GSL girls dominate 3A meet
RICHLAND – Sometimes when you’re the best, the regional track meet is just a formality, an event to survive so all energy can be put into the pursuit of a state championship a week later.
Mary Graesser didn’t see it that way Friday night at Fran Rish Stadium.
The North Central junior capped a sensational day for Greater Spokane League athletes by running away with the 3,200 meters, set a meet record with a personal record of 11 minutes, 15.82 seconds, 25 seconds clear of second place.
“I wanted to go for time so I knew I can go with people at state,” said Graesser, who was seventh at state last year. “This is the first one I’ve run for time this year. I’ve tripled in meets, but that was for points because there was no competition.”
Maybe if Mother Nature didn’t steal the show – a violent rainstorm caused a 75-minute day two hours into the proceedings – the GSL’s accomplishments would have been more noticeable.
With five final events for the girls, the GSL won five. Not only that, with the top three advancing to state next weekend at Pasco, the GSL took 11 of the 15 spots.
NC won two other events, with the 400 relay team of Kara Egland, Katelyn Fiorillo, Maneshaia Bruton and Anna Walters lowering their school record to a regional record of 49.05 seconds and senior Ashlee Michelson winning the discus by cracking the 130-foot barrier for the first time since her sophomore year at 130 feet, 2 inches.
East Valley’s Eleaya Schuerch won the long jump (17-6 3/4) and West Valley freshman Alyssa Wold won the high jump (5-3 3/4), beating sophomore teammate Melissa Mauro on the tiebreaker.
The boys didn’t fare quite as well with Cheney’s Bob Wilske the only winner with a throw of 187-4 in the javelin.
The meet continues today at 10:30 a.m., although the boys shot put, interrupted by rain and darkness, resumes at 9:30.
Girls: Michelson kick-started the GSL in the only final that beat the rain.
“It’s been kind of frustrating,” she said. “I wasn’t getting better, I plateaued, but at least I’m getting back there.”
It hasn’t helped that she suffered a knee injury playing basketball and now she’s just 9 inches short of her school record.
Fiorillo wasn’t sure how much faster the Indians’ sprint relay could go after getting the school record with a 49.51 at districts May 11.
“I thought we could go way faster and we did today,” the sophomore said. “We’re pretty much there, but I bet we can do better.”
The real news in the high jump wasn’t Wold winning – the freshman has cleared 5-4 several times in the past. The news as Mauro matching her.
Mauro was a 5-4 high jumper in junior high but missed last season, and tore up her right knee in basketball as a freshman. She had to get clear 5-3 3/4 to secure a spot because seven girls cleared 5-2.
“It feels awesome,” she said. “I’m in eighth grade again.”
Mauro made her successful jump on her third try, while Wold won on her first jump.
Boys: The GSL took seven of the 15 spots and no one was more excited to get one than East Valley’s Scott Bunkelman.
Though he was told he won when he went 21-1 1/4 on his final jump, he was excited later when he found out that was second. The reason is that the last leap lifted him from fifth to state.
Like many of the jumpers who were well short of their best, Bunkelman barely made it to finals at 20-5, 8 inches short of his PR.
“My first jump of finals was the worst,” he said. “I just told myself my best jump is still in me. … Go big or go home.”
Then he popped a big one but scratched.
But with one last chance, he pulled it out. That knocked NC’s Tim Hight, at 20-10 1/4, into third and then he missed advancing by 2 inches when Prosser’s Aaron Galvan slipped past him on the final jump.