Vandals’ Williams opens eyes

For 40 years, “Beamonesque” has defined implausible improvement, even in applications beyond track and field.

Now we have the scaled-down, localized version: “Elviesque.”

Like Bob Beamon’s leap into the incredible at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Elvie Williams made his mark well out into the sand of the long jump pit. Unlike Beamon, the University of Idaho junior broke no world record, did not have the gift of jumping at 7,500-foot altitude and shocked the competition not on his first attempt, but his last.

It happened last weekend in Boise at the Bronco Twilight meet. Williams, a transfer from Community Colleges of Spokane, jumped 24 feet, 1 inch on his second attempt – getting the NCAA regional qualifying mark he’d been chasing all season. It was also just 2 3/4 inches off his best, set indoors this winter.

Then Boise State’s Savvas Diakonikolas and Ryan Grinnell cranked things up with fifth-round jumps well beyond 25 feet.

“They were jumping around all excited,” he said. “I thought, ‘I’ll give you something to get pumped about.’ “

And he did – sailing 26-3/4, with an aiding wind of about half the allowable 2 meters per second.

That’s a 21-inch lifetime gain – a mile in the long jump – and within a fraction of Beamon’s improvement in Mexico City. It also gave him the “B” qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials – not a guarantee of getting in, but likely.

And it shined a light on one of CC Spokane’s – and now Idaho’s – improbable success stories.

Williams came to Spokane in the fall of 2004 from Spanaway Lake (Wash.) High School – and promptly flunked every course his first quarter.

“Lack of discipline,” he said. “I missed too many classes and I had roommates who didn’t do too well, either.”

Williams acquired a new roommate – his sister, Sherliecia Releford – and life began to settle down. Success on the track was never an issue – he scored 34 1/2 points at the 2006 NWAACC meet – but there were any number of struggles away from it.

“Elvie is one of those great kids who came to us without a lot of skills to get it done,” said CCS coach Larry Beatty. “But he endears himself to people. Grace Leaf, his counselor, did a wonderful job. Linda (Lanker, a CCS assistant coach) would bring him groceries once a week trying to help him along. He went to tutoring and was pretty diligent and after three years he got his A.A. Now every time I see him in a jersey I think, ‘This kid is going to make it.’ “

He did so in a big way in Boise, though he insisted others were more excited than he was.

“Absolutely not,” laughed his Idaho coach, Yogi Teevens. “At first the woman (measuring) yelled out ‘Eight meters’ and then corrected herself (to 7.94), but we were all going crazy then and he was super excited. The whole rest of the day he had an audience of people following him around.”

Williams insisted there’s more to come.

“I’m not going to have a big head, especially with (NCAA shot put leader) Russ Winger on the team,” he said. “He sets the bar pretty high. Before this week he was asking me, ‘Elvie, when are you going to go big?’ I hope this was big enough for him.”

The big 2-0-0

Washington State thrower McKenzie Garberg finally climbed over “the big wall” last Saturday against Washington, sending the hammer out beyond 200 feet for the first time to a school-record 204-9. Heading into the home stretch of her senior year, that would seem like a decent jumping off point to postcollegiate competition.

“We’ll see,” she said. “I don’t know if I can hang out for four more years unless I make a very good impression on myself. I haven’t quite said no, but I need to be very competitive to be able to stay disciplined for that long.”

Bell lap

When Luke Lemenager and Dominic Smargiassi won the 800 and 3,000 meters against UW, it was the first time since 2001 the WSU men won more than one race longer than a lap in the dual. … The Cougars won’t have a home meet in 2009, as Martin Stadium construction will encroach on Mooberry Track. … Defending Big Sky discus champ Bonnie Millard of Eastern Washington is having a rollercoaster season. After throwing 138 and 140 feet her first two meets, the junior from Priest River fouled three times at the Pelluer and managed just 117-6 the next week in Long Beach. Then she blasted one out 154-8 at the Oregon Relays, the top mark in the conference. … Whitworth looks to have eight locks to compete in the NCAA Division III championships. Half-miler Emmanuel Bofa and high jumper Cody Stelzer own the No. 2 marks nationally.