Nothing Hinders Henderson As EV Sweeps League Opener

Considering the weather, it was probably better to run three long races rather than stand around Thursday afternoon.

Yet the biting wind wasn’t what motivated Chris Henderson.

The East Valley senior coasted to easy wins in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and placed third in the 800 as the Knights swept their Frontier League-opening triple dual meets.

“It was definitely hard but it was what we needed as a team,” Henderson said just after finishing the 3,200 and just before volunteering to run a leg on the 1,600 relay. “We’re defending league champions; you do whatever it takes. We’re not going to come out my senior year and lose everything we gained last year. If it takes running three events, then I run three events. League is about wins, district is about times.”

EV beat Cheney 89-56 and Pullman 88-56 at Eastern Washington’s Woodward Stadium.

Henderson wasn’t sure if the Knights would need points from him in three events, but he certainly expects such as case next week when they take on rival West Valley.

“This was to learn about tripling,” he said. “Last year I learned to double. Next week is when it counts. Last year it was so surprising we won so easily. This year we’ll all be huddled around (the coaches) to see the points.”

Henderson is also trying to learn is how to turn it up for big meets such as Pasco last weekend and the Mooberry Relays at Rogers on Saturday, and running to win in league meets.

“I’m trying to learn when to push and when to relax,” he said. “In league it’s the timing of the push. In big meets it’s how long you can push.”

Star Olson wasn’t pushed in winning the high jump, long jump and triple jump to lead the EV girls to easy sweeps.

She conceded that getting the wins was a fair trade-off for not reaching her goals, particularly 35 feet in the triple jump.

“On days like these you don’t want to do anything,” he said after her jump of 34-6-3/4. “It’s hard to keep warm, especially when a lot of people are jumping. I guess you have to get past it. I think I do better in warm weather, but it seems like the weather is always bad for track so I should be used to it.”

There were other notable performances - despite the weather - including a 13-9 pole vault by Albert Ruperd of EV. As the bar was being raised to 14 feet, people swept the stands looking for EWU athletic director John Johnson, who holds the EV school record at 14-3.

Ricardo Colon, who ran a quick anchor to give Pullman a win in the 400 relay, also won the 200 and triple jump but was upset by an inch in his favorite event, the long jump. Colon scratched four times.

Chad Randall of Cheney, nursing a tight hamstring, won the 100 and 400 before calling it a day.

In the other league triple dual at WV, the Eagle boys and girls swept Clarkston and Riverside.

Greater Spokane League

The stage is set for the league races to be decided next week, when University and Ferris visit Mead. The boys are girls are 4-0 for all three schools.

At Shadle Park, U-Hi swept Shadle and Lewis and Clark. Mead’s wins came against Central Valley and Rogers at Rogers. Ferris topped North Central and Gonzaga Prep at NC.

The best numbers were produced by Mead athletes at Rogers. Senior sprinter Matt Sturm ran a 10.73 100 and teammate D.J. Miller went 45-1-1/4 in the triple jump. Jamie Wakefield upped her marks in the long jump and triple jump almost a foot, going 16-11-1/2 and 34-11, respectively.

Adrienne Wilson of U-Hi increased her GSL best in the triple jump to 36-4.

Lisa Bradley of Prep ran an area-best 15.7 in the 100 high hurdles.

Mead javelin throw Beau Chandler had a 185-6 throw and his counterpart at Ferris, Ryan Howe, went 184-7.

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