Ferris, U-Hi Will Be Hosts For Title Meets

Prep track

The Greater Spokane League cleared the first hurdle of its revamped track and field season under perfect conditions Thursday.

The new-format regular season ended with the Ferris girls beating Shadle Park 82-59 to capture one side of the two-division format and the right to have next Wednesday’s championship at home.

The Saxon boys also made the final four by beating the Highlanders 84-61. The boys championship is at University on Thursday.

“We made it to the final four,” Ferris coach James Fisher said. “We made it through the back door, but we made it. The question now is how are they going to score it.”

Both Mead and Central Valley teams finished in the top two of the B division and advance to the final four.

Mead swept Lewis and Clark and Central Valley swept Mt. Spokane. In the other meet, University swept Gonzaga Prep.

Still to be answered, after a season of straight dual meets, is how the championships, with four teams involved, will be run and scored.

That, however, is for a different time. Thursday was too glorious a day to worry about next week.

“It’s nice to run when the weather is like this,” Ferris sophomore sprinter Shayla Bush said.

She wasn’t the only one to feel that way as Mead’s Joe Zelinski broke the GSL’s league-meet record for the 200 meters with 21.4 seconds at Hart Field. The previous best in a league meet was a 21.8 by Jeff Baerwald of Mead in 1988.

U-Hi’s Kris Martin came within a click of the state lead in the boys 800 with a 1:54.9. Teammate Jeff Wineinger went 15 feet, 2 inches in the pole vault for the league lead.

And it didn’t just hold to the GSL. West Valley pole vaulter Rick Collins took the state lead with a 15-9 effort.

The Ferris teams used their speed to race into the finals.

Mario Duke won the 100 (10.9) and 200 (23.3) and anchored the winning 400 relay (43.1). He also ran the opening leg of the 1,600 relay the Saxons lost by a .2 seconds in a race that was run virtually shoulder-to-shoulder.

Ferris’ Tyrone Asterino swept the hurdles, lowering his area best in the 300s to 38.8, and he was on the winning relay team, as was Ty Williams, who also won the high jump, long jump and pole vault.

Bush won the 100 (12.5) and 200 (26.0) and anchored the winning 400 (52.0) and 800 (1:46.8) relays.

“I think I’m in really good shape,” Bush said. “The times should be coming down, but I’m not satisfied with that.”

As the season comes down to dual finals, district, regional and state, Bush is looking forward to the competition.

“When I go around to tough competition, I do better,” she said. “I think if I have faster girls, that helps.”

Her favorite event is the 200, which means her favorite relay is the 800.

“The 200 was OK,” she said. “I would have liked to do better, I’ve run 26 before, but the 800 (relay) was a big PR.

The Highlanders were without standout hurdle Lisa Hansen, who is injured, but they still got double wins from Julie Sawatsky in the 800 and high jump and Michelle Etter in the long and triple jumps.

The Highlanders get another shot at Ferris at the finals.

Ferris, on the other hand, is looking forward to a shot at U-Hi on the boys side.

“Coach said to us we have to PR, do well or we’re not going to make it,” Ferris shot putter Matt Dillon said. “We wanted to get to the quad meet to have a chance to redeem ourselves. We lost to U-Hi by seven.”

Dillon did his part by improving his shot put to 50-9-1/2.

“I feel as soon as I start tucking and keeping my elbow in, I’ll connect,” he said. “I’m hoping for 55 by the end of the season.”

The Ferris girls were a little sentimental.

“We wanted to (win the division) for ourselves and for our coach since it’s his last year,” Bush said.

Saxons coach Jim Missel, who has accepted a position at Lakeside, said, “Everybody did an outstanding job. It’s a great thrill to win the division and do it with these girls … on our track the last meet of the year in these conditions.”

Frontier League

The West Valley boys and East Valley girls clinched league titles.

WV rolled past Cheney 108-37. The girls made it a sweep with an 83-70 win.

East Valley swept Clarkston, led by the girls’ 96-51 win. The boys won 135-5, winning every event.