Monday, May. 25, 2009

One week to go ...

Whew! What a weekend at Spokane Falls Community College.

As usual, the 4A/3A Eastern Regional track meet lived up to my expectations.

What makes the meet the highlight of the season -- even ahead of state?

Hanford 400-meter runner Megan Dart summed it up best: "It was really cutthroat."

State is the reward for all the hard work put in during the season. But to get there, one must survive regionals.

So what is regionals?

— It's Walla Walla senior Kenna Ross' reaction to her winning throw in the 4A girls javelin. As the event judge called out her distance -- 145 feet, 3 inches -- she froze for a moment, her mouth agape. Then she let out a scream of joy and made a beeline for the contingent of fans and coaches there to cheer her on. The thrill of victory in full display.

— It's the reaction of Mead's Jazmine Redmon after watching her teammate Kiersten Green bump her from the final state spot in the 4A girls long jump. Redmon still had one more jump to try to get her spot back, but Green's jump was like a punch in the gut. The tears were flowing almost as soon as Redmon landed in the pit short of her goal, and they exploded as she walked toward her parents and coaches -- the epitome of the agony of defeat.

— Of course, there was Tyrell McGee's reaction to almost the exact same scenario. The Southridge long jumper had a state spot locked up until he got bounced by a pair of 21-foot jumps in the final round. After McGee's final jump came up short, he walked over to Suns jumps coach Sheila Smith, sat down on the rock ledge next to a fence, and said, with almost a hint of joviality, "Boy that sucks."

— It's the Southridge girls relay team's pre-race routine. After their impromptu dance, each one slaps the other across the face to "wake" them to the task at hand. Guess they started it a few meets ago, and y'know athletes are superstitious. Whatever works, eh? -- the Suns set a pair of regional records in the 4x100 and 4x200, broke their own Mid-Columbia record in the latter, and made a big contribution toward their winning the team title.

— It's the Hanford track team scrambling to find a piece of gum for a still-drowsy reporter who got a too-early wakeup knock from housekeeping at this hotel. Never did catch who to thank for it, but thank you, nonetheless.

— It's Martha Sanford playing a little trick on yours truly. The meet announcer was calling out the awards for the 4A boys 100 meters, and when Pasco's Marques Avery was announced, he pronounced it like the marquee of a theater. Martha happened to be walking by. I didn't know that's how it's pronounced. "Oh yeah," the Richland junior said. ... So of course, when Marques walks by, I offer congratulations. You're too nice, though. Why didn't you tell me that's how you pronounce your name? To which he shoots me a look that tells me I've been had. So now I've got to figure out how to get that little imp back.

— And of course, it's the athletes and the performances they have. It's a 7-foot high jumper (Mead's AJ Maricich) and a 200-foot javelin thrower (Mead's Justin Graff). It's some of the best distance races in the meet's history. It's a 39-foot triple jumper (Richland's Shaniae Lakes).

* * *

Speaking of Lakes, she moved to within 4 inches of breaking the all-time area record in the triple jump with her 39-footer, which also broke the meet record. It also put her in the top 20 all-time in state history.

Southridge's area-record 1:41.76 in the 4x200 also put the Suns in the top 20 in state history, while its meet-record 48.10 in the 4x100 puts them in the top 30 in the state annals.

Ross' javelin throw? Top-15 all-time.

And quite a few more cracked the area's all-time top-10 list from the boys meet, including Avery's 10.93 in the 100 prelims (tied for 9th) and 22.20 in the 200 prelims (No. 10); Southridge's Andrew Gonzales' 9:10.59 in the 3200 (No. 8); Kamiakin's 4x100 going 42.78 to qualify (tied for 9th); Richland's 3:22.44 in the 4x400 (No. 10); and Hanford's Kyle Wagar's 186-0 (7th) and Kamiakin's Ethan Morgan's 185-4 (8th) in the javelin.

But the best javelin throw of the weekend took place not in Spokane, but in Prosser, where Christine Kirkwood is following in her sister Courtney's footsteps. Christine, a sophomore at Othello, won the CWAC district title with a throw of 149-3 -- No. 6 all-time with the Olympic-style implement and No. 10 all-time by a sophomore, regardless of which javelin was thrown.

* * *

Three more reasons for people to question the Kennewick School District's decision to move up from 3A to 4A:

— Ethan Morgan, Kamiakin, 185-4 javelin throw;

— Emma Murillo, Southridge, 126-10 javelin throw;

— Reina Malito, Kennewick, 125-6 javelin throw.

All three met the 3A state qualifying standard. All three fell justshort of the 4A standard, and missed finishing in the top three. All three are staying home ... well, OK, Morgan made it in the 4x100, but the javelin is his thing.

* * *

I'd be remiss not to mention some of the other fine performances by area athletes this weekend.

How great is it that the Richland baseball team made it back to Safeco Field for the third straight year by bombing University 10-4 in their quarterfinal at Bomber Field. The area also produced two other semifinalists -- Othello in 2A and (surprise) DeSales in 2B -- and even a finalist already after Touchet beat the defending champs to make the 1B title game.

And I can't ever remember a year when the CBBN shut out the GSL in 4A softball state berths. One of my favorite athletes this year is Kennewick senior Amanda Hall, and I'm pleased to see her finally get a chance to play on the state stage.

Pasco boys soccer? How impressive have the Bulldogs been this year? Connell? Never a surprise to see Hugo Garcia and his boys get back to the westside. And kudos to Prosser for making it to the final four for the first time.

OK, that's all for now. It's 3:53 a.m., and the Apollo 13 crew is about to jerry-rig the CO2 filters on AMC.

Til next time ...