EV boys, NC girls cash in
The coaches spent most of Thursday preparing their quarter-milers for a fantastic finish, but what were expected to be close meets didn’t turn out that way.
The big guns for the East Valley boys and North Central girls did what they needed to do, making the closing Greater Spokane League races at EV anticlimactic.
The Knights got double wins from Chris Shearer, Tyler Jolly and Keith Holt to beat NC 80-65.
“I was just waiting for the meet all day,” Shearer said after winning the javelin and high jump. “I knew I would have a good day, my PRs have always come at home. I knew I had to do well for us to win the meet. Last week it was down to us going 1-2 in the high jump and we did it.”
NC’s Anna Walters swept the three sprints to spark an 88-62 win for the Indians.
“I could have done better, time-wise, but I’m happy we won,” the junior speedster said. “If I don’t do as well as I want, I say I can get the next one … it’s for the team. The main thing is the encouragement from my teammates and coaches. Without them I might give up.”
It was that kind of effort that carried the day for both winning teams.
Shearer got EV off to a good start by throwing the javelin 181-feet, 6-inches, beating his dangerous teammate Cody Irby. That 7-foot improvement carried over to the high jump, where he had a personal record by 4 inches, clearing 6-6 and just missing at 6-8. The senior was 2 feet short of a PR in the javelin so it was the high jump that had him pumped.
“I didn’t expect that this early,” he said. “I felt it at 6 feet and kept going from there. I’ve had some trouble getting 6-2. This adds a lot of confidence.”
A week ago Holt, who went to state in the 800 meters last year, told coach Dave McCarty he would run the 400 to help the team.
“I wanted to contribute to the team, but mostly I love to compete,” said Holt after winning the difficult double before anchoring the 1,600 relay. “Coach just said, ‘Give it everything you have – leave it on the track.’ He didn’t say, ‘You have to win,’ just, ‘Do your best.’ “
He ran a good 400 of 51.6 seconds before bouncing back to take his specialty in 1:59.9.
“I knew NC had some tough people, they just weren’t going to let me win,” he said. “The 400 is so much faster. It’s a completely different race. You have to take it out hard right away. It definitely helps my speed. I’ve noticed my (800) finishes getting faster.”
Jolly won the shot put and discus.
The only PR for Walters was 59.4 in the 400, an event the junior has just taken up.
“The 200 is my favorite because it’s fast, but not too quick (like the 100),” she said. “I hate the 400 but I have potential to do well … that’s exciting.”
She was limited to the 200 last year because of an injury, leaving her to wonder how fast she can go.
“I know I can go faster, I’ve gone faster, but I was right there,” she said after winning the 100 in 12.9 and the 200 in 26.3.
It had to be a tremendous race at Mead with Ferris’ Ben Poffenroth finishing in a dead heat with Panthers’ star Laef Barnes in the 1,600. Both clocked in 4:24.9. Mead beat Ferris 80-65, despite Robert Davis winning the 100 (11.0) and 200 (22.0) and helping both relay teams to a win. Kelly McNamee lowered her best times in the 100 (16.1) and 300 hurdles (48.5) and won the high jump (5-2). Ferris won the 1,600 relay to edge Mead 79-71.
At Cheney, Katie Kimble won the hurdles, including an area-best 47.9 in the 300, Calynee Oyolokor won the horizontal jumps and the Blackhawks swept the relays to upend Central Valley 88-62. On the boys side, four wins by Robert Wilske (three throws and a high jump), three by Brett Igbinoba (100, 200, long jump) and two by hurdler Tyrell Poorsi weren’t enough to overcome CV’s depth as the Bears won 78-67.
At West Valley, Catie Schuetzle won four events and Bryan Braman and Dan Hearron won two each as Shadle Park swept the Eagles. Schuetzle won the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump, improving her area best in three events as the Highlanders won 109-41. The senior went 12.3 in the 100, 38-1 3/4 in the triple jump and 17-8 3/4 in the long jump.
Mt. Spokane swept a triple dual at Gonzaga Prep that included Lewis and Clark. Mike Hartanov and Adam Barkley won twice for the Wildcats to offset double wins by Lewis and Clark’s Andre Jennings and Josh Shaw. Megan O’Reilly and Sam Patrick won twice for Mt. Spokane to counter a sprint triple for Corinna O’Brien of Prep. O’Reilly ran an area-best 5:10.2 in the 1,600.
At University, the Titans swept Clarkston. The boys won every event but the triple jump with Justin Cooper winning three events and Brandon Blaska and Mike Kelly two each. Victoria Benson won the 100, 100 hurdles, long jump and triple jump and Dana McClerdon won two throws.
Great Northern League
Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls opened league competition by sweeping Colville and Riverside at home. Britten Ferguson and Kahel Smith won twice for the boys and Kelsey Stillar doubled up for the girls.
Pullman dominated visiting Deer Park and Medical Lake on both sides. Danielle Haynes won three events and Cory Druffel two for the girls. Double winners for the boys were John Brel and Ben Wargo.