee going 1-2 in the 3,200 meters.
Graesser, running just her third 3,200, won in 11:33.59, 2 seconds short of her personal record but well less than the 12:07 she had last week in finishing third at districts when she competed with a bothersome sideache.
Graesser, who also runs the mile and the 1,600 relay, usually ran the 800 in league meets because the 3,200 and relay are too close together. At two-day meets she doesn’t have that conflict.
“I don’t really like (the 3,200) but I’m pretty good, I guess,” she said. “It’s really long and far.”
Agee was less than 3 seconds behind Graesser but it was more than a 20-second PR.
The meet resumes today with field events at 10:30 a.m. (the wheelchair shot put is at 9 a.m.) and running events at 11.