WV duo goes for big finish

For a couple of track careers that got off to inauspicious starts, West Valley seniors Ashley Kenney and Melissa Mauro are finishing with a flourish.

Kenney is the second-best high school discus thrower in Spokane County history, a distinction she put an exclamation mark on by setting a meet record Friday evening at Cheney High School in the Great Northern League’s District 7 2A state-qualifying track and field meet.

Kenney won with a throw of 149 feet, exactly 3 feet shy of her personal record from two weeks ago, when she became just the third thrower from east of the Cascades to reach that distance. The other two are Dory Reeves of Lewis and Clark, who went 160-10 in 1989, and Kate Hutchinson of Pullman, who went 160-5 in 2002.

“It is kind of setting in that I’m good at this,” the Washington State-bound Kenney said. “I don’t want to come off sounding cocky. It’s starting to sink in that I accomplished something special. The difficulty last year is I was trying hard to be really humble, when I could have been a little more cocky. That could have helped me. It’s definitely been an exciting year.”

Mauro had four times as much to be excited about.

After winning the high jump, she won the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and anchored the runner-up 1,600 relay team.

“There’s been a big improvement, last year I only went to state in the high jump,” Mauro said. “It’s been my goal, how cool would it be to go to state in four events?”

The top three in each event advance to state at Mt. Tahoma in Tacoma next weekend. In the team races, the Pullman boys scored 169 points to beat Cheney by 19. The Cheney girls had 175 points to easily outdistance Pullman, which had 136.

The fact that Mauro is competing at such a high level – her best of 5-6 in the high jump and her hurdle times are among the state leaders – is impressive after she destroyed a knee as a freshman basketball player.

“I was pretty upset,” she said. “I went to every practice, even though I didn’t compete once.”

The 5-4 junior high jumper didn’t begin competing in any sports until track her sophomore year, placing fifth in the State 3A meet.

Mauro’s confidence grew her junior year as she earned first-team All-GNL in volleyball and second team in basketball, before winning state in the high jump with a PR of 5-5.

This year is even more impressive, first-team volleyball, basketball MVP and the 2A leader in the high jump (5-6) and 300 hurdles (45.21) and fourth in the 100s (15.53).

The hurdle times please Mauro the most because she didn’t know if she had a future as a hurdler. She will compete in college for Montana.

“I think I’m fast enough now,” she said. “At the beginning of the season I wasn’t, that’s why they said they would look at me in the heptathlon.”

Kenney wasn’t injured as a freshman – she was just a 108-foot thrower.

“For a freshman, that’s not bad, but it wasn’t like, too amazing,” she said.

She only added 9 feet the next year but jumped to 144-6 last season, a school record, and placed second at state.

“She likes the event, she learns well and she’s a pretty good athlete,” WV throws coach Howard Dolphin said. “She’s fun to coach. If she’s doing something wrong, you can tell her and she’ll work on it.”

It’s a sign of her progress that she was disappointed with a 149-foot throw, saying, “I wasn’t relaxed. If I try too hard it just doesn’t go for me at all. It’s not like the shot put at all.”

That’s what originally drew her to the discus.

“It was really hard, a challenge,” she said. “Once I got into it, I really liked it. There’s something about it. Coming into high school I thought shot put would be my big thing.

“The last couple of weeks I have been trying to work on the shot put more, but it’s really hard when you have a favorite and it’s going good. It’s hard to take a step back. I’d like to be better in the shot … it’s not that I’m not trying my hardest. But I’m not going to beat myself up.”

4A

The Greater Spokane League had a strong showing in the field events at the Eastern 4A Regional in Richland.

Kelly McNamee of Ferris, Spokane’s all-time leading high jumper, cleared 5-10 for the fourth time in her career and the third time this season, leading a sweep of the top four places for the GSL. McNamee was a double winner by going 17-7¼ in the long jump.

The GSL had the top five spots in the javelin, although only three advance to state in Pasco next weekend. Bianca Pope of Shadle Park led the way with a throw of 129-5, to beat teammate Sara Nichols by 23 inches.

Central Valley freshman Paul Jennings and junior Lauren Puhek were second and third in the shot put.

Andrea Nelson of Shadle shaved almost 10 seconds off her season best in the 3,200 meters, winning with a time of 10:50.99.

The GSL also swept the top three spots in the boys 3,200, led by CV senior Jayson Taylor (9:24.30). In the other track event, Lewis and Clark won the 400 relay (43.03).

The GSL had the top seven placers in the pole vault, with Mead’s Keith Webber winning (14-0), and the top two in the long jump, led by CV’s Greg Barnes (21-9½).

3A

Mt. Spokane’s Ian Schneidmiller and North Central’s Andrew Kimple gave the GSL two wins in the boys meet. Kimple won the 3,200 (9:20.17) and Schneidmiller took the discus 153-6.

With only three advancing to state in Pasco next weekend, the GSL girls got shut out in three of the finals, the 3,200, high jump and long jump. However, in the javelin, although the highest finish is third, three Mt. Spokane girls, Jackie Goldman, Lindsey Snyder and Holleigh Bergstrom are moving on because they exceeded the state-qualifying mark of 121 feet.