Always On The Move, This Time Pimley Would Like To Stay

“This is exactly what happened last year,” Pimley said. “We lost, then won, and then lost; but I’m really proud of how everyone played.”

Pimley’s career in athletics started early, and she was featured in Sports Illustrated when she was in seventh grade for setting a Junior Olympics national record for her age group in the pentathlon.

“I think it was broken last year,” she said.

Pimley represented Klickitat at state last year in basketball and track and was named B girls track athlete of the year, setting state records in the 300 hurdles and the triple jump.

“I started out in track when I was really little because my dad was a track athlete,” Pimley said, “and we always had the Junior Olympics in the summer.”

Pimley loves playing for the Vandals, but may be forced to move to Vancouver, Wash., because the mill where her father worked in Klickitat has shut down.

“We don’t know yet,” Pimley said. “My dad has a job in Portland now, but the mill is probably going to reopen, so he might get his job back there.”

Pimley and her family won’t know whether they’re moving until this summer, but are looking into a couple of A schools in the area just in case.

“I don’t want to move,” Pimley said. “I’ve lived here all my life.”

Her teammates don’t want her to move, either.

“A couple of them are taking it pretty hard,” Pimley said. “I’m going to miss them a lot, too.”

T-O equals Trophy Overflow

This year’s team from Tekoa-Oakesdale added to a long tradition after the Nighthawks’ win Thursday guaranteed them a trophy.

The Nighthawks had appeared in the state tournament eight times before, and took home a trophy in all eight appearances.

“I just think it’s tradition,” Nighthawks coach John Jaeger said. “Molly French was here today and her sister was up here when we won the state championship (in 1991).”

“I think that what happens is, that they see someone else do it and they say ‘I can do it.’ It’s not a cocky attitude; it’s just simply saying, ‘It’s possible; we can do it; let’s set our sights up here.”’

Moving up

Although Manson will not be playing in the championship game, the Trojans have already finished higher in the tournament than in their school’s history.

The Trojans were 0-4 in two past state appearances and won their first game in the tournament Wednesday against Darrington.

“Three years ago, when we took over this team, they were 0-41 going into the season and had not won in three years,” Trojans coach Kyle Plew said. “So to go from the worst in our league in districts, at 0-44, and to be here in the big show in the final four, the extreme is immense.”“Just to have a trophy, period; that’s something that’s never been done in our school,” Plew said. “Winning the first one felt good, but winning last night was ecstatic because we knew we were guaranteed a trophy.”

The following fields overflowed: SUPCAT = COLUMN - Notebook

Klickitat’s Jill Pimley stays busy when she’s not playing basketball by competing in track, volleyball and softball for her school. Pimley, a sophomore, averaged 23.7 points in her team’s three games at the girls State B basketball tournament before being eliminated by Mossyrock on Friday.