Bears bring trophy home from Pasco
Chuck Bowden was pretty sure 41 points was going to earn his Central Valley boys track team a trophy at the prestigious Pasco Invitational on Saturday.
As the scores were announced and it became obvious 41 was the winning number, Bowden wasn’t sure how to react. He high-fived and hugged every CV jacket he could find on the infield at Edgar Brown Stadium.
When his team brought him the trophy, the joy was so genuine, he was close to speechless, a rarity for him.
Of course Bowden had a little more to add. He said he pulled the Pasco qualifiers aside last week and told them, “You have a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in school history.”
It took all day Saturday to do it.
The distance medley placed fifth early in the day, the highest finish for a GSL team.
It was almost seven hours later when Brad Whitley won the 800 (1-minute, 56.89 seconds) and Jason Stoker picked up a point for placing eighth (1:59).
About the time Jayson Taylor was placing fifth in the 3,200 (9:27.88), the triple jump was finishing, with William Davis second (45-feet, 4 1/2-inches) and Evander Cobbs fifth (43-7).
That left it up to the 1,600 relay team to bring home a trophy, and the quartet of James Theodorsen, Danny Groby, Michael Williams and Whitley did it with ease. Their time was a state-best 3:23.16 and almost 5 seconds better than the runner-up.
“The whole first part of the meet we dealt with one setback after another,” Bowden said. “That kept us from counting points and keeping track of other schools.”
After one setback, Taylor asked distance coach James Berry how many points it would take to win. When told 45 to 60, Taylor said 1-2 finishes in the 800 and triple jump and victories in the 3,200 and 1,600 relay ought to do the trick.
“It didn’t quite work out that way but the thing is, some of our key kids have a belief, they’ll go out and compete,” Bowden said. “For those kids that went to Pasco it validates a lot of the work they’ve put in. We’ve really gone after it this season. We didn’t want to talk about last season, we wanted to make this a new year.”
A GSL title last year, Pasco this year – the Bears are growling, which should make today’s meet at CV, with Lewis and Clark and Mead coming to challenge in a battle among three unbeatens, the highlight of the track season.
“We feel like we’re underdogs and that’s not sandbagging,” Bowden said. “Those teams have performed very strongly in all their meets. That’s not on paper, that’s just the feel we have because we’ve got to be at our best. That’s two great coaches and two great programs.
“We’re a pretty good dual meet team, too. We might not win them all but we can compete with the best of them. It should be fun.”
Valley athletes had a good day in Pasco. Wes Nolen‘s second-place javelin finish accounted for all of U-Hi’s boys points.
Titan juniors Madeline Fuchs and Stevie Gildehaus were fourth in the 300 hurdles (45.81) and eighth in the 1,600 (5:18.89), easily season bests for both. U-Hi also placed seventh in the girls distance medley, just behind CV, the only points for the Bears.
A pair of seniors picked up all of East Valley’s points. Case Parker finished second in a stirring 400 (48.75). Parker came back to pick up a fourth in the 200 (22.59). Morgan Dunning was fifth in the girls pole vault (10-9) and eighth in the triple jump (34-10 3/4).
West Valley seniors Melissa Mauro and Ashley Kenney combined for the 27 points that gave the Eagles a sixth-place finish. Kenney won the discus (141-2) and was second in the shot put (36-8 1/2). Mauro was second in the high jump, matching her career-best 5-6, and then placed eighth in the 300 hurdles (47.69). She also made the finals in the 100 hurdles (16.29).
Mauro made good efforts at 5-8, which would beat Kayla Mainer’s school record by an inch.
“I knew I had to be clean through 5-4,” she said. “I didn’t miss until 5-6, that’s why I got second.”
The WV boys had 10 points, four coming in the high jump with Nigel LaFountain placing fifth (6-4). The other six points were from the 1,600 relay team of Ryan Dahlstrom, Jack Pring, Parker Flynn and Tim Pring finishing third (3:28.31).
Down to the wire
(This excerpt is from Spokesman-Review sports reporter Mike Vlahovich’s Prep Report, a daily online blog about area high school sports. For the rest of the story and updated information, log on to www.spokesmanreview.com/ blogs/prepreport/)
Teams are jockeying for position as the current Greater Spokane League baseball season enters its final five games.
The 4A portion of the GSL is now a 3-team race for the two district playoff byes among Mead (13-1), University (12-2) and Ferris (13-3). The Panthers finish against Gonzaga Prep, which moved past Central Valley into fourth place, the Titans Friday and Tuesday and end the season against the Saxons next week. U-Hi’s other foes are Lewis and Clark and North Central; Ferris plays CV and Mt. Spokane.
District begins May 7 with the league’s Nos. 3-through-6 finishers facing off in loser-out games. Remaining teams finish up at Gonzaga Prep. Rogers has a two-game lead over Shadle Park and Lewis and Clark for the sixth berth and finishes against NC and Gonzaga.
Today North Central is at Mt. Spokane for the second of two games between 3A teams hoping to finish as No. 1 seed and earn a spot in the double-elimination portion of the regional tournament. This year all three GSL 3A teams will be involved against five from the Columbia Basin League. And three teams from the regional advance to state.
•Monday night West Valley’s bid to lock up the Great Northern League was at least temporarily delayed when Pullman scored three times in the sixth inning to salvage a double-header split at home. The Eagles had 26 hits (to the Greyhounds’ 13) in the twin bill, winning 13-2, but losing 9-8. They host second-place Cheney for two on Friday.