Qualifiers Run Down A Dream Gsl, Big Nine Almost Equal In Athletes Advancing To State

Just when you think the track and field competition between the Greater Spokane League and the Big Nine Conference couldn’t get any closer, it did.

Somehow, state cross country champion Aleah Thome of Eisenhower and Ferris soccer player Mariah McConnaughey turned the 1,600-meter run at the Eastern AAA regional track meet on Saturday into a sprinter-style photo finish.

Thome, a junior, had the state’s best time coming in but had to run a personal record by a second to beat McConnaughey, a freshman who PR’d by 8 seconds, in a Kodak moment. Thome was timed in 5 minutes, 1.67 seconds, one one-hundredth of a second faster in an event where one second is considered a photo finish.

That was typical of the two-day state qualifying meet at Spokane Falls Community College, where championships and berths to state (the top three went) were determined by hundredths of seconds and fractions of inches.

The GSL benefited from pooling its one state allocation per event with the Big Nine’s two. GSL boys took 28 of 51 guaranteed spots to 23 for the Big Nine and won 11 of 17 events. Both had one fourth-place athlete reach the minimum state standard to advance. The Big Nine girls had a 29-22 advantage with 10 champions. Each league also had one additional qualifier.

The Big Nine has one allocation next year and the GSL two. Last year at the first regional, when both leagues had two allocations, the boys split evenly and the Big Nine girls had a slight edge.

GIRLS

“I knew what her time was coming in but seriously, I didn’t think she’d PR by that much,” Thome said of her duel with McConnaughey.

Thome tailed McConnaughey and Central Valley’s Sandra White through two laps but on the third lap, White and Thome surged ahead.

“That’s what my coach prepared me for,” Thome said. “What I wasn’t prepared for was the way she hung on at the end.”

On the back stretch of the final lap, Thome tried to make the same killer kick that won her the 3,200 Friday night but McConnaughey wouldn’t give up. Even White, who PR’d by 6 seconds, hung tough for third at 5:07.24.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it at the end,” said McConnaughey, who doesn’t run cross country because of soccer. “My legs felt like they were going to give out. I’m just happy with what I did. I hope I do this well at state.”

University’s Katherine Hough has a spectacular day, again. She combined with Lora Auch, Heather Silvey and Adrienne Wilson, who won the triple jump (36-10 1/4), for state bests in the 400 (48.86) and 800 (1:42.95) relays and she beat Fran Green of Kamiakin in the 100 (12.39) for the first time. Green rallied to win the 200 (25.58) to go with her Friday long jump title.

Mead junior Allison Beatty continued her steady climb in the javelin, throwing a nation-leading 151 feet, 11 inches.

“I really accelerated at the end,” she said. “All week in practice my approach was off, I was off balance. It was pretty much like that all year and I had to slow down at the end.”

Teammate Autumn Wood lowered her state best in the 300 low hurdles to 44.52 and then anchored the 1,600 relay team, which got a terrific third leg from Kim Stiles, to a state-leading 3:57.41.

Also going to state in two events are Fawn Gray of Rogers, Whitney Schmaljohn of CV and Sarah Hiss of Lewis and Clark.

Gray, a surprise third in the discus Friday, was third in the shot put.

Schmaljohn was second in the 400 and third in the 200. Hiss was in the long jump Friday, made the state standard, and came back for third in the triple jump, going 35-1 1/2 to edge Nkese Reed of Richland, who went 35-3/4.

Mary Ann Brinton, a sophomore from Wenatchee, was also a double winner, adding the 400 to Friday’s high jump.

BOYS

The boys meet ended like it began, with close finishes.

In the first event, the 110 high hurdles, Trend Ady of Pasco edged Dan Johnson of Richland 15.12 to 15.14 for first and Albert Mitchell of Ferris edged Ben Coraley of Kamiakin 15.31 to 15.35 for the final berth.

In the finale, the boys 1,600 relay, Ryan Strickland held off Chris Schafer of Eisenhower, the state leader in the 800, in a stirring stretch run to give Central Valley the win with a state-best 3:22.94.

“I knew if the team kept me close I could hold him off at the end,” Strickland said. “My team did an awesome job putting me in position.”

Strickland was third in the 400, behind Dana Harper of Ferris and teammate Andy Whipple, who ran the opening leg of the 1,600 relay. Running second in the relay was Mark Hann, who won the 300 hurdles, with Robby Warnock, who missed the 800 finals in a photo reversal Friday night, running third.

“We have six or seven guys who can run 52 (seconds), in practice we just run our guts out,” Whipple said.

Mead’s Micah Davis and Skiy De Tray and Zack Ventress of Ferris, who went 1-2-3 in the 3,200, did the same in the 1,600.

University’s Craig Allen defended his high jump title at 6-8, going an inch higher than last year. Anthony Gardner of Rogers, who made state in the triple jump, won the long jump at 45-6. Rick Giampietri of CV was second at 44-5 1/2, a PR by a foot and 2 feet further than his best this year.

Matt Sturm of Mead won the 200 (22.37), was second in the 100 and anchored the 400 relay team that tied the state best (42.5).

Mead’s Brian Buchanan added a second in the discus to his second in the shot put and teammate Cliff Poage was a surprising third in the discus, making up for a disappointing fourth in the shot put, his best event.

“It was kind of strange,” Poage said. “The event I’ve done for six years I didn’t qualify in and the event I’ve done for six weeks, I did.”