A Friendly Competition Best Friends Who Attend Different Schools Will Rack Up Points In State A/B Track Meet At Eastern

The Goodwill Games may have dropped off the international stage, but they haven’t disappeared.

Now they’re called the State A girls track meet, starring a pair of amazing juniors.

When the State A/B track meets begin Friday morning at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, the spotlight will focus on the A girls, thanks to Megan Franza and Jill Pimley.

Pimley, who has been a factor in the B meet since she won the long jump and triple jump as an eighth-grader at Klickitat, has moved to Goldendale. That puts her in the same spotlight as Franza, who scored a maximum 40 points for Cascade-Leavenworth last year.

They are scheduled to go head-to-head in the 300 hurdles, an event both won the past two years, and the long jump, which both won last year.

But instead of marking the beginning of a heated rivalry, the matchups are a reunion of two best friends.

“She’s my best friend,” Franza said. “It’s awesome because I get to see her more because she’s in A now. And it brings more competition. I hate so much to lose, but if I do have to lose, that’s who I want to beat me.”

In their one matchup this year, they split with Pimley winning the long jump.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Pimley said. “We’re going to push each other a lot. She’s fun to compete against. If I do lose to her, it won’t be embarrassing because she’s so good.”

A couple years ago Franza and Pimley joined the same BCI basketball team. Their first practice was closer to Leavenworth so after a track meet, Pimley went home with Franza, starting a friendship that was cemented when they spent a month together playing in basketball tournaments.

Though both also play volleyball and are stars in track and field, they would like to play basketball in college, ideally together.

But that is in the future, of immediate concern is this annual display of talents.

Franza’s favorite event is the high jump, “because I want to dunk in basketball. That’s my goal, so I try to jump high.”

She has dunked a tennis ball and high jumped a fraction of an inch above her 5-foot-10 frame, a state-best and among the top 10 in the nation.

“I love the 100 hurdles, they’re fun,” Franza said. “The 300 hurdles make you tired. I pretty much do them for team points. I long jump for team points, too.”

The Kodiaks won state Franza’s freshman year but lost to Kings of Seattle last year. Kings returns most of its championship team.

Pimley helped Klickitat finish fourth when she was in eighth grade and third the past two years.

“I’ve been doing the long jump for a long time, but I think the triple jump and javelin are fun,” Pimley said. “But the hurdles, nobody likes to run 300 meters. I do them because I used to do the 100-meter hurdles but I got whupped too bad.”

That hasn’t stopped Pimley from racking up points at a record pace. In three state meets she has scored 104 points, passing Ritzville standout Darci Wellsandt, who had 101 when she graduated in 1989. With two state meets to go, she is just 9-1/2 points behind the total ran up by Rachel Rieke of Cascade-Leavenworth from 1991-94.

Though Franza probably can’t catch up to Pimley in career points, she is one of six girls to score a perfect 40 in the state meet.

Franza is the State A record holder in the 300 hurdles (43.72 seconds). Pimley has the B record in the 300s (45.3) and triple jump (37-3/4). In summer heptathlons, Pimley has been runner-up to Franza two straight years.

Franza’s real love is basketball. Cascade was second in the state this year and Franza was the A player of the year. If she can work it into her schedule, she has been invited to play with the Spokane Stars during the national AAU tournament in Spokane this summer.

She may try to high jump in college but only if it doesn’t interfere with basketball.

“In a perfect situation, I want to stay on this side of the country so my parents can see me play,” she said. “My goal ever since I was little was to play at Stanford.”

Pimley doesn’t have a favorite sport but hopes to play basketball in college.

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