LC, Ferris cruise
The last time out, Joe Zimmerman had a state-best throw in the javelin and Katie Davis a Greater Spokane League-leading triple jump.
That kind of effort wasn’t necessary Thursday afternoon at Ferris, but their production was impressive.
Zimmerman had a one-throw mark of 167 feet, 4 inches in the javelin, almost 30 feet shy of what he did in last week’s league meet, and competed in the high jump, long jump and shot put as Lewis and Clark coasted to easy dual meet wins over Ferris and Rogers.
Davis won the triple jump at 34-9, almost 2 feet short of the school record she established Saturday, and placed second three times as Ferris beat LC and Rogers on the girls’ side.
“Even if I don’t have competition I want to PR for myself,” Davis, a senior, said. “I want to get the school record higher so it lasts longer.”
Davis went 36-53/4 at the Mooberry Relays on Saturday, almost 8 inches beyond the mark Heather Berna set last season. Davis was also second in the long jump, high jump and 100-meter hurdles.
Behind Davis and Kelly McNamee, who won both hurdles and the high jump, Ferris improved to 5-0 in the GSL.
“It keeps me busy,” Davis said of entering multiple events to help the team. “Weekends, invitationals, are when I get to work on the triple jump. These days are for the team.”
At the Pasco Invitational on Saturday Davis will concentrate on her specialty.
That’s what Zimmerman plans to do, when he should face a top-notch field.
After throwing the jav 195-6 in a league meet at SFCC there was no reason to uncork a throw on the Ferris grass runway.
“My steps were really off,” the junior said of the throw that left him less than 7 feet behind his PR from last season. “It went far, but it didn’t feel good at all. But just standing and throwing, my arm is way stronger this year. I feel like I can throw it a lot farther.”
That’s why he took it easy at Ferris, at least in the javelin.
“I’m trying to save it for Pasco,” he said.
The LC boys are now 6-0, heading into a showdown at Central Valley next week against the Bears and Mead, both 5-0, which is one of the reasons Zimmerman took on the extra work.
“I used to be good in the shot put,” he said. “I need to get it back up there for Mead and CV.”
In addition to working on the shot, Zimmerman won the high jump and placed third in the long jump, other places he may be able to pick up valuable points.
“It was hard. I had to sprint from one event to the other,” he said. Normally, I just do the javelin and high jump, but I’ve done them all before.”
Zach Robinson won the 100, 200 and triple jump for the Tigers and Alex Shaw won the shot put with a league-leading 53-1 and the discus.
Other GSL meets
At University, Mead swept the Titans as Wes Nolen and Mead’s Justin Graff, prepared for their shot at Zimmerman with throws of 189-0 and 187-0, respectively. Nolen was the state champion as a sophomore but missed all most all of last season with a shoulder injury. Graff is second in the state at 192-2. … At Gonzaga Prep, Mt. Spokane handed the CV girls their first loss as Chelsea Padrta swept the hurdles and Courtney Zalud won the 800 and 1,600. Prep’s Megan Lindsay won all three sprints. On the boys’ side, CV’s depth was too much. James Theodorson’s 200-400 was the only double for the Bears. Tony Hunter took both hurdles and the triple jump for Mt. Spokane, teammate Ian Schneidmiller had a solid double in the shot (50-8) and discus (152-2) and Jared Ryan doubled in the javelin and high jump for the Wildcats. … At East Valley, North Central’s boys and girls won their double duals with the Knights and Shadle Park. NC’s David Butler went 14.4 in the 110 hurdles, a state-best hand-held time and Alex Cassis ran a league-best 10.9 in the 100. EV’s state 400 leader Chase Parker pushed NC’s Leon Dean to a league-best 1:57.2 in the 800. On the girls’ side, EV’s Lori Bourgeous was a triple winner in the hurdles and 200 and Shadle Park had a pair of double winners but neither team could match the depth of NC, which only won the shot put (Tressae Herrara), discus (Katie Kerr), 100 (Jessica Lively) and 800 relay.
Great Northern League
Bri Almy and Melissa Mauro won three individual events apiece and hooked up with Lacey Nordby and Krystal Hughes to win the 1,600 relay as West Valley edged visiting Riverside 77-72. Almy won 100, 200 and long jump, Mauro both hurdles and the high jump. Eagles senior Ashley Kenney upped her state-leading mark in the discus to 143-4 and added 2 inches to her season best in the shot put, going 40-10. WV had no problems against the Rams on the boys’ side with sprinter Diondre Ross and distance runner Justin Degenhardt doubling up on the track, Cody Rollins doubling in the throws and Jordan Lufer taking the horizontal jumps. … At Pullman, the Greyhound boys and girls swept Deer Park and Medical Lake. Distance runner Cory Druffel, hurdler Niina Al-Hassan, thrower Anna Albrecht and high jumper-quarter miler Danielle Hodge all doubled for the Pullman girls. Sprinter Stephanie Ruygrok won a pair for the Stags. Double winners for the Pullman boys were sprinter A.J. Sanford, hurdler Cam Tuttle, thrower Sam Bloomfield and Lance Keithley in the pole vault and javelin.