Ewu Hosts On The Right Track

The State A/B track meet at Eastern Washington University went so well, WIAA officials were bragging about it in Tacoma during Star Track XIV at Lincoln Bowl.

Mead athletic director John Miller ran the meet, and he couldn’t say enough nice things about how EWU officials prepared Woodward Stadium and helped put the meet on.

“EWU bent over backwards for us,” Miller said. “It was a first-class deal.”

WIAA executive director Mike Colbrese said the A/B people would like to return next year but the A/B Springfest is scheduled for Yakima. Spokane gets the AA Springfest as well as Star Track XV. However, the site for the track meet has not been determined. The choices are EWU and Spokane Falls Community College. AAA Springfest is in Tacoma.

“I don’t perceive any (changes) at this time,” Colbrese said. “I wouldn’t say the concrete has completely cured, but it is starting to set. I know the A/Bs want (track) back there. That’s how good it was.”

Planning ahead

The WIAA would like to see things run smoothly next year so most of its energy can be focused on the 1997-98 school year, when a fifth classification is added.

That could be the case after a couple of major changes were introduced during this school year. Football championship games were moved to Tacoma, the Arena in Spokane brought about a change in the State B basketball tournament and the renovation of KeyArena in Seattle provided what was like a new facility for State AAA basketball.

Spokane and the Arena received rave reviews. The most work must be done on working out the bugs in the Tacoma Dome for football.

Meanwhile, the three communities involved in Springfest, as well as two more interested communities, Tri-Cities and the Vancouver area, are meeting with the WIAA next month. No changes will be made until it is determined what to do with the fifth classification for spring sports.

“What we’ve got to do now is put together a classification transition team,” Colbrese said. “I’ve got to make sure we use this year as a year where we focus on where we are for 1997-98, so we’re totally ready for that year.”

Many school officials face a difficult year - they have to see what classification their enrollment count puts them in, and then see what that means for league affiliation. With the time it takes for making schedules, travel arrangement and other details, life is going to be hectic. Enrollment counts won’t be official until next January.

Panthers and Gorillas roar

Mead won the state-wide All-Sports trophy for the 10th consecutive year, but the Panthers have to share the spotlight with Davenport.

Ferris was hot on the Panthers’ heels for the AAA honor, sponsored by the Tacoma News-Tribune.

Mead had 245 points, scoring in six of seven spring sports. Ferris had 201 points.

Davenport scored 104 points to edge St. John-Endicott in the B race. Ritzville used championships in girls golf and track to vault to sixth with 82 points. Wilbur-Creston was seventh, and defending champion St. George’s ninth.

For the first time in recent history, an AA school outscored the bigger schools. Gig Harbor had 272 points, well ahead of West Valley-Yakima, which had 194. No Frontier League school made the top 10.

In Class A, Cascade-Leavenworth had 196 points, 46 ahead of Ridgefield. Chewelah was fourth with 127 points.

News and notes

The feeder games to determine players in the all-state baseball series are this weekend at Rogers. The A nominees play the B nominees at 4:30 Friday. On Saturday, AA plays B at 10, A plays AAA at 12:30 and AA plays AAA at 3.

Ferris is starting the process to find a girls basketball coach. Athletic director Ray Hare called the search a priority because summer summer tournaments and leagues are just a few weeks away.

Among the other known openings are boys basketball jobs at Eisenhower and Garfield.

Jack Cleveland, who coached University to third and fourth place finishes at state, and Ferris assistant Don VanLierop are among the names mentioned with the Eisenhower job.

JoJo Rodriguez, a Garfield alum, stepped down after five seasons at his alma mater despite a 104-30 record. The Bulldogs were 9-9 last season, their worst mark in at least 25 years, and failed to make the postseason for the first time since 1982. The other years Garfield was fourth, second, fourth and 0-2 in the State AA tournament.

Rodriguez was an assistant for Al Hariston for seven years. Hariston won state five times in 12 seasons.

Worth repeating

The numbers are final and we just wanted to share them with you one last time because it might be a while before they are duplicated - if ever.

Mead senior Allison Beatty has won so much we’re not sure we can remember all her accomplishments, but we’ll try.

Soccer: The Panthers went 61-0-3 in league and 74-3-3 overall in her four years. They won the state title when she was a sophomore and finished third last fall. The other two years they lost in the quarterfinals.

Basketball: The Panthers were 46-2 in GSL games and 78-10 in her three years, capped by a state championship. Their other two trophies were for fourth and fifth, their record at state 10-2.

Track: The Panthers went 24-0 in league duals, won every invitational meet they entered at least once, including Pasco twice, and finished sixth, third and first at state. Meanwhile, Beatty went second, first and first in the javelin.

That adds up to 10 league titles, three team state titles and two individual state titles.

Through all her accomplishments, Beatty remained humble, a committed team player and a leader. An honors student, Beatty accepted a track scholarship to Stanford.

That’s the perfect thought to take into the summer.

, DataTimes