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

Post Falls Makes It A Sweep

A-1 Track

Post Falls coach Wade Quesnell was describing Shannon Siverson, but he just as easily could have been discussing his boys and girls track teams.

“She just has a knack for winning,” Quesnell said.

The Trojans continued to show a knack for winning regional meets as they swamped the girls competition and stunned Lewiston’s boys on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

With Siverson posting three firsts, the Trojans piled up 103.5 points to outdistance Lake City’s 78.5. It was PF’s fifth straight A-1 Region I title.

PF’s boys won its second consecutive title, using a string of upsets to top Lewiston 110-106.

Among the upsets:

Austin Lee winning the discus. His throw of 149 feet, 8 inches, was his best this season by 7 feet. Lewiston’s Brad Rice, meanwhile, threw 13 feet below his top previous mark and was third at 141-1.

Keith Shepherd sprinting to second in the 200 to break Lewiston’s hold on the sprints. And, PF’s Shaun Michaels strided into a tie for third place.

Vince Agte, who admits he’s not even the top 300-meter hurdler on his team, leading a 1-2 Trojans finish.

“I’m extremely surprised,” said Agte, a rail-thin 6-foot-4 sophomore. “The Lewiston guy (Mickey Hewitt) had the best time (coming in). Everybody seemed to stutter at the end.”

Particularly Hewitt, who hit the last hurdle.

“Things didn’t turn out the way we thought they would,” said Lewiston coach Wade Hillman, whose team crushed Post Falls 104-43 in an April dual.

Lewiston’s Josh Raymond, who has an over-drive gear unmatched in North Idaho, supplied wins in the 100 and 200 and a swift anchor leg on the winning 400 relay team.

Elsewhere, Coeur d’Alene’s Chris Cole dominated friend and training partner Bryce Knight in the 1,600. Cole won by roughly 80 meters over Lake City’s Knight, whose normally fluid stride was replaced by a pained shuffle and gritted teeth.

“His hamstrings were bothering him,” said Cole, who also enjoyed an advantage of fresh legs. Knight ran in three events on Saturday to Cole’s one.

“I wanted to drop the hammer and stay away from his sprint power,” said Cole, who did just that.

Earlier, Knight won the 800.

Sandpoint’s Matt Fuhriman took first in the triple jump (41-3-1/4) and teammate Justin Boeck PR’d by more than 20 feet in the discus (148-8) to finish second.

Siverson, who won Friday’s long jump, began Saturday ominously, scratching in the triple jump. Her second attempt left her in third place before she uncorked her winning effort of 34-0-3/4.

Soon after, she won the 100 hurdles in 15.8, her first sub-16-second time of the season, knocking off the favorite, Lewiston’s Lorien Albright.

“I three-stepped the whole way,” said Siverson, referring to taking three steps between hurdles.

CdA’s Brenda Nipp timed a 59.5 to tie the meet record in the 400.

“I would have never thought I could do that last year,” said Nipp, who hugged nearly everybody in sight after learning of her time. She also won the 200 in 26.7.

Vikings teammate Eva Unruh lopped 14 seconds off her PR in the 1,600, running down Sandpoint’s Tarrah Allamaras in the closing stretch.

“Eva’s been battling a cold for a month,” CdA coach Bryan Duncan said. “She doesn’t even know what she’s capable of.”

Lake City’s teams posted few first places, but its depth paid off. The girls’ 1,600 relay trimmed nearly 4 seconds off its previous best and won in 4:16.5. Ivory Carr was LC’s lone individual girls’ winner, taking the shot (33-3-1/4) by a half-inch over Lewiston’s Mariah Sueuga.

Sandpoint had its share of stars. Keiki Lovell (12.6) edged CdA’s Nipp (12.7) in the 100; Saskia Neher dropped her 800 time from 2:30 to 2:24.3; and Meghan Collins upset Lewiston’s Albright in the intermediate hurdles.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos