Undeberg Invitational, Race Report

Howdy, glad you’re back again. Settle in because a lot happened at the Undeberg Invitational yesterday. I’ve broken the meet down into two parts. I thought it was a terrifically run meet and you can find my comments on that in this post. On to athletes.

The first running event of the day was the women’s 4x200. Colfax won the event in a time of 1:50.49 with a team that has two freshmen and a sophomore. I watched from the first exchange point. The second place team from Ritzville was in the lane next to Colfax. Ever try to get a picture of perpetual motion? The two girls were practically vibrating while they chatted, one bouncing on her toes, the Ritzville runner going side to side instead—until the gun went up and the race started. The Broncos had a lead from the starting split coming into the first exchange, but the Colfax team, with Sarah Kraut leading off, had a series of good exchanges and ran a season PR to edge Ritzville by less than a second while Colville stayed competitive, pulling in third place.

The women’s 3200m was much less competitive as freshman Shania Graham of Republic ran away from fellow freshman Mariah Pena (Medical Lake), winning with a time of 11:56. Heidi Hennings (Ling-Ritzville) stayed close on Pena’s heels, clocking in at 12:37, two seconds behind the freshman, good for third place.

The men’s 3200m, run much later in the day, finished with a terrific sprint between Colville’s Kevin Carpenter and Lakeside’s Ryan Coffman. Carpenter edged by about a half-second, 10:01.27 to 10:01.85. The field was crowded with 32 runners and several more positions were decided with hard finishing kicks. The trio of Cody Alvarez (Othello), TJ Baun (Colville), and Brady Mullikin (Asotin) finished within less than a second and a half between them.

I caught the hurdles this time and watched Ryan Whitmore (Lind-Ritzville) win both the 110m High hurdles as well as the 300m intermediates—avoiding a loss in the intermediates by nearly flinging his body over the last hurdle as he got his feet out of step and missed the approach. He edged Marco Pena (Othello) in both. The longer race was decided by .05 seconds. Luke Walker (Colville) took third in the 300m and sixth in the 110m. Joe Lang (Royal), Shawn Weisner (Pomeroy), and Colton Forman (Kittitas) finished in the top five in the 110m hurdles while Owen Lanning (Waitsburg-Prescott) took fourth in the 300m hurdles with Ben Elliott (Colville) joining his teammate Walker in the top five.

Colfax ran out two women fresh from the 4x200 relay, Bailey Mackleit and Parker Warwick who placed first(16.67 seconds) and fourth respectively in the high hurdles. Allison Wujek (DeSales) was second, Karlee Maioho (Wilbur-Creston) third, and Mara Riley of Seattle Academy fifth.

Mackleit came back to post a season’s-best 48.84 to win the 300m event. Freshman Karlee Maioho moved up to second. The women’s 300m hurdles were dominated by younger athletes as sophomore Jadyn Dandreth (Reardan), freshman Allison Garza (Othello), and another skilled Colfax runner, Olivia Mellor, a sophomore, rounded out the top five.

I missed the 100m sprints as I wandered around the field events.

Pole vaulting turned out to be a bit of an adventure. The Colfax coach Jason Cooper was kind enough to answer some of my questions since I admittedly know very little about the technical aspects of vaulting.

The wind, gusting from nearly behind the vaulters, effectively shoving them more quickly into the bar as they elevated. Apparently this is preferable to a side wind which alters the direction of the pole plant and forces the athletes into off-balance, sometimes dangerous take-offs. I’ve joked for years that, over-tall and over-broad as I am, I make a good sail. It’s less funny when you’re balanced 12’ off the ground on a slender rod and hoping that you’re still over the pit.

Coach Cooper’s vaulters are probably looking for better weather, but Sam Daily tied his personal best and won with a vault of 12’00”. A pair of Davenport men tied in height, Tanner Perry tying his PR while his teammate, Austin Zeller set a new one. They were followed by two Pomeroy Pirates, Memo Morfin and Cole Mayfield. All five of the top men either tied or beat their previous bests.

Lakeside dominated on the women’s side, taking the top two spots. Farrahn O’Hara won, clearing 10’06” while Samantha Blake cleared 10’. Scout Cai is another very promising Colfax pole vaulter. She has good speed and elevation but is still developing her technique. Both she and Blake are sophomores. With pole vault such a technical event, I expect to see some fun battles as they both become more skilled.

The women’s 1600m. Wow! Seven of the top ten spots taken by freshmen, led by Madison Ward of St. George’s as she builds on the impressive start to her high school career with a 5:29.86. Felicia Ziemer (Lind-Ritzville) took second while Harley Strope (Reardan) was the only upperclassman to crack the top five. Mariah Pena backed up her strong 3200m with another good performance in this event. Kat Stephenson, running with a tender Achilles’, came close to a PR. Heather Siegel, the St. John-Endicott standout, was solid in sixth. Zoe Robertson (TO-GP) set a PR sneaking past Emily Adams (Waitsburg-Prescott) and teammate Katie Holbrook (a sophomore). Kiara Hoxie held off Robertson and the others to secure seventh. It’s an impressive group of young runners.

Domenic Rehm (Medical Lake) won convincingly with a 4:30. Ryan Coffman (Lakeside) ran a 4:34. Kevin Carpenter a 4:35 and Micah Dingfield (Medical Lake) 4:38. Unlike the women’s side, the men’s race was controlled by upperclassmen. The only freshman to get into the top ten was Thomas Weakland (Asotin) who set a PR with a 4:42.96 as he took seventh.

The head wind didn’t help any of the discus throwers.

Piper Loop (Asotin) continued her winning ways, picking up a first place finish again in discus with a toss of 117’03” and a fourth place with a season-best shot put of 35’07”. Alyssum Reno of Kittitas won the women’s shot put (39’03”).

Jacob Swearingen (Asotin) won both the shot (47’09”) and discus (146’09”) for the men. The competition in the shot put was close with Eli Richardson (Rosalia) heaving a 47’07.25 and James Hopkins (Reardan) keeping pace with a 45’06.5”. Inches separated Austin Oursland (140’09”, Kittitas) and Josh Brown (140’01”, Colfax) as they vied for second in discus.

Moving back to the running events (and no, these aren’t in order!), the men’s 800m race surprised the heck out of me and at least one runner. Brady McKay (Asotin) ran the fourth heat of the race, consistent with his previous efforts. The fastest runners went in Heat 1, the next fastest in 2, etc. Except that Brady apparently didn’t get that particular memo. He roared past me at the 100m mark already with a ten yard lead and I liked his aggression, attacking the race. When he came by again, at 500 meters,  the lead was up to thirty yards.

I talked to him after the 800m, before I realized he had blasted a 13 second PR and taken fourth place overall. He sounded a little stunned at himself and thinks it might be time for him to challenge the 4:51 plateau he’s been stuck at as a miler. I suspect his coach, Tim Gundy, will agree.

St. George’s took the top two spots in the race. Will Tender ran a 2:02 and Nathan Vanox a 2:06. Isaac Mata (DeSales) was next in 2:07.8.

Madison Ward and Felicia Zeimer sandwiched Shania Graham as freshmen lead the way again. Only one junior (Anna Cook of La Conner) and no seniors placed in the top ten. Ward, Zeimer, Katherine Meyer (Kittitas), Lily Vogt (Seattle Academy), Zoe Robertson (her second of the day), and Katie Holbrook all set personal records at the distance.

Coach Rick Riley of St. George’s took a few minutes to talk to one of the milers, going over the way that Steve Prefontaine would structure his week to build both his base and his speed. Since I was lollygagging in the area watching the high jumpers and javelin throwers, I eavesdropped. Interesting stuff and I thought it pretty neat that a running legend took time out during a busy meet to share his knowledge with the kid.

I think I could write an article on Rick but we’ll save that for the cross country season, I think.

Since I mentioned javelin, did you know that a javelin can rotate 180 degrees when the wind catches it? Bit wild looking. When you catch the wind just right, oh my. One of the gentlemen marking throws had to beat a hasty retreat when a Kittitas thrower, (Austin Oursland. I think) launched one and caught air. Oursland took second to Kolton Cobb of Columbia-Burbank who nailed a throw of 170'.

I went looking for more coverage of the meet but about the only thing I could find was a nice article on the DeSales team in the Union-Bulletin covering the bounty of PR’s their team had.

I caught this young man, Alex Scoggins of Seattle Academy, as he was preparing for his last attempt in the triple jump. He finished third on this attempt

(39'11.5"). Owen Lanning (Waitsburg-Prescott) won the event with a triple jump of 41'00.5" and Kameron Strobel (Colville) took second at 40'10.25".

That'll have to do it for today. As always, I know I didn't get to everybody and I'm sorry-doing what I can. You all are awesome!

All the results and placements for the Undeberg Invitational  were courtesy of Athletic.net. It's a truly awesome resource. And many thanks to the race director - having a program made this whole project easier.

If you want to follow me on my author page, you can find me at Facebook.

(I modified this article to correct a mistake of mine. I called Jacob Swearingen 'Josh' in error. Sorry, Jacob!)

Windy day at the District 9 Meet, Sun and Good Sportsmanship Breaks Through

I had a chance to get to the District 9 meet in Clarkston yesterday, mainly by ignoring my usual activities like work. It wasn't the best weather for a meet-the wind was definitely a factor, gusting to 20 mph-but I'm sure the athletes weren't complaining about the mid-60 temperatures. Almost any of the seniors can rattle off a list of races where the skies soaked them with 35 degree rain, pelted them with hail, or lit up the skyline with lightning. A little wind can be tolerated pretty easily, even a headwind into the home stretch.

I snuck in early, Goldfish in hand for the Asotin gang, and settled into the stands to watch Coach Sal Lopez directing the kids on getting the field events set up. He had them organized and the 'work' ended early, leading to a couple of athletes tossing a football in the infield. Turns out that the girls can throw a pretty tight spiral.

The meet started on schedule with a unique opening by Lucas Johnson, one of the English teachers at Asotin (most of the volunteers were Asotin teachers and parents since they were hosts.) I pestered him, and he agreed to let me print it, so it's below, in its entirety.

“Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome this fine spring day to the district 9 1B/2B track meet. I am the illustrious and ever-humble DJ Johnson, the voice of Panther Athletics. Join me and my melodious voice as I narrate the trials and tribulations of the dozens of talented athletes you see before you today. You can expect to see running in an oval pattern, various dangerous projectiles being hurled (usually in a safe direction) and even those brave souls who hurl THEMSELVES forward in gravity-defying acts of valor. It is my hope that you will make some noise as these athletes battle gladiator-style for  honor, prestige and glory with the ferocity of warriors, but with the respect, sportsmanship, camaraderie and humility that makes the events of track and field all the more special and unique. Give these fine folks a hand!”

Probably a good time to slip in a disclaimer. I'll be doing these posts this year in preparation for setting up a website to do cross country. Essentially, these are practice posts. It took something over a nanosecond but less than ten minutes of the meet to figure out that track and field can't be covered by one person. I didn't get to all the events and, since I'm not yet very good with my new camera, I have some pictures but not many really good ones.

On to racing. The first race was the lady's 4x200m relay. Asotin won the race but the athletes battled for the remaining placements. Pictured are of TO-GP in the yellow unis, with of St. John to the right and WWVA in maroon to the left at the second exchange. It was the first of a host of solid hand-offs. No one dropped a baton or missed a handoff in the transition zone all afternoon.

Field events were going on simultaneously. I missed a lot of these, unfortunately, though I did watch some of the discus (my event in high school) while the women's 3200m race was under way.

The 3200m was a little thin on competitors with Heather Siegel of St. John winning, a result she's familiar with. Several of the Asotin runners that normally participate were spread out in other events. WWVA didn't have a runner in the 3200m, nor did Rosalia. (Rosalia, which used to be part of the TOR - Tekoa, Oakesdale, Rosalia - has formed their own team this year. Garfield and Palouse join Tekoa and Oakesdale to round out their side, hence the TO-GP.) Zoe Robertson of TO-GP took second place.

Men's and women's hurdles came next. I always considered hurdles to be the NASCAR part of a track meet. Lots of speed and grace, with a constant threat of catastrophe lingering. Part of playing around with the camera led to the discovery that head-on pictures of hurdlers  are tough to nail and a good side on picture can be pretty darned good. Even if it was a "what the heck" attempt from the far side of the track. No disasters to record. Walla Walla Valley is very strong in the hurdles with Wesley Hendrickson and Abbie Underhill winning both the high and intermediate hurdles.

Back to discus. Results were announced and Asotin dominated both the men's and women's result. Coach Sal Lopez, a former collegiate thrower proves that he has a knack for imparting the technique to his younger athletes. Dirk Whitmore won with a nice throw of 131'6", edging his teammate Jacob Swearingen. Piper Loop won the women's side with a hurl of 104'10".

Over in the long jump pit, Nate Prior won both the long jump and triple jump on the men's side. The women were split, with Abbie Underhill winning the long jump to complete a trio of first place finishes while Olivia Pakootas of TO-GP edged her out in the triple jump.

TO-GP women javelin throwers came close to matching the standard set by the Asotin discus throwers. Annie Bailey of St. John-Endicott won but the next five placements were all TO-GP. The Asotin men toss javelins nearly as well they do the disc with Dirk Whitmore winning with a throw of 145'3" and the Asotin men taking the top three slots.

The most competitive race of the day took place in the women's 800m. The two young ladies paced each other around the track and jockeyed for the lead coming out of the final turn with Madeline Eggleston swinging wide to pass her sister, Lucy Eggleston. Lucy matched the kick, though and won by a half second. The next finisher, Katarina Stephenson of Asotin, was 17 seconds back of the Eggleston sisters, holding off Katie Holbrook of TO-GP.

The duel between Katarina and Katie was a repeat of the 1600m. Both of these runners are underclassmen so we should have a lot more to look forward to over the next couple of years.  Lucy Eggleston won the 1600m in a time of 5:42.

The men's side was far less competitive with Chandler Teigen winning handily in both the mile and 800m. Asotin  took the top three spots in the 800m and the top four in the  1600m with Thomas Weakland placing second 800m, and Brian Strobel and Spencer Williams taking second and third respectively in the 1600m.

The top three finishers in the 100m, 200m, and 400m for the men followed the same pattern. Eli Richardson of Rosalia won all three, closely followed by Caleb Atkins of Walla Walla Valley. Chasing them in all three races was Jacob Koerperich of Asotin.

The women's races were a little more diverse. Julia Ristau won the 100m while Rebecca Reyes of WWVA took second, beating out her teammate, Rachel Thiel. Sarah Nicholas from Asotin won both the 200m and 400m with Reyes pulling another second in the 200m and Megan McCain from Asotin taking third. Second place in the 400m went to Maddie Bogenrief from TO-GP. Alyssa Hendrickson was third.

The wind made for a tough day high jumping but Olivia Pakootas, state runner-up last season, seemed to be the only one unaffected and slightly limited by gravity as she easily won the high jump to add to her win in the triple jump. Jessica Ford of Rosalia and Rose Debruin (Asotin), competing in the event this year for the first time, rounded out the field.

I somehow managed to miss the men jumping but Connor Madden (Asotin) won with two TO-GP jumpers, Tanner Dingman and Tristan Smith, pulling second and third.

The highlight of the meet, though, didn't occur in any single event. Brady McKay of Asotin raced and won the 3200 meters in 10:46. I checked with him after the race as he was grabbing his knees but he said he was just "a little tired." Understandable. What he did next was more impressive than his race.

He started cheering for his competitors, not just his teammate Brady Mulikin, but all the other athletes in the 3200m. He was loud and enthusiastic, drifting down the track to meet them as they finished. It reminded me of a small snippet from Born to Run by Christopher McDougall who tells the story of Scott Jurek, one of the truly great ultrarunners. Jurek won almost every ultra he ran but would wait at the finish line, wrapped in a sleeping bag in cold weather, to cheer every one of the competitors to the finish. He'd be out there hours after his race ended. It also reminded me of the Asotin coach, Tim Gundy, who I've had the pleasure of joining on a couple of relays teams.

Brady McKay was, whether he knew it or not-and I think not because he looked surprised when I high-fived him for being so classy-was exemplifying sportsmanship. I don't think it crossed his mind to behave any differently.

And he wasn't the only one. I saw a couple of the WWVA ladies doing the same thing. Ditto for a TO-GP runner.

And those were the ones that I saw or heard. I'm betting that others, our of my earshot, acted just as openly, honestly,  and enthusiastically in supporting their fellow athletes.

This is my first effort at writing up a track meet. The plan is to build a website for cross country that will give race reports, course information, and a little bit of recognition for these young athletes throughout the Inland NW. If you like what you see, or have suggestions for making it better, please let me know. Leave a comment or send me an email at thatguy at paulduffau dot com. Just insert the appropriate symbols - many, many thanks. Paul Duffau