It was about this time last year that Robert Jessop first tried triple jumping in an actual meet.
A year later, the Kennewick senior is the area leader in the event with a best of 43 feet, 9 1/2 inches.
"I just decided to do it for fun," Jessop said. "I turned out to be pretty good at it."
Good enough to win the district title in only his third competition and eventually qualify for last year's 3A state meet.
"I think I have a real good shot at going back to state," Jessop said. "I'm looking forward to maybe winning regionals, but I'll have to push to do that."
Jessop is No. 3 in the Eastern Region in the triple jump, and he also has a good shot at qualifying for state in the pole vault, having cleared a career-best 14 feet at last week's CBBN meet at West Valley.
Six of the state's top nine 4A pole vaulters reside east of the Cascades, though, so Jessop knows his best bet is to clear the state standard of 14-6 at the regional meet in 2 1/2 weeks in Spokane.
Jessop worked this summer with Kamiakin vault coach Todd Freitag and Southridge coach Dave Hurst to improve his technique.
"It's kind of clicked this season for me," Jessop said. "I'm the only varsity guy at Kennewick, and I've gotten to know a lot of the other guys around the area. We're all really close friends."
Jessop has also competed in the 200 meters, javelin and long jump this season, and he's hoping to compete in the decathlon next year at Spokane Falls CC.
-- Kiona-Benton's hopes of winning a third straight SCAC East girls dual-meet title came down to the 800 meters at Tuesday's league meet in Burbank.
Junior Emily Blizard trailed Connell's Laryn Wells by 10 meters before putting on a furious kick to beat Wells by a second, giving the Bears the points necessary to edge the Eagles 70-69 in their dual meet and secure the league title. Ana Rodriguez of Columbia (Burbank) won the race in 2 minutes, 40.4 seconds, with Blizard second in 2:41.6 -- the Coyotes were not a factor in the team standings.
"We take pride in dual-meet titles," said Ki-Be coach Jim Perry. "It takes a whole team. Now, we concentrate on the postseason and individuals."
-- The CBBN dual-meet titles will be decided today at the final league meets. Walla Walla's boys, 10-0 in duals, travel to Kennewick for a four-team meet hosted by Southridge (9-1). The Suns girls also are unbeaten, and the other three teams -- Wa-Hi, Hanford and Sunnyside -- are below .500 in league duals.
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Kamiakin cross country sweeps all-area honors (w/ photos)
Kamiakin cross country sweeps all-area honors (w/ photos)
KENNEWICK — It's Kamiakin's world; everyone else is just running in it.
In terms of the Mid-Columbia cross country scene, that's an apt description of this last fall season.
The Braves boys and girls not only dominated league meets -- at times placing their full squad of seven in the top 10 -- they performed well at the big races and brought home a bounty of state hardware.
Rankin keeps Prosser on swimming map
Rankin keeps Prosser on swimming map
Hailey Rankin was a sterling representative for the Prosser girls swimming team during the Tri-City Championships on Oct. 8 in Kennewick.
The junior earned victories in the 100-yard breaststroke, winning in 1 minute, 10.82 seconds, and the 100 butterfly -- perhaps the day's most exciting event.
Rankin beat Hanford's Melissa Merrill to the wall by one-hundredth of a second, lowering her state-qualifying time to a lifetime-best 1:00.93.
League wrestling titles at stake this week
League wrestling titles at stake this week
A big week of wrestling is on tap for Mid-Columbia teams in the hunt for league titles.
In the CBBN 4A, Chiawana (4-0) travels to Moses Lake (3-0) on Thursday for a dual that should decide the regular-season crown. That same day will see Pasco travel to Sunnyside in a battle of 5-0 teams in the CBBN 3A.
This is the second consecutive season the Bulldogs and Grizzlies will meet with unblemished records. Last year, the Grizzlies won 34-18 and went on to secure the league title.
WSU's new hire tops memorable year in Mid-Columbia
WSU's new hire tops memorable year in Mid-Columbia
Has another year gone by already?
Time does seem to fly when you're watching sports, and the Mid-Columbia has certainly done it's share to fill the news cycle during 2011.
A couple of local athletes made a splash on the national stage, and all three Tri-Cities' sports franchises made a push for league championships. A few high school teams reached the pinnacle of their sport by winning state titles.
WSU's new hire tops memorable year in Mid-Columbia
WSU's new hire tops memorable year in Mid-Columbia
Has another year gone by already?
Time does seem to fly when you're watching sports, and the Mid-Columbia has certainly done it's share to fill the news cycle during 2011.
A couple of local athletes made a splash on the national stage, and all three Tri-Cities' sports franchises made a push for league championships. A few high school teams reached the pinnacle of their sport by winning state titles.
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