Twins Double Efforts To Help Panthers Win

A year ago, twins Ryan and Chad Wiser were just beginning to understand distance running.

During last Saturday’s state meet, the Wisers were a big reason why Mead’s cross country team won a ninth straight championship.

Ryan surprised with a seventh place finish in the AAA meet. In so doing he upset teammates Jason Fayant and Morgan Thompson to be the first Panther placer.

“I always thought on a given day he could be in the top five, if not the top 10 like he was,” said coach Pat Tyson.

Chad was Mead’s No. 4 finisher, in 18th place.

Last year, Ryan ran as the team’s No. 6 varsity runner. His best race came at state when he placed 25th. His brother didn’t crack the varsity top seven for regionals or state.

“They are former soccer guys who grew into running,” said Tyson. “Ryan and Chad dedicated themselves in the winter.”

Mead scored 34 points during the meet, its third-lowest total ever. Still, there was understandable disappointment that the team didn’t score lower.

A year ago Fayant finished third and Thompson seventh at state. This year they were eighth and 17th.

“We still competed greatly as a team, we have to celebrate that,” said Tyson. “It may seem ho-hum to everybody else, but nine in a row is almost unbelievable.”

He speculated that may be why the Panthers didn’t run as well as they had hoped.

“It’s harder to win than lose because the pressure is on you,” said Tyson. Maybe the kids felt that Saturday. Instead of running free-spirited and fun-loving, they forced it.”

Tyson added that for whatever reason, all runners in the meet seemed to run flat.

Four other North Side seniors completed their careers with top-15 places.

Shadle Park’s Casey Perry was Spokane’s second highest placer, finishing sixth.

North Central runners Justin Hill and Jon Caballero placed 11th and 13th. Rogers’ Cameron Hatch placed 15th.

Panther girls come through

Led by third-place finisher Katie Pollock, Mead’s girls team came close to a state championship in cross country.

The Panthers, who qualified third in region a week earlier, finished just 26 points behind champion Snohomish.

In the process they finished three points ahead of Eisenhower and Lewis and Clark, teams that finished ahead of them in the regional.

Stone shows the way

Deer Park’s Jaime Stone, a four-year top 10 placer at state, has always saved her best for last.

In the State A-B cross country meet she placed third, the only area girl among the top 25.

Previous state meets included seventh, fourth and fifth place finishes.

In a preview of the future, Lakeside’s Mike Witt and Perry Welch finished 20th and 25th. They return along with the remainder of the state’s sixth-place finishing team.

We’re No. 1

Mead’s volleyball team is preparing for this weekend’s WIAA Dairy Farmers of Washington State AAA tournament.

Rogers is thinking about next year.

The Panthers went from Spokane’s No. 3 entrant to regional champions with three straight victories.

Included were three-game wins over GSL champion Ferris and Big Nine champion Davis.

Jessica Sanborn had 41 kills in the three matches. Megan Sturm led the team in assists.

Rogers lost in three games to Davis and Walla Walla. The Pirates, however, had only four seniors on the team, including kill leader Karly Nill and setter Jaime Christensen.

Rogers won more games this year than in the past 11 years combined.

“They learned a lot this season about the game, about themselves, about their potential,” said first-year coach Anna Vanderpool. “It will be fun next year but it won’t be easy. We’ll be one of the favored teams, not like the start of this year when we were underdogs.”

, DataTimes