Knights have their day
East Valley track coach Dave McCarty was starting to receive congratulatory handshakes as Tyler Jolley stepped into the discus ring one last time.
Then the Knights star spun, let out a blood-curdling scream and the discus soared over the heads of the volunteers marking the spot.
The 172-foot throw was a perfect way for EV to win the Greater Spokane League boys track championship Thursday evening at Mead.
“I knew we had it won,” Jolley said. “It took the pressure off. It relaxed me.”
The Knights won because Jolley opened with a 2-foot personal record of 161 feet that no one could match.
Going into the last event, EV had Central Valley defeated but needed a discus thrower to beat the best from Mead and Lewis and Clark to win. Jolley stepped up.
“I threw 161 on my first throw,” he said. “It wasn’t really the best technical throw, but I got after it a little bit.”
The Knights used a 9-0 sweep in the discus to beat LC 78-67 and a 6-3 advantage to beat Mead 76-68. EV beat CV 77-68. CV ended up second, LC third and Mead fourth.
“It’s great, knowing that for four years I was on some of the best teams in the GSL and this is my first championship,” said Jolley, a football and wrestling star.
Before the discus heroics, Jolley had a 14-inch PR in the shot put (54-6 3/4) only to come in second because Mead’s Mike Magee improved by 3 1/2 feet (56-1). So Jolley ran over to the javelin and finished second with close to a 10-foot PR (165-10).
“When Magee threw 56 it put a fire in me,” he said. “We didn’t have any placers in the javelin and I was so mad about Magee I went over there and PR’d. It was a really good day. I don’t know. I just felt it.”
Jolley wasn’t the only shining Knight. Nick Atwood won the 1,600-meter run (4 minutes, 21 seconds), holding off Mead’s Dylan Hatcher by three-tenths for a PR by almost 2 seconds. Atwood also outsprinted CV’s Sean Coyle to win the 3,200.
“Beating Mead on its home turf is quite exciting,” Atwood said. “I just took a bunch of risks. That’s what it’s all about. I knew if I feared Mead I’d get ‘Meaded,’ as I call it. I’d get beat. That really says something when a 3A school wins against all 4A schools.”
If Atwood understood what it meant to win at Mead, teammate Scott Bunkelman was just trying to figure out what was going on.
The junior was a baseball player until this year and was running second to senior speedster Anthony Laborin. But when Laborin reinjured a hamstring running 40-yard dashes in PE earlier in the day, Bunkelman stepped up with three PRs to win the 100 (11.1), 200 (23.0) and long jump (21-1), and helped the 400 relay win.
“I ran a 4.55 (40) after football and started thinking about coming out,” Bunkelman said. “I’m pleased with my decision. Track is a lot more fun than I thought. I never even thought about (winning four events). All year I’ve been doing decent, getting better. It’s great knowing I’m doing great.”
“We came here and competed,” McCarty said. “We wanted to know, if we won or not, that we could take this effort into districts next week.”
On a picture-perfect day, CV added two area bests. Derek Schuh went 49.6 in the 400 and the 1,600 relay went 3:26.3. CV’s Shon Davis swept the hurdles.
In the meet at Ferris to determine the next four spots, it went Mt. Spokane, North Central, Ferris and Shadle Park. Anthony Zachery of Ferris won the 100 – with an area-best 10.5 – the 200 and long jump. … At University, to settle the final six spots, the host Titans came out on top followed by Cheney, West Valley, Gonzaga Prep, Rogers and Clarkston. Tyreil Poosri of Cheney lowered his area best in the 110 hurdles (14.8) and West Valley’s Arton Toussaint added an inch to his area best in the triple jump (44-4).
Great Northern League
At Pullman, the host Greyhounds won the boys and girls championships over Lakeside in a meet in which all four teams entered at 5-0. The boys won 75-70 and the girls 90-60. Ashton Gant won the 100, 200, long jump and a relay for the Greyhounds and teammate Ben Wargo swept the hurdles. Both ended up with four wins as Pullman won both relays. For Lakeside, Max Reeder was a triple winner and Kahel Smith a double. Lindsay Myron lowered her area bests in both hurdles, taking the 100 in 15.0 and the 300 in 45.0, and won both horizontal jumps for Pullman. The Greyhounds also had season bests in all three relays. … At Colville, the host Indians swept Deer Park. Mackenzie Johnson took three events, and Nikkole Sipes and Brittany Williams two each for the Indians. Melanie Guelette won two for the Stags. Devin Almas swept the jumping events for Colville’s boys. Ken Miller won both hurdles for DP.