Lakeside girls capture title with true team effort

TACOMA – After the 200-meter final Saturday afternoon, Lakeside coach Paul Huffman started pacing nervously around Mount Tahoma Stadium.

Huffman’s girls team didn’t have a foursome in the final event, the 1,600 relay. So he got away from his team because he didn’t want his Eagles to see him walking about anxiously.

Finally, moments before his team was called to the awards stand to accept the 1A state-title trophy, Huffman started crying.

“We brought 14 to state and all 14 scored,” Huffman said, fighting back tears. “This really means it was a team championship.”

It was Lakeside’s first state track title in Huffman’s first year back as head coach after serving for three years previously.

“People don’t know how much this means to me,” Huffman said.

He then proceeded to hug all 14 girls, including his lone state champion, junior Loreah Winlow, who captured gold in the pole vault, leaping a state-meet record 11 feet, 3 inches. Teammate Ali Forsyth, state champ the past two years when the Eagles were in the 2A ranks, took third.

Lakeside finished with 73.5 points, edging Charles Wright Academy by 2.5 points. Charles Wright could have vaulted past Lakeside in the final event had it won the 1,600 relay. But it finished third.

It was a day full of drama for Huffman and the Eagles. Especially Winlow, who found herself in a battle with defending champ Valan Calvo of Cedar Park Christian.

In her first attempt at 11-0, Calvo cleared the bar effortlessly. Winlow never got to the bar on her first attempt, but made it on her second try.

Then Winlow had to race to the middle of the Mount Tahoma Stadium’s artificial football turf to report for the 400 relay, which she anchors and was seeded first going into the final. At the pole vault, meanwhile, it was agreed to raise the bar to 11-3, and Calvo decided to jump out of order and go first to allow Winlow extra time.

Calvo, in fact, missed on two attempts. In the 400 relay, the Eagles were leading with a little over 100 meters to go. But Winlow, perhaps thinking about the pole vault, took off too soon before taking the baton. She almost had to stop to receive it legally, and that blew any chance Lakeside had to win.

Winlow returned to the pole vault, but she was obviously emotional after she felt she had cost her team a gold medal. She missed on her first two attempts at 11-3. Before her third attempt, she talked with Huffman.

On the final try, Winlow bumped the bar on her way over but didn’t knock it off. Calvo then took her final jump. She was over but knocked it off on her way down.

Winlow took three tries at 11-6. Drained of adrenaline, she wasn’t close. In fact, on her final attempt she never planted her pole and ran through the pit.

Before talking about her state title, Winlow apologized for her error in the relay.

“We were in it,” she said. “It’s really hard, especially when three teammates are relying on you. If it were an individual thing I could just shake it off. They understood.”

Huffman told Winlow to use her final attempt at 11-3 as an opportunity for redemption.

“The only thing I could tell her (Winlow) was use the relay as motivation,” Huffman said.

Adam Walden of Newport defended his state title in the 110 hurdles (15.41) and added a second title in the 300 hurdles.

He left a trail of knocked-down hurdles in his wake in the 110. He had to rally late, finally taking the lead over the final hurdle. In the 300, he cruised to victory in 39.35.

“It’s the worst race I’ve ever had,” Walden said of the 110 final. “Somehow I was able to compensate for my errors. In the 300, I didn’t screw up so I’m good with it.”

Erin Smith of Chewelah won the long jump (17-8¼).

“I was shooting for 19 (feet), but I’m very happy,” Smith said.

Newport’s boys finished a distant second with 48 points behind winner King’s (87.5).