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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Gsl Track

Defending champions: Mead boys and girls. The boys won their 13th straight title, running their dual-meet string to 117, en route to a state title. The girls won their second straight championship and finished sixth at state.

Top returning boys: Six state placers are back, including Mead senior Micah Davis, who was fourth in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200. Others returning are Panthers teammates Skiy DeTray, third in the 3,200, and Curtis Bergheim, sixth in the high jump; and Ferris’ Cam Copher and Zack Ventress, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 3,200.

Other boys returners: Of the 120 individuals to qualify for the first state-qualifying regional meet last year, 64 are back.

Top returning girls: The only returning GSL champion is Kristen Parrish of Ferris, who won the 800. University’s Katharine Hough placed twice, fifth in the 100 and sixth in the 200. Also back are Mead’s Allison Beatty, second in the javelin, Mead’s Autumn Wood, fifth in the 300 hurdles, and Mead’s Emily Thompson, eighth in the 3,200. Mead also returns three of four runners on the championship 1,600-relay team, and University returns all of its third-place 800 relay team.

Other girls returners: An amazing 82 of 112 regional qualifiers are back, including nine district champions.

Chasing Mead: Ferris could give the Panthers a run for the boys title, while University, Ferris and Central Valley pursue the Mead girls, whose depth is hard to match.

They’ll be missed: Central Valley junior Carrie Sanders, who once topped 130 feet in the javelin, has opted for softball. North Central junior Aimee Wilson, a regional high jump qualifier, is playing tennis.

At the top: Longtime Mead boys coach Gary Baskett is taking the year off to watch his son Jason, a track athlete at Washington State, compete during his senior season. Panthers distance guru Pat Tyson takes over. At Lewis and Clark, Mark Vandine is the boys and girls coach. Boys coach Dan Brown returned to Florida to be near family, and girls coach Lynda Rypien is working on her master’s. Dave Wolkenauer is the new girls coach at Rogers.

League season: It starts April 13 and runs four consecutive Thursdays.

Big days: The gigantic Pasco meet is April 15. A week later, it’s the Mooberry Relays at Rogers. Coeur d’Alene is April 29 and the Strandberg Invitational at Central Valley is May 6.

Postseason: The District 8 meet is at Spokane Falls on May 11-12 (Thursday and Friday). Regional is at SFCC on May 19-20. Star Track has been revived after a one-year absence, and the combined AAA/ AA meet is May 26-27 in Tacoma.