Ken Roberts
Sports Writer
As the wind kicked in at the Stayton three way track meet that included Sisters along with Stayton, so did the times and marks in the dashes and horizontal jumps.
However, the computer scoring system broke down, so no official score had been posted as of this past weekend.
Though the girls did not have many sprinters, the boys took advantage of the conditions and posted personal bests in the 100 and 200 meters, starting with Donny Cliver’s first dip under the twelve second mark at 11.9, good for second place. Wayne Martinez and Ian Lynn also set new bests for themselves, and Kellen Petersen tied his best with a 24.7 in the 200 meters, also good for second place. The boys also captured firsts in both relays while the girls took second in the 4×400 relay.
In the long jump, Petersen also set a personal standard with a 19 foot leap to help the Huskiesto a 1-2-3 finish in that event. Seth Graves was less than an inch behind and Mike Barnes captured third by jumping his career high, 18-7. Barnes also went on to take first in the polevault at 12-6.
“Barnes has had a good last two weeks,” said Coach Billy Snow. “If he can add one or two more things to his vaulting, especially on top, he could go higher yet.”
Lisa Brocard, who had a relatively light schedule in this meet, sailed to a 16-7.5 mark for the girls while Ashley Smith took second in both the triple jump and high jump.
John Lovik took first in the 3000 meter run, though he did not tangle with the powerful Swehosky brothers of Stayton. Megan Snow dropped down to her middle distance events, taking second place in both the 800 and 1500 meters.
The Huskies’ strengths this year often appear to be in pairs or more in certain events. For the boys, the javelin and horizontal jumps have been the mainstays. Once again, the Huskies were strong in the javelin, though Mike Severns throw of 165 feet was good for just second place as he continues to fight the ever-present injuries. However, Cliver posted a new high at 164-10 and Graves finished third. Unfortunately, Malcolm Brown, who tossed the implement for a new high at 146-04, is relegated to JV duty when on most teams he would be a significant factor.
The girls have their own combinations, usually in the triple jump with Brocard and Smith, andagain in the shot put and discus with Krystle Streight and Rachel Gaskey. Gaskey, a senior who competed in the state championships last year, is going through some technique changes that have made her marks inconsistent recently. In this meet, she took second in the discus with a a toss well under her best. Streight, a junior who has been close to 35 feet all year, took third with her put of 34-8 while Meaghan Schaefer eclipsed the thirty foot mark for the first time this year.
Coach Billy Snow thinks both Streight and Gaskey could be solid factors at the district meet coming up in a little over two weeks. He gives Emily Kindle of Cascade the nod in the shot put but thinks second place is up for grabs.
“If we can solve some technique things, hopefully Krystal will get out to 36 or 37 feet,” said Snow. “It will take that to get of our league (to the state meet) in the shot.”
Gaskey is making a late rush in another event, the javelin, to try to help the team. Perhaps the in-team competition helped Kim Lovik to break the 100 foot barrier for the first time. Her throw of 103-2 gave her second place.
Another strong combination for the girls has been in the hurdles, one of just a couple events where the girls have appeared strong on the track. Brocard and Swanson separated the duty of the highs and the lows in the last two meets. Brocard dipped under the 17 second plateau with a second place 16.8 and likewise Swanson took second place with a PR of 51.7 in the lows.
Unfortunately, they were up against perhaps the best hurdler in the state, Sara Majors of Cascade. To capture second place in district, both will have to be able to three step confidentally in the highs and get low fast clearance in the lows.
“I would expect all the hurdlers to drop time as they get technique down and as we start to taper,” said Snow.
Right now, Snow has two goals in mind. For some individuals, he wants to see if they can post times or marks that will qualify them for the Meet of Champions on Saturday, which could affect what he will enter them in the league meet at North Marion. The other goal, of course, is the district meet.
“We will be working through our last two regular season meets (North Marion Tuesday and Molalla the following Tuesday),” stated Snow. “As we near the district meet, we will be increasing the speed of our running and decreasing the quantity of intervals.”
The girls who qualify for the Meet of Champions will be competing at Cascade starting at 11:30 a.m.while Sweet Home hosts the boys portion of the event beginning at 4:30 p.m.