Mcconnaughey Bears Burden
When Miriah McConnaughey was a freshman she won the 1,600 meters at the State AAA girls track meet with one of the gutsiest fourth laps you could imagine.
Now a junior, McConnaughey, also a soccer standout at Ferris, is facing another major test - running without wilting while her mother, Jean, battles acute leukemia.
“I think about it but I’m trying not to let it affect me too much,” McConnaughey said. “I feel that my mom’s thinking about me when I’m running and she wishes she was there. I guess, in a way, she’s there.”
Last Saturday, the Big Red Invitational track meet at Ferris was dedicated to Mrs. McConnaughey.
“Mr. (Jim) Missel (the coach) is great like that. I knew he wanted to help somehow. He thought that was a pretty good idea and it was,” Miriah said.
The illness struck swiftly and was diagnosed even quicker. With Mrs. McConnaughey feeling unwell at the State AAA basketball tournament last month, the family returned home early. She went to the hospital on Sunday. Blood tests were taken, and by that night, she was admitted.
“I don’t really know that much about it but I guess it’s one of the worst kinds,” Miriah said. “If there are any good kinds, it’s one of the not-good ones.”
Mrs. McConnaughey has three siblings in California and is waiting for the results of bone marrow tests.
Miriah will keep running.
“She told me not to let this get me down, so I don’t think she’d like (not running) at all. In a way, I think it’s good to not have to think about it that much,” Miriah said.
“I’m doing all right. Everyone is being really supportive. My little brother (Cory) is 7, everyone’s offering to watch him, babysit. I’m OK.”
Fast track
JaWarren Hooker, who won the triple crown at the State AA track meet last spring, started the season with a bang.
The Ellensburg senior, who has accepted a football scholarship to the University of Washington, ran the 100 meters in 10.4 seconds in his first meet.
The hand-held time translates to 10.64 electronic. Hooker’s best is 10.57 and the state record is 10.54.
The Mead boys, going for 150 straight dual meet wins before the season ends and the school divides, face good competition this weekend in Hanford, Richland and Davis.
If the Panthers reach their goal, their record for the school’s entire history will be 188-2 with a 15-year undefeated streak.
Lynnwood boys just had a dual streak of 56 snapped last week when Lake Stevens won 97-47.
West Valley’s Vinny Pecht ripped off a state-best throw of 181 feet, 5 inches in the discus at the West Valley-Yakima meet last weekend. A week earlier, Mead sophomore Casey Clark surprised everyone with a 6-8 high jump.
Other state leaders from this area among the boys include Pullman’s Ricardo Colon in the 200 (21.9), Mead’s Ryan Wiser in the 800 (1:57.1), North Central’s Jon Caballero in the 1,600 (4:22), Vince Endahl of Newport in the triple jump (44-4) and University’s 400 relay team, which went 42.4.
Ferris has two leaders on the girls side, defending state champion Missy Blackshire in the 800 (2:19.6) and Jennifer Smith in the 1,600 (5:05.3).
Among the other leaders is Mount Si junior Mandy Broschowa, who threw the discus 156-7 to set a state junior record, topping Olympia Areath Hill’s 155-9 in 1993… . Ryan Vann, a senior at the new Auburn-Riverside and a transfer from Bakersfield, Calif., is among the leaders in the 100 and 200 and leads in the long jump at 20-0-1/4. He reportedly triple jumped 50 feet last year.
A lot of information is available from Washington Track Weekly, a newsletter devoted to high school track. To subscribe, contact Scott or Joan Spruill at 1524 S. 32nd Ave. in Yakima, or call (509) 452-4815.
Besides news, notes and results, Washington Track Weekly runs event leaders 20-deep.
Determination
Doug Gill, a third baseman at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, had high hopes for continuing his career, so he flew to a camp for University of Miami recruits over winter break.
After four days of workouts, Gill earned an official visit, leading to a scholarship from the Hurricanes, as well as a spot on a summer team in Ohio with another UM recruit.
Previously, he had a partial offer from Stanford.
“I flew down there with a wing and a prayer,” Gill told the Tacoma News-Tribune. “I was just on fire with the bat.”
Fast breaks
Tricia Lamb was the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s female basketball Player of the Year. She was joined on the PI’s All-State team by Crystal Lee of Central Valley and Theresa Palmer of Gonzaga Prep… . Lamb, one of the state’s top Class B hurdlers and jumpers, elected to skip track… . Nesha Thomas, the defending State AAA long-jump champion, also passed on track after earning MVP honors in the State AAA tournament for champion Federal Way. The Eagles beat CV for the state title… . Lee, All-GSL catcher last spring, did not turn out for softball… . Ridgefield’s Alyssa Barrus, the A discus champion last spring and the shot put champ as a sophomore, also is passing on track while preparing to go to Brigham Young University, where she will play volleyball.
Megan Franza of Cascade Leavenworth and Dan Dickau of Prairie, both headed to the University of Washington, are the Gatorade Players of the Year. Franza was the Gatorade track athlete of the year last spring, making her the only player in Washington honored in two different sports… . Dave Belmonte resigned as Bellevue boys basketball coach… . The boys State AA champion O’Dea team was ranked 21st in the country by USA Today. The Oregon City girls team, sporting a 68-game winning streak, finished the season at No. 1 for the third straight year.
, DataTimes