At a glance
Defending champions: Mead boys (second at state), Mt. Spokane girls. Rogers girls were second at state.
New coaches: Stephen Manfred, Gonzaga Prep boys; Andre Wicks, Lewis and Clark boys; Bryan Payne, Mt. Spokane boys; Bryan Venema, Rogers boys and girls.
Boys returning state placers: 4A – Andre’ Jennings, LC, 3rd in 200, 5th in 100; Bryan Braman, Shadle Park, 2nd in high jump, 6th in javelin; Skylar Jessen, Mead, 3rd in 100; Aaron Grothe, Central Valley, 6th in high jump; Bron Shelton, Mead, 4th in pole vault; Jeremy Brett, Mead, fifth in long jump. 3A – Rashad Toussaint, West Valley, 1st in triple jump, 6th in long jump; Brett Igbinoba, Cheney, 8th in 100; Marc Smith, WV, 6th in 400; Kevin Lemieux, WV, 4th in discus.
Girls returning state players: Becca Noble, Rogers, 1st in 200, 1st in 400 (meet record, 54.31 seconds), 4th in 100; Catie Schuetzle, Shadle, 1st in long jump, 3rd in triple jump, 7th in 100; Megan O’Reilly, Mt. Spokane, 1st in 3,200, 3rd in 1,600; Corissa Hutchinson, Mead, 1st in discus, 7th in shot put; Briann January, LC, 1st in high jump; Anna Layman, CV, 3rd in 800; Corrina O’Brien, G-Prep, 6th in 800; Dana Giffen, Mead, and Erica Ziegler, Mt. Spokane, tie 5th in pole vault; Ashlee Michelson, North Central, 3rd in discus. 3A – Katie Kimball, Cheney, 1st in 300 hurdles, 6th in 100 hurdles; Meghan Cogley, Cheney, 8th in high jump; Jessica LaCambra, Cheney, 6th in pole vault; Melony Goforth, Clarkston, 8th in pole vault.
Outlook: Teams will compete in divisions for four straight Thursdays, beginning April 14. The top two in each division will compete for the championship, girls on May 11, boys on May 12. The next two divisional finishers and last three divisional finishers compete in placing meets to give the final standings a 1-through-14 look. … Depth with top-end stars makes the Mead boys and Mt. Spokane girls favorites to repeat.
Fast facts: Laef Barnes of Mead is healthy after missing the postseason last spring. He was third in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600 as a sophomore. … Noble is the second-fastest prep 400 runner in state history and Toussaint is a top-10 triple jumper, inches short of being the best in Spokane history. Both are a threat to do something astounding in every meet and are worth making an effort to go see. … Alex Butler of G-Prep, third in the 400 at state, will miss her senior season because of a knee injury. … Some of the area’s best are headed to Arcadia, Calif., this weekend for a national-caliber meet, including Barnes, Noble and Toussaint. … Big weekend meets include Pasco (April 23), Mooberry Relays at Rogers (April 30) and Strandberg Invitational at CV (May 7). … The District 8 meet is at University (May 19-20) as is the Eastern Regional (May 27-28), which was moved from EWU because coaches don’t like the new permanent football bleachers blocking the view of the third corner. … State is at Pasco on June 3-4. … Toussaint was the GSL’s only boys champion last year and is a two-time champion in the triple jump. GSL girls won 10 state titles, including one relay, and seven of the individuals return.