A talented quartet
Every spring, it seems the fight for the top boys track team in the Great Northern League proves to be a hard-fought battle, and this year should be no exception.
The Medical Lake Cardinals are looking to challenge Pullman, Riverside and Colville for the top spot. To do so, they will rely heavily on the talents of seniors Darrel Stolworthy and David Jacob, junior Ty Souders and sophomore Josh Thompson.
Jacob is the most accomplished of the quartet, having placed at state his first three years, including a third-place finish in the 1600 meters last season. He will run the 800 meters as well as the 400-relay team this spring.
“His leadership qualities have grown because he’s depended upon by his teammates to pull everything through in the end,” said Cardinal coach Phil Tennison. “Last year, sometimes he’d run the 2-mile for us and step out and run a sub 60 in the 4 by 4. He’s more of an outward person now compared to when he first started. Before he was a quiet, I’m going to go work hard to get this recognition from everyone. This year, he’s more of a ‘I’m with you guys, let’s go get it done.’ “
“I’m not really focusing on doing real well to go to state, because the league is going to be a lot tougher,” Jacob said. “I’m mostly looking to get better times and do better than previous years.”
Souders will run the 100 and 400 meters as well as the 400 and 1600 relays.
“He’s always worked harder than the rest of the kids as far as improving on his own time,” Tennison said. “Other kids will be gone from practice, and he’ll come back down and run another three or four more 400s at full pace. He’s just one of those kids. He likes track and keeps plugging at it. He knows the more he practices, the better he gets. We hope he achieves a 50, that’s what he’s shooting for, to break 50 (seconds) in the 400.”
“I’ve just worked hard, got in the weight room and basically I want to run each race better,” Souders said. “I think I’m a little stronger because I’ve been training a little harder and I’ve been putting more time in the weight room. On the 4-by-100 team, we should go pretty far, but on the 4-by-400, I have really high expectations for us this year. I think we should go to state and place pretty high. I think we can (win state) if we work really hard.”
Thompson, who qualified for state as a freshman in the high jump last year, has added the javelin to his events this season.
“He’s looking for more things to do at track meets,” Tennison said. “He’s working with the 400 meter kids on the sprints and also looking to improve his javelin. You can see he looks within himself when he has to go higher. He just lays back, sucks it up and he goes and lays it all out when he gets up there.”
“Last summer I jumped 6-3 in a summer league, so I’m hoping to jump up to 6-4,” Thompson said. “Last year, I had trouble staying consistent. (This year) I’ve stayed consistent. I’ve jumped 6-1 in every meet. Last year, I didn’t jump 6-1 until the last half of the season. My legs are a little stronger. I’ve improved my curve and my speed.”
Perhaps the most driven Cardinal, though, is Stolworthy, who sat out most of his junior season last year because of injuries and grades. Stolworthy, whose older brother Curtis also ran at Medical Lake, will long-jump and run the 100, 200 and 400 meters as well as both relays.
“My junior year, I felt like I lost my passion for track. I really did,” Stolworthy said. “I felt like writing Justin Gaitlin, a professional runner, and ask him if he’s ever had hard times and lost the passion. I got the stomach flu my junior year and had two sprained ankles. My grades weren’t the best, so I kind of felt like I should drop it. I could have stayed in if I had just kept my grades up.”
Coach Tennison said of Stolworthy: “This year I think he knows he’s a senior. He’s knows this is it, there’s going to be no other years. When he gets on the track, he lays it all out.”