Kennewick Has Refreshing Outing Well-Rested Favorites Take Team Title

The Kennewick (Wash.) High boys and girls track teams were fresher than usual Saturday at the 20th annual Super-1/Bob Reiswig Memorial meet.

Lightning forced postponement of Kennewick’s conference double dual Thursday. So the Lions were hungry and ready to burn some pent-up energy.

Even if Kennewick had competed Thursday, the Lions’ boys and girls were clearly the best teams Saturday. The boys tallied 132 points, easily outdistancing host Lake City (70). The girls posted 131 points to runner-up East Valley’s 95.

Sprinter Jon Holland and thrower Tony Pratt led Kennewick. Holland was named the boys sprinter of the meet and Pratt was named the field events athlete of the meet.

Holland cruised to victories in the 200 (22.4 seconds) and 400 (49.4) and was second in the 100 (10.8) behind winner Rick McCrery of Lewiston (10.6). Holland topped his individual efforts by anchoring the winning 1,600 relay (3:34).

Pratt won the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, one-half inch, finished third in the discus and took fourth in the long jump.

Orofino’s Nik Galloway was named the boys distance athlete of the meet for a win in the 800 (1:57.9) and third in the 1,600.

Sprinter Heidi Abersfeller led Kennewick’s girls. She tied a meet record in the 400 (58.0), won the 100 (12.3) and anchored the winning 1,600 relay (4:07.9). It was the second straight year she was honored as the top sprinter.

By winning the 400, Abersfeller rebounded from a sixth-place finish at the Pasco Invitational and she also defeated Coeur d’Alene’s Brenda Nipp, who was second at Pasco.

“She lit ‘em up today,” Kennewick coach Ted Homme said of Abersfeller. “She’s struggled a little bit. She didn’t have a great meet at Pasco. She was very disappointed at Pasco.”

Kennewick’s girls won Pasco two years ago and finished fourth last week. Homme expects his team to contend for a state championship next month.

Lake City sophomore Carly Smith and Orofino’s Colleen Case shared field events athlete of the meet.

Smith, in her first year in track, set school records with winning efforts in the 300 hurdles (48.6) and pole vault (10-0). Her previous best in the pole vault was 7-9.

Case captured the discus with a personal-best 137-8, a mark that is better than the State A-3 meet record.

East Valley’s Melissa Frostad was named distance athlete of the meet after her close victory in the 3,200 over teammate Korinda Godwin. Frostad finished in a time of 11:41.8, just edging Godwin (11:42.4).

LC’s Smith and Sandpoint’s Nicole Maloney were waging an entertaining battle in the pole vault when Maloney was injured.

Smith made 10-0 on her second attempt. Maloney missed on her second attempt and as she landed her pole struck her in the mouth, knocking out her two front teeth. She didn’t take a third attempt.

Smith entered the event at 7-0 and cleared six heights with one miss before making 10-0. She rubbed the bar on her second attempt at 10-0, but didn’t knock it off.

It was a final meet for all Inland Empire League teams before their state-qualifying regional.

LC’s boys finished ahead of defending Super-1 and Region I champ Lewiston which took fifth, 18 points behind the Timberwolves. CdA’s girls took third with 50, five ahead of LC.

Lewiston’s McCrery won a wind-aided 100, captured the long jump (21-3-1/2) and anchored the winning 400 relay (44.2). He was on the 800 relay that was winning before being disqualified for an exchange violation.

Other top efforts in the boys were turned in by LC’s Charlie Miller, who won an uncontested 1,600 (4:35), and Craig Downey of Lakeside (Wash.), who won the discus (151-8-1/2).

Other top efforts among the girls were turned in by Post Falls’ Jennifer Swanstrom, who nipped Nipp in the 200 (26.2), and East Valley’s Ashley Likely, who won the shot put with a personal-best 36-10.