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Robert Jessop felt his heart pounding as he stood on the pole vault runway.
A year ago, the Kennewick senior no-heighted in this event at the district track championships, and now he faced the same situation again Friday night at the Columbia Basin Big Nine 4A district meet at Edgar Brown Stadium -- his third attempt at 12 feet, a height he typically clears with ease.
"My nerves were racing," he said. "I thought, 'I can't let it happen again.' "
And Jessop didn't, sailing over the bar with 2 feet to spare, to punch his ticket to next weekend's 4A Eastern Regionals at Spokane Falls CC.
"I'm not going to lie," he said, a big smile on his face. "I scared myself."
Though Jessop didn't win the pole vault (he tied for eighth) nor the triple jump (he finished second), his emotions put to lie the idea that districts -- from which the top 10 individuals and six relay teams advanced -- didn't matter much.
"I care," Jessop said, patting his heart. "I come to meets to win."
But his pole vault predicament highlights the fine line for the elite athletes between competing to win and making sure not to have your season end prematurely.
Southridge's girls 4x100, one of the favorites to win a state title, nearly met the same fate as Walla Walla's top-seeded boys -- a dropped baton.
"You can't be too overconfident," said senior anchor leg Kasey McNeill. "Mine and Andrea (Smith's) handoff was not our usual good one, but because I wanted to play it safe, I just hesitated a little and made sure of it."
The Suns still ran a season-best 48.56 seconds to win the race, then the same quartet -- Chelsea Bourque, La'Quilla Upton, Smith and McNeill -- came back to smash the meet record in the 4x200 in 1:42.55.
"It feels so good to get the time we wanted," said McNeill, who also won the 100 (12.36) and long jump (17-11 1/4), both with season-bests. "We'd been struggling in the 1:44s, but now when we're running against good athletes, it pushes you a little."
Despite those four wins and Bourque's victory in the 100 hurdles in 15.53, the Suns (who won the dual-meet title) were edged out by one point for the district title by Richland, which won its fifth straight championship.
The Bombers got wins from junior Martha Sanford in the 300 hurdles (46.58) and seniors Shaniae Lakes (37-8 1/4 in the triple jump) and Jessica Christian, who broke the meet record in the pole vault by clearing 12-1 1/4.
Christian had struggled earlier in the year with consistency, but this marked the third meet she had gone at least 12 feet.
"There are so many little things that have to be adjusted, so it's really difficult (to be consistent)," she said. "I'm disappointed not to go 12-7, but I've got regionals next week. I'll just have to make it there."
Two other girls meet records were set, both by Davis senior Sandra Martinez, who ran to victories in the 1,600 (4:57.59) and 3,200 (10:48.83).
Wenatchee won the boys team title, with Southridge taking second behind wins by Andrew Gonzales (3,200) and Jason Yale (110 hurdles).
Richland finished third led by senior Steven Piippo, who won the high jump by clearing a career-best 6-5 and taking second in the 100 and 200 to Pasco junior Marques Avery.
Avery stamped himself as one of the favorites in the short sprints next week with a pair of career-best runs -- 11.02 in the 100 and 22.20 in the 200 -- marked by fast starts and strong finishes to hold off Piippo each time.
"I felt him right there," Avery said. "He pushed me real hard. I just loved competing under the lights (in the 200). It feels great."
Walla Walla, which won the boys dual-meet title, finished fourth despite getting a pair of wins from junior Brandon Porter in the shot (49-7) and javelin (183-2) -- both career-bests.
"I wasn't feeling it in the javelin, but when I threw that one, I knew I had it won," said Porter, whose winning throw came on the first attempt in the finals.
CBBN 4A districts
Edgar Brown Stadium, Pasco
Winners plus Mid-Columbia regional qualifiers
Boys
Team scores--Wenatchee 100 1/2, Southridge 85, Richland 83, Walla Walla 74, Pasco 68 1/2, Kamiakin 63, Davis 62 1/2, Moses Lake 43, Eisenhower 42, Eastmont 21, Kennewick 20 1/2.
100--Marques Avery (Pas) 11.02; 2, Steven Piippo (Ric) 11.14; 3, Jordan Ness (WW) 11.21; 5, Andrew Bloom (WW) 11.35; 7, Cori Nickerson (Kam) 11.37; 8, DeVonte Rhea (Ric) 11.42; 9, Tim White (Kam) 11.45.
200--Marques Avery (Pas) 22.20; 2, Steven Piippo (Ric) 22.26; 5, Tim White (Kam) 22.99; 7, Austin Schilling (WW) 23.07; 8, Doug Rogers (Pas) 23.21; 9, DeVonte Rhea (Ric) 23.32; 10, Garrett Gerling (WW) 23.36.
400--Jacob Sealby (Wen) 49.54; 2, Jordan Ness (WW) 49.78; 5, Cori Nickerson (Kam) 50.46; 6, Andrew Bloom (WW) 51.40; 7, Tyler Bowers (Ric) 51.65; 9, Trevor Fitzpatrick (Ken) 53.01; 10, Chris Richardson (ML) 53.07.
800--Emmanuel Contreras (Dav) 1:56.68; 2, Peter Gilbert (Pas) 1:58.24; 3, Casey Casillas (Ric) 1:58.38; 4, Nathan Schweiger (Ric) 1:58.45; 5, Kyle Sturdefant (Sou) 1:59.72; 6, Aaron Smith (Sou) 2:00.01; 8, Quinton Olivas (Sou) 2:00.68; 9, Casey Singleton (Sou) 2:01.71; 10, Braden Nelson (Ric) 2:01.82.
1600--Emmanuel Contreras (Dav) 4:16.55; 2, Andrew Gonzales (Sou) 4:17.02; 3, Quinton Olivas (Sou) 4:20.73; 4, Evan Fiske (Kam) 4:23.87; 6, Anthony Armstrong (Kam) 4:27.34; 8, Justin Yoke (Kam) 4:28.34; 9, Peter Gilbert (Pas) 4:30.15; 10, Caleb Parker (Ric) 4:30.27.
3200--Andrew Gonzales (Sou) 9:22.57; 3, Anthony Armstrong (Kam) 9:32.76; 4, Evan Fiske (Kam) 9:33.34; 5, Colby Contreras (Sou) 9:35.75; 6, Aaron Nelson (WW) 9:36.21; 9, Justin Yoke (Kam) 9:40.97.
110H--Jason Yale (Sou) 15.52; 3, Garrett Gerling (WW) 15.58; 4, Ben Ward (Sou) 15.69; 7, Brad Heaston (Sou) 16.01; 9, Travis Kafentzis (Ric) 16.18; 10, Tim McEuen (WW) 16.20.
300H--Nick Hunt (Wen) 40.17; 2, Garrett Gerling (WW) 40.61; 3, Rainer Luhrs (Pas) 40.90; 4, Jordan LeMieux (Pas) 41.65; 5, Eddie Del Toro (Kam) 41.76; 6, Jason Yale (Sou) 41.85; 7, Aaron Konzek (Sou) 41.86; 8, Sawyer Neiffer (WW) 42.39; 9, Stanley Salsbury (Kam) 42.46.
4x100--Wenatchee 42.84; 2, Pasco 43.09; 3, Kamiakin 43.13; 4, Richland 43.85; 5, Moses Lake 44.07.
4x400--Wenatchee 3:21.22; 2, Richland 3:23.54; 4, Kamiakin 3:25.63; 6, Walla Walla 3:29.33.
HJ--Steven Piippo (Ric) 6-5; 4, Tyler Holle (Kam) 5-10; 6, Travis Kafentzis (Ric) 5-10; 7, (tie) Jason Hanson (Ken) and Jordan LeMieux (Pas) 5-8; 9, Tim McEuen (WW) 5-8.
PV--Marcus Schooley (Dav) 13-6; 2, Jacob Garretson (Sou) 13-6; 4, Hank Bohnet (WW) 13-0; 8, Robert Jessop (Ken) 12-6; 9, Devin Shaw (Pas) 12-6; 10, Quentin Wright (Pas) 12-6.
LJ--Lucas Sealby (Wen) 20-5 3/4; 2, Randy Koon (ML) 20-2; 3, Tyrell McGee (Sou) 20-1 3/4; 5, Trey Ralston (Kam) 19-11 3/4; 6, Jared Villarreal (Kam) 19-11 1/4; 7, Chris Richardson (ML) 19-11 1/4; 8, Rainer Luhrs (Pas) 19-10; 9, Stanley Salsbury (Kam) 19-9; 10, Justin Piek (WW) 19-7 1/2.
TJ--Spencer Fackrell (ML) 43-5 3/4; 2, Robert Jessop (Ken) 43-4 1/4; 4, Mitchell Hill (ML) 41-9; 5, Tyrell McGee (Sou) 40-11; 7, Jordan Wilks (ML) 40-6; 8, Justin Piek (WW) 40-4; 9, Matt Wildey (Ric) 39-6 3/4.
Shot--Brandon Porter (WW) 49-7; 2, Kole Whitby (Pas) 46-4; 3, Grant Robinson (Sou) 46-3 1/4; 4, Peter Girgis (Ric) 46-2; 5, Skylar Keeton (Pas) 45-0 3/4; 6, Chris Pitman (Ric) 44-11 1/2; 7, Travis Sharp (Ken) 44-10 1/4; 8, Jacob Price (Pas) 44-10 1/4; 9, Chris Christensen (Ric) 44-9 1/4; 10, Dennis Christensen (Ric) 44-3.
Dis--Scott Christensen (Ric) 145-1; 2, Spencer Fackrell (ML) 143-4; 3, Travis Sharp (Ken) 138-1; 4, Peter Girgis (Ric) 135-4; 6, Chris Pitman (Ric) 133-4; 8, Dylan Shenefield (WW) 128-10; 9, Jaden Espinoza (Pas) 127-7.
Jav--Brandon Porter (WW) 183-2; 3, Ethan Morgan (Kam) 168-8; 4, Jacob Price (Pas) 168-7; 5, Mitchell Hill (ML) 163-9; 6, Luke Nelson (WW) 158-3; 8, Nick Rader (Ric) 157-6; 9, Alex Dissing (Kam) 155-1.
Girls
Team scores--Richland 150, Southridge 149, Pasco 94, Eastmont 60, Wenatchee 58, Eisenhower 54, Davis 43, Kamiakin 38, Walla Walla 29, Moses Lake 15, Kennewick 12.
100--Kasey McNeill (Sou) 12.36; 2, La'Quilla Upton (Sou) 12.64; 3, Yesenia Ortiz (Pas) 12.65; 6, Sydni Jamerson (Ric) 13.08; 8, Sarah Nicole Pierce (Pas) 13.16; 9, Chynna Dickey (Ric) 13.22.
200--Shaniae Lakes (Ric) 25.75; 2, La'Quilla Upton (Sou) 26.59; 3, Sydni Jamerson (Ric) 27.17; 4, Magie Munoz (ML) 27.20; 5, Chynna Dickey (Ric) 27.22; 8, Sam Alderman (Ric) 27.46; 10, Erica Floyd (Sou) 27.64.
400--Yesenia Ortiz (Pas) 59.26; 2, Andrea Smith (Sou) 59.74; 3, Jenna Wallace (Sou) 59.89; 5, Kailee Davisson (WW) 1:00.88; 6, Sydni Jamerson (Ric) 1:01.85; 9, Magie Munoz (ML) 1:03.24; 10, Kylee Coleman (Kam) 1:03.35.
800--Nikki Dotter (Est) 2:15.15; 2, Maggie Jones (Ric) 2:22.54; 3, Janette Rodriguez (Pas) 2:22.90; 4, Kaylee Brooks (Kam) 2:22.94; 7, Katie Mahoney (Ric) 2:25.29; 9, Ashlee Odegard (Sou) 2:28.44; 10, Ariel Townsend (Ric) 2:29.04.
1600--Sandra Martinez (Dav) 4:57.59 (meet record: old record, 5:01.5, Cynthia Atencio, Richland, 1997); 3, Marisa Vander Malle (Pas) 5:16.32; 4, Emily Hazen (Ric) 5:17.21; 5, Janette Rodriguez (Pas) 5:20.02; 7, Emily Butler (Sou) 5:27.64; 9, Laurel Burrup (Ric) 5:37.72; 10, Denali Molitor (WW) 5:41.23.
3200--Sandra Martinez (Dav) 10:48.83 (meet record: old record, 10:54.5, Libby Tyson, Walla Walla, 1986); 2, Marisa Vander Malle (Pas) 11:30.18; 3, Emily Hazen (Ric) 11:30.33; 5, Alisha Till (Ric) 11:35.99; 6, Lauren Dernbach (Ric) 11:36.29; 9, Natalie April (Ric) 11:49.12.
100H--Chelsea Bourque (Sou) 15.53; 2, Andrea Smith (Sou) 15.58; 3, Sadie Spark (Pas) 15.70; 4, Martha Sanford (Ric) 15.72; 5, Elise Jepsen (Kam) 16.21; 6, Kendell Gilmore (Pas) 16.25; 7, Melanie Valdez (Ric) 16.60; 9, Khadidja Toure (Kam) 16.77.
300H--Martha Sanford (Ric) 46.58; 2, Gabby Brower (Ric) 47.03; 3, Chelsea Bourque (Sou) 47.11; 4, Danielle Rovira (Pas) 47.56; 8, McKhayla Morris (WW) 48.78; 9, Jamie Weisner (WW) 48.86; 10, Shelby Ellsworth (Pas) 49.03.
4x100--Southridge (Bourque, Upton, Smith, McNeill) 48.56; 2, Richland 49.59; 3, Pasco 49.81.
4x200--Southridge (Bourque, Smith, Upton, McNeill) 1:42.55 (meet record: old record, 1:42.9, Pasco, 1997); 2, Richland 1:44.66; 5, Pasco 1:50.77; 6, Moses Lake 1:52.19.
4x400--Eastmont 4:04.45; 2, Pasco 4:07.21; 4, Richland 4:13.55; Southridge 4:13.59; 6, Walla Walla 4:16.64.
HJ--Audrey Ketcham (Wen) 5-4; 2, Elise Jepsen (Kam) 5-2; 3, Charlene Manning (Ric) 5-0; 4, Jordan Loera (ML) 5-0; 5, Kendell Gilmore (Pas) 5-0; 6, Elizabeth Wood (WW) 5-0; 7, Kristi Beyer (Kam) 4-10; 8, Sadie Sparks (Pas) 4-10; 10, Peyton Baxter (WW) 4-8.
PV--Jessica Christian (Ric) 12-1 1/4 (meet record: old record, 11-9, Sara Rowse, Richland, 2001); 2, Mackenzie Hall (Sou) 11-0; 3, Katie Smoot (Sou) 10-9; 4, Elizabeth Dotson (Ric) 10-6; 6, Janice Barlow (WW) 9-6; 7, Danielle Cuevas (Kam) 9-6; 8, Joanna Chen (Ric) 9-6; 9, Kirstie Schnetzer (Sou) 9-6.
LJ--Kasey McNeill (Sou) 17-11 1/4; 2, Shallynn Jackson (Ric) 17-2 1/2; 3, Brittany Hill (Sou) 16-8; 5, Kaitlin Kessie (Kam) 16-1 3/4; 7, Morgan Sullivan (Pas) 15-10 3/4; 9, Shaylee Hill (WW) 15-6; 10, Jamie Weisner (WW) 15-5 1/2.
TJ--Shaniae Lakes (Ric) 37-8 1/4; 2, Elise Jepsen (Kam) 35-8 1/4; 3, Brittany Hill (Sou) 33-6 1/4; 6, Kaitlin Kessie (Kam) 33-2 3/4; 7, Jordan Loera (ML) 32-10 3/4; 8, Mackenzie Hall (Sou) 32-8 1/2; 9, Janelle LeMieux (Pas) 32-7 1/4; 10, Kayla Chamberlain (ML) 32-3.
Shot--Jessica Bush (Ike) 38-10; 2, Emma Murillo (Sou) 37-5 3/4; 3, Ashley Willoughby (Ric) 37-2 1/4; 5, Kaytlyn Coleman (Ken) 36-5 1/4; 7, Sadie Sparks (Pas) 34-11 3/4; 8, Adrianna Rodriguez (WW) 34-2 1/2; 9, Arianna Balderas (Pas) 33-9.
Dis--Jessica Bush (Ike) 124-3; 2, Emma Murillo (Sou) 121-8; 3, Arianna Balderas (Pas) 120-3; 5, Kelsey Julian (Ken) 116-6; 6, Samantha Graff (Pas) 115-11; 7, Adrianna Rodriguez (WW) 115-5; 8, Ashley Willoughby (Ric) 105-10; 10, Victoria Stevens (Ric) 103-3.
Jav--Brooke Randall (Est) 133-7; 2, Kenna Ross (WW) 122-10; 3, Emma Murillo (Sou) 122-9; 5, Reina Malito (Ken) 118-6; 6, Shelby Ellsworth (Pas) 115-3; 7, Carson Rowe (Ric) 108-9; 8, Adrianna Rodriguez (WW) 107-9; 9, Angelique Whitstocken (Ken) 106-0.
