Panther Boys Repeat; U-Hi, Mead Girls 2-3

Micah Davis and Skiy DeTray ran until it hurt, but at the end they were feeling no pain as the Mead stars cracked the 9-minute barrier in a stirring, photo-finish 3,200-meter run Saturday night, highlighting another terrific day for Greater Spokane League athletes at Star Track XIII.

Davis nipped DeTray, 8:58.34 to 8:58.35, reversing their 1,600 finish of a night earlier, and powering the Panthers to their second straight team title.

Just as impressive was the final 300 meters Ferris freshman Mariah McConnaughey ran in holding off state leader Aleah Thome of Eisenhower to win the 1,600.

And, the GSL, which hasn’t had a girls team trophy since University finished third in 1991, got two as the Titans, second in the league and every invitational they entered this year, finished second, one point in front of Mead.

In all, the State AAA championships, played out in perfect conditions, were an impressive show as Richland finished second behind the Mead boys, 60-46, and Kamiakin was fourth in the girls race, won by River Ridge. The Hawks rolled up 76 points to 38 for U-Hi, 37 for Mead and 32 for Kamiakin’s two-girl team.

Boys

The crowd shrieked as Davis and DeTray hit the finish line and gasped later when their times were announced. Copies of the photo finish became cherished souvenirs.

“We wanted to come through (the first 1,600) in 4:30 and it was 4:28,” Davis said. “After the first mile, I didn’t pay attention, I just tried to pick it up. If you listen to the times too much, you can lose focus. Just run until it hurts.”

Davis, DeTray and Richland’s John Hedengren broke away on the second lap with Davis and DeTray swapping leads to break the breeze on the homestretch. On the first corner of the final lap, DeTray took off and Hedengren went with him. Davis caught Hedengren, who finished in 9:00.61, on the last corner and DeTray at the line.

“When they went around me … I just kept my head up and my arms moving. I still felt fresh,” said Davis, state cross country champion, confident he had one last surge in him. “It was really important to me. Last year I felt like I had a good shot in both and I came up short. All year I was gunning for one of these. Skiy won the mile, I was happy for him. It’s a good feeling.”

Ferris senior Zack Ventress, ex pected to be right with the other three, was scratched from the race with a flu that prompted an early morning visit to the hospital.

Sophomore Beau Chandler, in his first year of track, contributed five points with a fourth-place finish in the javelin, throwing more than 187 feet, marking the fifth straight meet he established a personal record.

Junior Matt Sturm was sixth in the 200 and senior Brian Buchanan added a seventh place in the shot put for the Panthers.

Pat Tyson, whose cross country team has a string of seven straight state titles, added a track title in his first year as head coach.

“I think there’s more pressure in the sense there’s so many events,” Tyson said. “It’s like a circus. Fortunately, we have great coaches to cover them. I’m ecstatic. This is my alma mater. It’s great to come win in Lincoln Bowl.”

Regional champion Mark Hann, a Central Valley senior, was a disappointing fifth in the 300 hurdles, running 1 1/2 seconds off his best time.

Teammate Ryan Strickland was eighth in the 400. Then, the third- place CV 1,600 relay team was disqualified.

Anthony Gardner of Rogers was eighth in the triple jump and Dana Harper of Ferris was sixth in the 400.

Girls

There were lots of tears as the track meet ended with University finishing second in the 800 relay and Mead second in the 1,600. But the state leaders weren’t crying because they were beaten state leaders.

“It’s been an awesome four years,” said U-Hi senior Katherine Hough, who finished fourth in the 200. “That’s why we were crying at the end. Everybody thought we were crying because we got second. Lora (Auch) and I are gone.”

Hough, Auch, junior Adrienne Wilson, who was fourth in the triple jump, and junior Heather Silvey, run the 400 relay, in which they capped an undefeated season Friday.

“I’m real proud of them, obviously,” Titans coach Steve Llewellyn said of his four-girl team. “They ran a lot of races and made a lot of jumps in two days.”

For Mead, it was three seniors on the 1,600 relay team - Megan Troy, Stacy Haney and Kim Stiles - plus junior Autumn Wood, who was second in the 300 hurdles, who provided the points Saturday.

“The Mead girls have never placed before - we made history,” Panthers coach Annette Pedersen said.

Individually, the night belonged to McConnaughey, who brought the crowd to its feet for the final 300 meters as her final 71-second lap was her fastest in the 5:04.28 race.

“I was really nervous, but I knew I could do it,” McConnaughey said. “I usually don’t start (to kick until the final turn), but I had to or I knew she’d get too far ahead.”

She kept digging in harder and harder, keeping the inside on the last turn and pulling away down the homestretch.

Lewis and Clark’s Sarah Hiss placed eighth in the triple jump after an eighth in the long jump. Teammate Rebekah Paulk was fourth in the 300 hurdles. CV’s Whitney Schmaljohn was third in the 400 and sixth in the 200.