Blize Blazes To Hurdles Victory As EV Takes Third

3A track

It took meet records to keep a couple of Frontier League athletes from state championships at Star Track XVI. But there was no stopping East Valley’s Brandon Blize.

Blize, who shared the state high hurdle lead with Jovan Harris of Washington, powered past his opponent over the final two hurdles to win by nearly 2 meters. Not as fortunate were West Valley pole vaulter Rick Collins and hurdler Staci Adams. In their specialties, both finished second to meet-record performances.

Their stirring competitions highlighted a final day in which local athletes earned 16 top-eight finishes and the Knights and Eagles placed third and fourth in the team competition.

First-day boys leader Olympia pulled away for the title with 56 points over Hanford, whose two-day, two-man total was 48 points. East Valley finished with 36 and West Valley 33.

Boys

Blize turned in an iron performance that included eight races in two days, helping account for 25 of East Valley’s third-place point total.

But it took a toll in the 300-meter hurdles race where he also had the state lead, but finished second to Olympia’s Daryl Thuline.

“I just ran out of gas,” he said of Thuline’s late charge. “It was going good until the second-to-last hurdle. Then it was almost like a wall and my legs couldn’t go any more.”

Blize had run preliminaries and finals in both hurdles and two state-placing relays over a two-day period.

Included was his state-championship hurdles race in which he came out slow from the blocks then powered into contention. He and Harris ran shoulder-to-shoulder until Harris was spiked on the hand by another hurdler and lost his focus.

Collins lay on the artificial turf of the Lincoln Bowl munching Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs and reflecting on his disappointing loss. He had a state-best 16-0 vault the week before and was flawless on four successive attempts, clearing 15-6.

But Blanchet senior John Hill defended his 3A title by surpassing that with a meet-record 15-9. Collins narrowly missed the height on his second try. “I’m OK,” he said. “I hate losing with a passion. But I’ll be back next year.” Not lost during the unprecedented competition, in which five vaulters remained at 15 feet, was the seventh-place by Eagles teammate Josh Rieger. In his first appearance, Rieger cleared a personal best 14-3 to contribute two points to West Valley’s total. “Thanks for the year,” said Rieger to Collins as the two embraced upon competition’s end.

“I figured to be a little nervous, but was surprised I wasn’t,” said Rieger. “I treated it like another meet. And it always helps when a teammate is with you.”

WV’s Brad Groh, like Collins a junior, also had a memorable first state appearance, finishing fourth and third behind Blize in both hurdles races. Teammate Devion Tensley was eighth in the long jump.

Cheney’s Logan Royce finished seventh in the javelin with a throw of 185-1.

Girls

West Valley’s Adams got stronger as the meet wore on. Following a sixth place in the 100 meters on Friday, she finished second in the 300 hurdles to Mt. Si’s Sarah Lavallee in her fastest time. Shortly thereafter, Adams sprinted to a third place in the 200, accounting for all 17 Eagles points.

Lavallee has won six state championships in two hurdles events She turned in a meet-record 43.22 time that was seventh-best all-time in the state.

Adams was not far behind in 43.94.

“I gave up a bit when she passed me,” said Adams. “I felt myself let off.”

But she was satisfied with the three-event improvement she showed from last year’s state meet to this one. ‘I didn’t make the finals in the 100, didn’t run the 200 and was fourth in the hurdles last year,” said Adams. “I’m really pleased. I accomplished all my goals.”

A pair of distance runners helped East Valley place in all three races, from 800 through 3,200 meters. Junior Korinda Godwin, continuing a dramatic improvement of 12 seconds over two weeks, neared the Knights’ 1,600-meter school record with a fourth-place finish.

Teammate AnnMarie Adams finished seventh in the 800, completing a sterling four-year career.

Clarkston’s Katey Moat was fifth in the 100-meter hurdles and teammate Crystal Blankenship eighth in the 300 hurdles.