Mooberry’s move brings out hammer throw
The Mooberry Relays were bigger and better, thanks to a move to Whitworth College that also meant the hammer throw could be added to the schedule.
Kicking the meet off at 9 a.m. Saturday, when rain drenched the early competitors, the hammer throwers were happy for the chance to compete in the event not sanctioned by the WIAA.
Emily Pake of Medical Lake had the first official throw, the first time she had thrown the hammer, and wasn’t the least bit unhappy with her effort of 39 feet, 73/4 inches.
“It was awesome,” the junior said after improving to 53-1/2. “I was scared at first. I didn’t know what to think.”
Jasmine Old Shoes of University was also a newcomer to the event, throwing 84-101/4, but her teammate Kelsey Wardsworth was an old hand, having picked it up two summers ago at the Ironwood Camp.
Ranked fourth in the state, the senior increased her best to 98-31/4.
“I started throwing the shot put and discus,” Wardsworth said after her near 5-foot PR. “I wasn’t the best, so I went to Ironwood. They said to try the hammer. I picked it up right away.”
Eight guys gave it a whirl with only two veterans, Jon Lawson, a junior who came from Prairie High School, and Michael Barnhart, a sophomore at Central Valley.
Lawson only started throwing the hammer a month ago, but he had experience with the indoor weight throw. His experience showed as he matched his personal best of 174-4 before the conditions deteriorated. Barnhart was second, just off his personal record at 106-2.
“Coach (Chuck) Bowden said it’s an event I’m tailored for,” the 5-foot-2 Barnhart said. “I’m low to the ground. The key is to keep the hammer in control and I have good muscle for my size.”
The rest of the meet was more traditional with a lot of non-traditional relays, including two-person teams in the field events.
Mead swept the teams titles to easily win the combined title. The Panther boys had 121 to 88 for North Central and 75 for CV. The girls had 871/2 to 80 for Gonzaga Prep and 613/4 for Mt. Spokane. The combined 2081/2 easily outdistanced NC’s 108 and G-Prep’s 96.
One of the highlights of the meet hosted by Rogers High is the mile named after former Rogers star Gerry Lindgren.
Ferris junior Adam Thorne and Mead sophomore Baylee Mires won comfortably.
“I was happy,” Thorne said after his run of 4 minutes, 20.5 seconds. “I wanted to break 4:20. I was close, so I’m happy.”
Mires ran 5:07.9 last year, setting a record, but this time ran comfortably in 5:20.8, saving herself to lead the Panthers to a come-from-behind win in the 3,200-meter relay and the second-place 1,600 relay, earning female athlete of the meet.
“I just ran smooth and strong,” she said. “It wasn’t as fast as last year because I had Andrea (Nelson of Shadle Park) to push me. I was disappointed when she said she was running the 2-mile.”
On the other end of the spectrum were the speedsters.
Rogers newcomer Corde Bailey won the 100 in 10.7, and Kelsey Linn of Ferris topped the girls in 12.2. Both also anchored the winning 400 relay teams.
“I kept telling myself I was going to get a 10.7,” said Bailey, who moved from Seattle, where he ran distances. “I came to live in a group home and when I said I wanted to go to high school they put me in Rogers. I’ve always known I was fast.”
Linn, a junior like Bailey, matched her PR from last year.
There were a number of notable performances.
NC’s Andrew Kimpel was the male athlete of the meet for two winning relays, the distance medley and the 3,200, which broke the meet record with a time of 17:39.7. Chewelah’s Will Lohman won the shot put (52-11) and with a second-place in the discus teamed with Riley Nelson to capture the discus relay. Mead’s Keith Webber went 15-0 in the pole vault for the second straight meet and was matched by CV’s Kyle Brown.
Shadle’s Bianca Pope won the shot put (37-4) and javelin (128-1) and Chewelah, a 1A school, had two individual champions – Samantha Beamer in the 400 (1:01.9) and Liz Cobb in the long jump (16-11) to go with a second in the triple jump. G-Prep lowered its state-leading time in the 1,600 relay to 4:06.2, while Mead ran No. 2 at 4:09.6.
•Interstate Invitational: Luke Mathews picked up four gold medals and Isaac Hamilton three as the Freeman boys joined the Central Valley girls as team champions in the meet at CV. Mathews won the long and triple jumps to go with his legs on the 400 and 1,600 relays. Hamilton took the 100 and 200 and also ran a leg on the 400 relay. The Scotties piled up 146 points to 1261/2 for Timberlake, followed by Colville at 102. The CV girls won easily with 264 points, well ahead of Lakeland, which had 128 with Colville third. The Bears won the long races, with Josie Warner topping the field in the 3,200 and Breanna Barston winning the 1,600. Camille Reynolds of Lakeland was a double winner in the 100 and 300 hurdles.