Area girls steal show in Pasco

PASCO – It was Ladies Day for area athletes at the 45th Annual Pasco Invitational track meet.

Mt. Spokane’s Megan O’Reilly’s smashing meet record, a not-quite meet record by Mead’s Nikki Codd and Bonners Ferry’s Kaitie Poston’s double-double highlighted a cool, wind and wet Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium.

Add wins by Ferris’ Kelly McNamee, East Valley’s Eleaya Schuerch and Pullman’s Lindsay Myron and it’s obvious the day belonged to the girls.

Richland’s Kayla McKeirnan won the 200- and 400-meter runs to lead Richland to the team title and win athlete of the meet honors.

Anthony Zachery of Ferris, the surprise winner in the long jump, was the only area boy atop the podium except for Mead’s distance medley relay team.

Kamiakin’s Kyle Schauble, whose only blemish came at the feet of Zachery, won both hurdles and anchored the Braves’ winning 1,600 relay team, to earn athlete of the meet. Kamiakin also won the boys team title.

Meet dedications, an annual tradition, went to the four starters, including Mike VanMatre of Spokane. An administrator in the East Valley district, VanMatre has been a starter in Pasco for eight years and more than 10 years at the state meet, plus meets at Eastern Washington University.

Girls

O’Reilly was steady in the 1,600 as Eastlake’s Jessica Pixler ran ahead for a thousand meters before forging ahead to win by 9 seconds in 4 minutes, 47.98 seconds, almost 10 seconds better than the previous best.

“I wanted it,” said O’Reilly, who shaved almost 2 seconds off her state-leading time. “I saw it was 4:57 and since I started out this year at 4:52 I was pretty confident. I really wanted a PR. The mile isn’t something I planned to do that seriously. … This makes my 2-mile goal more tangible.”

Pixler came back to nip Codd at the wire in the 800. Both were well under the meet record with Codd’s 2:12.92 a 5-second PR.

“When I first crossed the line I was disappointed,” said Codd, who went around Pixler coming onto the homestretch, “then I realized I PR’d by a ton. I’m happy.

“I was hoping to get there this year. I was going for 2:15 today. Today was pretty sweet.”

Poston, a junior, won the discus (143 feet) and shot put (42-3½) for the second year in a row.

“I don’t think I (feel pressure), but I’m sure I do because I have to throw up to my potential,” she said. “At home meets I don’t have to.”

Schuerch struggled in the long jump, not getting her steps down until her sixth and final jump propelled her 17-7¼, just 3 inches past the leader.

“I went 16-11 on my first jump, but I was very far back (from where she should have started her approach) so I knew I could get a better jump,” she said. “My coach said just have fun. The past two years I was fifth or sixth and I was already second. I felt like a winner, but I also felt I could get first.”

Myron got her winning triple jump of 36-11½ on the first jump of the finals and it was about all she had left.

“That’s pretty close to a PR and being my last event I was pretty pleased,” she said. “Those last two jumps I was so tired.”

She was actually more pleased with her second-place finish in the 100 hurdles.

“It wasn’t a PR, but it was windy,” she said. “Placing second among 4A and 3A schools is pretty good. … I just blew myself away. I wasn’t expecting these results against that kind of competition. I’m kind of speechless.”

McNamee, a sophomore who started high jumping last year, was a little disappointed she only matched her PR of 5-6.

“I set high goals for myself and early in the season winning isn’t as important,” she said. “I have come close (to 5-7), but I haven’t had my great day yet. I know the things I have to change.”

Boys

No one had a bigger smile than Zachery, who had to go 22-5, a PR by 12 inches, to tie Schauble for the lead on his third jump just to make the finals. He hit a winning 22-7½ on his fifth jump.

“I’ve only had two or three practices, I’m mainly focusing on sprinting and relays,” said Zachery, who jumped a couple times last year just for team points.. “I’m pretty much learning on the go.

“After I went 22-5 my coach said this is what I’m capable of, I have a jumping lineage. My dad won a Pac-10 title for Washington. That gave me some confidence in my ability.”

His dad, Anthony, was also the longtime Pasco meet record holder from back in his Franklin High School days.

Among the notable performances was Mt. Spokane’s Beau Carrillo clearing 15 feet in the pole vault, only to get upstaged when Ryan Vu of Interlake, who missed twice at 15 to fall behind, jumped up and made 15-3.

“He looked good all day,” said Carrillo, who has only been vaulting for one calendar year and was pleased with his PR and school record. “He was capable. I wasn’t doubting him.”

Carrillo knew Wildcats’ vault coach Shawn Gumke, who competed at Eastern Washington, as a teacher and decided to turn out.

“It just looked cool,” he said. “Last year I went 12-6. If a coach can make a guy do that in his first year. … I’ll go 15-6 on a nice day. I’ve gone 16 in practice.”

Ferris’ Robert Cosby, EV’s Nick Atwood and Central Valley’s Sean Coyle finished right behind Bellingham’s Chris Kwiatkowski in the 3,200.