Henderson blisters field in discus

Robert Henderson won the discus by a mile – well, 10 feet – Monday at the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College track and field championships, and headed off to call his high school coach. Just to get some static about it. See, back at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Henderson hated the discus. “Some people call me a sissy,” said the Community Colleges of Spokane freshman, “but that little blister you get (on your finger) where you release the discus? It really hurts. So just before our league championship in high school I volunteered to scratch out so another guy on our team could have a chance to throw. But my coach didn’t – and I won the league. Then state came and I threw another big PR and he said, ‘You ever going to tell me to scratch you out again?’ “And he’s going to give it to me again now.” Henderson’s winning throw of 147 feet, 8 inches was a significant chunk of the bonanza of throwing points the Sasquatch men and women used to fashion first-day leads at Spokane Falls in a quest for a seventh straight sweep of the team titles – and the last two for retiring coach Larry Beatty. Henderson was also part of a 2-7 finish in the hammer, the two throwing events producing 51 of the Sasquatch men’s 113 total for a 60-point lead over Lane. On the women’s side, Brooke Randall won the javelin – at 152-1, the fifth best junior college throw in the nation – and Krystall Fowler the shot put as CCS built an 89-70 edge over Clackamas heading into today’s 10 a.m. final session. The point standings restored some normalcy to a day that began in turmoil. In the men’s 10,000 meters, pre-race favorites Anthony Brown of CCS and Bryton Reim of Everett engaged in some feisty mid-race jostling before Reim shoved Brown, the defending champ, to the infield. Before any post-race disqualifications or protests could be adjudicated, both runners dropped out – apparently at the trackside urgings of Everett coach Matt Koenigs, who was later admonished by the NWAACC for interference in the completion of the race. That left Olympic’s Jeremy Delicino to hold off a late charge by CCS’ Joey Hartmeier to win the Rangers’ first NWAACC track title in 31 years – the school having reinstated the sport this year after dropping it in 1981. As for the day’s most impressive performer, it wasn’t a contest. Keisa Monterola of Clackamas broke her Venezuelan record in the women’s pole vault with a 14-21/2 clearance, and later doubled back to win the long jump at 18-1/2 – duplicated the titles she won here in 2009 before redshirting last season. Her only regret? She missed the NWAACC, meet, stadium and school record of 14-4 set a decade ago by Becky Holliday, who went on to win an NCAA title at Oregon – though Monterola had a narrow miss at 14-6. “I can make it – I can’t wait to compete again,” she said. “But that was my last chance to break those records – every record.” Actually, she’ll get other chances at the stadium mark. Monterola has signed to compete next year at Eastern Washington.