Two Baileys scorch 200s
A double shot of high-octane Baileys steamed around the corner at the Spokane Falls Community College track Friday night, highlighting an outstanding finish to the District 8 Track and Field Championships.
In back-to-back 200-meter races, Rogers’ Cor’de Bailey and Mead’s Wes Bailey both broke 22 seconds, putting the sprinters on equal footing with record-breaking distance runners as Greater Spokane League athletes took advantage of ideal conditions.
Cor’de Bailey went 21.85 seconds, breaking the 3A district record, to go with his win in the 100 (10.88) and the 400 relay the Pirates ran on Thursday.
Wes Bailey was 21.98, to go with the 300 hurdles he sort of won as well as that short relay.
(It was discovered one set of hurdles wasn’t set up after the two boys races were run. Since all eight finalists advance to regional in 3A, the finish, without times, was deemed good. However, with only five advancing out of 4A, it was decided to rerun the race this morning before the JV meet at SFCC.)
“I’m pretty happy, but it would have been better if I had beat Cor’de’s time,” Wes Bailey said.
On the distance end, one family had two runners break 1,600 records but they didn’t run fast enough to beat a pair of North Central runners.
Senior Ben Johnston (4:14.37) and freshman Katie Knight (4:58.98), who won 3,200s on Thursday, eclipsed the 3A 1,600 marks, as did Shadle Park’s Nathan (4:17.85) and Kendra Weitz (5:02.12).
“Sometimes you just feel it’s time to go,” Katie Knight said. “I knew Kendra wanted to run a fast time and I thought let’s just do it together. Let’s show these freshman girls are here. I wouldn’t be able to run that fast without her. She just pulls me and pulls me and pulls me because she pushes so hard. She kills me in the really long distances but I’m lucky to have a good kick.”
And there were plenty of other notable successes in-between, including a pair of girls, Kelsey Lin of Ferris and Afton McKinlay of Mt. Spokane, winning four gold medals, including two relays.
A pair of Central Valley wheelchair athletes put up huge numbers. Austin Pruitt’s 57.41 in the 400 is 2 seconds faster than A standard and Amber Weber’s 1:02.35 is 4 seconds short of the B standards for the paralympics. If they can hit those standards in qualifying in Florida next month they can compete in the World Championships in New Zealand.
4A
Ferris senior Adam Thorne and Mead freshman Andrew Gardner duplicated their 3,200 duel in the 1,600. Thorne won by less than a second (4:19.72), impressive considering the 3,200, where his 9:06.11 put him in the top 30 in the nation and Gardner’s 9:06.75 is the nation’s fastest this season for his class as well as a state freshman record.
The previous freshman best, from 1985, was 9:10.46 with Nathan Weitz second with a 9:13.06 last year.
Lewis and Clark senior Levi Taylor improved a pair of his area bests, throwing the javelin 208 feet, 1 inch and then triple jumping 46-7.
“It would have been better if the 47 would have counted,” Taylor said of his triple jump scratches. “I had two. Now that I know I can hit it, I feel better. I’ve got all the thinks tweaked out, I know what to do. It’s all just runway work now.”
Sam Himes of Mead and Gage Orosco got Taylor’s attention in the javelin with big PRs on their first throws. Himes, a sophomore, went 193-1, a little more than a 17-foot improvement, and then Orosco went 193-9, upping his best by more than 11 feet.
“I just went out there and tried to get used to the runway and hit like a 196,” Taylor said. “That made me more relaxed. The key is being relaxed. The javelin is so much technique that the first time you try to arm it all it’s just going to go downhill.”
Lin missed the middle of the season with a variety of leg injuries but was sporting gold medals for the 100 (12.74) and her new passion, the triple jump (35-1) as well as for anchor legs on area-best 400 (49.71) and 800 (1:46.47) relays.
“I’m back, just in time,” the Yale-bound senior said. “It felt good to get out here and get four firsts. (The results) are not exactly where I’d like them to be. But keeping everything in perspective, I had to take three weeks off. I’d like them to drop in regionals and take them into state. But it is what it is.”
Mead’s two big guns did their thing. Baylee Mires easily won the two events where she is the defending state champion. She ran 2:14.93 in the 800, 5:04.16 in the 1,600. Jazmine Redmon added a PR in the 400 (58.68) to the long-jump school record she got Thursday. Then they ran the final two legs 1,600 relay (3:59.99), where they are also defending champs.
Mead won the boys and girls points races.
3A
McKinley had the understatement of the day after winning the 100 (13.10), 200 (26.36) and anchoring the 400 (50.59) and 200 (1:47.55 relays).
“I was a little sketchy on the 200, I haven’t run it much this year, but it turned out really well,” she said.
Rogers’ Bailey thinks he’s close to going real low, a result of an early-season hamstring injury leaving him fresher and stronger for the end of the season.
“I wish could get the 200 down to 21.6,” he said. “I think the 100 is what I run best. For the 100 I was hoping for a 10.3. I’ve still got a lot of time.”
Shayle Dezellem also had an impressive day, winning the 100 and 300 hurdles with season bests (15.34 and 45.91, respectively) and anchoring the winning 1,600 relay (4:09.42).
NC’s boys and Mt. Spokane’s girls won team titles.