McNamee, Hutchinson take titles

PASCO – Do you want a storybook ending or an elite performance?

The Greater Spokane League provided both at Edgar Brown Stadium on Friday.

Ferris junior Kelly McNamee became one of the top 12 high jumpers in the country – and tied for 11th in state history – by clearing 5 feet, 10 inches to easily when the State 4A championship.

Meanwhile, nine days after her mother’s unexpected death, Mead senior Ashley Hutchinson won the shot put title – and on her last throw matched the school record with a toss of 43-8.

“It was a stressful week, I didn’t think much about throwing at all,” said Hutchinson, who had extremely emotional wins in the regional shot and discus last weekend in Spokane and then had services for her mother on Wednesday. “Once I got that first throw in I felt relieved.”

Although it only matched the state championship older sister Corissa won as a sophomore in 2002, her record-tying throw was 2 ¾-inches farther than her sister’s best and came on the same day Corissa won the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges discus title for Community Colleges of Spokane.

McNamee became Spokane’s all-time best female high school jumper when she cleared 5-9 midway through the season, but that one small inch of improvement is much bigger, tying her for 11th on the state all-time best.

“Winning was important. My first goal was definitely to win state,” said McNamee, who tied for second last year at 5-5. “Once I got that my goal was 5-10, obviously. I felt somewhat confident. My other attempts at 5-10 this year gave me confidence I could do it if I put it together, but there’s always some doubt.”

With all three of their relays plus individual runners getting through, the Shadle Park and Mead girls are in the team hunt. Gig Harbor leads with 31 points, followed by Ferris with 18. Mead has 13 and Shadle 12.

Mt. Spokane leads in 3A with 23 points.

4A

Hutchinson’s first throw, barely 41 feet, proved to be enough to win, but she couldn’t uncork a big one to eliminate her one challenger, Ferris senior Tanya Romanchuk. Romanchuk was a solid second at 40-1½.

McNamee’s opening jump at 5-4 got her a medal. She passed at 5-5, which gave Bree LeRoy of Gig Harbor second, and promptly made 5-6 before heading off to run her 100-hurdles preliminary.

She was a champion when she returned and then missed her first attempt at 5-8.

She soared over 5-8 on her next attempt and then got 5-10 on her first try, but wasn’t particularly close at 5-11.

“I was really tired, really, really tired,” she said. “The first one I knew what I had to do but I was too tired. It’s good to get looks at 5-11 for next year.”

Shadle’s Sara Nichols got a personal record in the javelin, her throw of 131-2 good for third after Monroe’s Kelsey Brennan got her by 5 inches in the fifth round.

“Looking at all the stats, coming in I was seeded third and I finished third. I passed one girl but that girl passed me,” Nichols said. “I PR’d, that’s what I came here to do.”

Grabbing another third for the Highlanders was freshman Andrea Nelson in the 3,200. Though pleased with her placing, she was less than happy with the race she ran. There was a nine-runner pack through six laps and for the first couple she was boxed in and the next three she ran in the second lane. A strong kick gave her a time of 10:48.24, less than 2 seconds off her best and just more than 6 seconds behind the winner.

“It just wasn’t a good race,” she said. “I knew I could kick but I was hoping to get in the 30s.”

Sean Coyle sprinted to second in the 3,200, the highest for a Central Valley distance runner on the track and his strong finish lowered his PR by 2 seconds to 9:10.84, less than 2 seconds behind Joey Bywater of Lake Stevens.

“I hurt a lot more than last week,” he said. “I felt really bad on my sixth lap. I fell back to sixth and about checked out of the race. I thought I’d end up seventh or eighth.”

He made a surge to get back into the race, a race that saw the other GSL runners fade out of the medals, and with 200 meters left he broke away and closed on the leader.

3A

It wasn’t a gold-medal day for the GSL, except for attitude. No one was better than Eleaya Schurech,

“Fine. Happy. Good,” the East Valley senior said about finishing third in the long jump, an event she won last year. “I’ve had a tough year, but I didn’t give up.”

Her jump of 17-½ was less than 3 inches short of her winning jump a year ago, only this time the wind was at her back rather than in her face. It was more than a foot from her career best.

She missed a week with illness about midway through the season and it has been a struggle since.

Samantha Damiano of Mt. Spokane was second in the shot put, coming up a half-inch short with her throw of 37-7½.

The Wildcats placed three javelin throws in the top six – Lindsey Snyder second, Anna Banks fifth and Jackie Goldman sixth.

North Central’s Mary Graesser had a happy heart-breaker. The senior had a whopping 18-second season PR in the 3,200 to finish fourth in 11:00.75 but just missed her goal.

“It was a pretty good race,” she said after finishing well-behind the 3A record of 10:31.79 by Sumner’s Katrina Drennan, “but I really wanted to break 11. My kick was amazing, but I’m pretty frustrated.”

Mt. Spokane had a pair of fourths by the boys, long jumper Brandon Jared and discus thrower Dustin Schneider