Toss away the record book

If a second attempt to pass an override levy in Boundary County fails, dozens of athletes say they will move.

Coaches and athletes at Bonners Ferry High School say several families have made contingency plans. Count sophomore Katie Poston, who is heavily favored to defend her 3A state track championships in the shot put and discus this week, among them.

“We’re thinking about moving to Spirit Lake,” Poston said of possibly transferring to Timberlake High. “Athletics is a big part of me being in school. I’m sure I’d still go to school, but that’s the main reason I try in school. I work to stay eligible for sports.”

Poston found out last week, though, that her midterm grades came all too close to falling short of the school’s standards of eligibility for athletics. Bonners Ferry requires that students pass five of seven classes and maintain a minimum 2.0 grade-point average for eligibility.

She had a couple of sleepless nights before finding out last Thursday, a day before the state-qualifying district meet, that she was eligible. She had to sit out most of the season in volleyball because her final grades last spring were less than standards.

Poston vows this will be her last academic scare, saying it was a wakeup call.

“I’m going to try way harder until the end of the year and pick it up even more next year,” the three-sport standout said. “I don’t try hard enough at all. I can try way harder.”

Poston’s coaches believe if her effort in the classroom was somewhere in the ballpark of her performances in athletics, she would be on the future recruiting lists of major NCAA Division I colleges.

So if Poston gets on the right track academically, track no doubt will be her ticket to college.

“She has untapped abilities,” Bonners Ferry head girls track coach George Hays said. “She can write her own scholarship to college.”

Like many track athletes, Poston’s introduction to track and field came when she competed in the softball throw at Hershey meets in elementary school. Soon thereafter, there were glimpses of her potential when she was undefeated in the throws in middle school meets.

Poston wasted no time breaking onto the high school scene. Her throws at her first meet were 122 feet in the discus and 38-1 in the shot, and school records in both events dating back to the 1970s were immediately threatened.

After the first meet, Poston needed just 4 more feet in the discus and 2 more in the shot to eclipse the school records. She not only broke the marks but has lost track of how many times she’s shattered them since.

Her discus record is 147-1, about 21 feet farther than the record once set by Badgers volleyball coach Janis Tucker. The shot mark is 44-1¾, nearly 4 feet farther than the former record held by Rhea Karnes.

Poston, who won in both throws at the prestigious Pasco Invite last month, will be disappointed if she doesn’t extend her records when the state meet begins today at Boise State University’s Bronco Stadium. She wants to break the 3A meet records. The discus record is 143-6 and was set in 1980 by Sue Smith of Post Falls. Poston’s personal best in the shot exceeds the meet mark by a half-inch (set by Heather Owen of Moscow in 1993).

While Poston would be content with breaking those records and continuing along the path to being a four-time state champ in both throws, she would be beyond ecstatic if she could top the overall classification record for the discus – 154-4 set by Hollie Tyler of Leadore in 2001.

“That’s what I really want,” Poston said.

Her coaches believe it’s well within her reach.

Badgers throws coach Tom Reifsnyder was picking up implements following a recent practice when he noticed four discus lying at about the 180-foot mark. They were girls’ implements. He figures Poston had thrown them about 160 feet and they skidded another 20.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she throws in the 160s soon,” said Reifsnyder, who noted that Poston had a warmup throw of about 156 at the District I Meet of Champions two weeks ago.

Reifsnyder has a rule for his athletes in practice.

“I’m not big into measurements on practice throws,” he said. “I always tell them you’re worried about the wrong end of the throw. What happens at the other end of the throw is a result of what happens in the ring.

“By nature, kids are more interested in the length instead of the technique in the ring. I’ll ask ‘What are you going to do on your next throw?’ And after they answer I’ll say, ‘That’s nice, but what are you going to do in the ring to make it happen?’ “

Former Post Falls standout and Olympic qualifier Ian Waltz was the first high school male in Idaho to crack 200 in the discus. Reifsnyder can see Poston becoming the first female to break a comparable barrier – 160. (The boys’ discus is 1.6 kilograms and the girls’ is 1 kilogram.)

Reifsnyder hesitates to use numbers to talk about Poston’s potential.

“For me to put a number out there for her potential is antagonistic,” he said. “She can be a 50-foot thrower in the shot and in the high 160s in the discus before too long. I think those are attainable goals, but that’s not me when I start talking like that because I don’t like to brag.

“Her incredible throws are mostly talent. We’ve polished some technique, but it’s mostly her talent that comes through.”

Travis Hinthorn, Poston’s coach in basketball and the Badgers’ head boys track coach, wonders how far Poston could throw if she got on a weightlifting program.

“She’s freakishly strong and it’s all natural,” Hinthorn said. “We’re going to put her on a lifting program this summer and that could take her to another level.”