Track teams compete in tough final tune-up at Connel before league meets
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Track teams from Goldendale, Klickitat, Lyle-Wishram, and Trout Lake-Glenwood took on a tough crowd at the Connell Invitational, last Friday. And a crowd it definitely was, with 25 schools entered in an afternoon affair that stretched into darkness.
The meet featured some of the top athletes in 2A, 1A, 2B and 1B classes. Riverside Christian's Dana Wells drew a crowd of spectators. Wells has the best times in 2B for 110 and 300 hurdles, is tops in long jump and second best in the 100 and 200 meter sprints.
West Valley's Johnathan Buchanan, the best shot put and discus thrower in 2A put on a good show, as did Ki-Be runners Whitney Leavitt and Katherine Lotze who excel in sprints and hurdles, respectively.
Klickitat county's best also put on a good show. Neola Putnam, from TLG, was a two seconds off her best in the 800 and 1600 meter runs, but it was good enough to be a double event winner.
Asa Israel, of Goldendale set a new personal best of 2:00.44 to win the 800, and had a new best in the 1600 for second place, behind state champion Seth Pierson, of Cashmere.
Also winning was Anna Schmid, of TLG, with a 47.51 in the 300 hurdles. Schmid finished third in the 200 meters.
Klickitat's Samantha Brewer had a pair of second place finishes in the high jump and long jump. Her long jump of 15-11.75 was her best ever, as was her triple jump of 32-5.25, which placed her fifth.
The Goldendale boys' 4x400 cranked out it's best time of the season, running 3:38.14 for second place.
Lyle-Wishram's Teaera Churchwell ran an unusual race for her, the 800. The sprint specialist appeared well-adapted to the long run, finishing third.
And speaking of newcomers to an event, Klickitat's Kali Fargher has taken to the javelin like it was meant to be. Fargher finished fourth with a 103-9 toss, her latest in a string of 100 plus performances.
Riverside Christian's Wells was the headliner in sprints that included Blair Collins, of Royal, second best in 1A 100, Chris Ruether, of Cashmere, third best 1A 100, and Lyle-Wishram's Cody Carlsen, third best in 2B 100. There would be no upsets, as Wells edged Collins with Ruether third and Carlsen off his best time, finishing ninth. Wells also won the two hurdle events.
Buchanan was barely contained by the shot put pit, beating otherwise tough competition by seven feet with his 58-4.5 toss. Eight competitors went beyond 45 feet in the event.
There is a great deal at stake in league meets, all held this Friday for county teams.
Goldendale competes at Cowiche with the top four places advancing to the district championship in Goldendale on May 22. Several Timberwolves are currently among the top four in the SCAC west for their events, including Tyler Hunziker who leads in high jump and long jump, Asa Israel, leader in 800 and 1600, Sadie Shattuck, leader in shot put, Hannah Swigart and Steven Bischoff, top pole vaulters, and the 4x400 relay team of Israel, JimJack Davenport, Torey Spaulding-Jimenez, and Kyle Welsh.
Others among the top four are Nikki Williams in the discus and javelin, Kylie Montgomery in the 800, Chelsea Osborne in the triple jump, Welsh in the 300 hurdles, Kurt Wilkins in the discus, Braydon Ross in the pole vault, Cody Magnuson in the long jump, Swigart in the high jump, Hunziker in the 100 and triple jump, and the boys 4x100 relay team.
Bickleton, Klickitat and Trout Lake-Glenwood have a district qualifying event in Glenwood on Friday to determine the top four in each event. Those qualifiers will compete at Kittitas the following weekend at a combined District 5-District 6 meet. There will be two slots from the combined meet that advance to State. From Bickleton, Andrew Venema, Star Kibby, Patrick Maeder, Katelynn Clinton, Junior Hernandez, Eddie Molina and Danielle Raschko are likely to make the cut. Others with a good shot are Nic Venema, Holly Goodnight, Johanna Jensen, Virgil Sampson, and the girls' 4x200 relay team.
Klickitat has the inside track with Brewer, Zoe Lindner, Charice McConville, Fargher, Chris Lambert, Ron Prominski, and Jeromie Mason as likely to make the top four.
TLG girls will continue to be tough with Schmid, Liz Vogt, Putnam and relay teams dominating. The Mustang-Eagles should also get Emily Paxson, Mackenzie Zoller, and Megan Anderson into District. TLG boys to watch are Tyler Cope and Alex English who has much improved this year in the middle distances. Mikael Dick is having an off year, but the defending State champ in the 400 will get to district. Pole vaulters, Harvey Starr, Brian Langfield, Tygh Schuster, and Nicky Rubesh will battle Nic Venema for the three spots behind Maeder.
Lyle-Wishram should do well at their District qualifier this Friday. The top eight advance to District where things get considerably tighter. Only the top place will go on to State, unless the state standards are bettered in an event. With Wells in the same district, the Cougar boys have their work cut out for them. Carlsen belongs at State, as do the boys' relay teams and Matai in the hurdles. Easy picks to get to District are Carlsen, Matai, Ty Freemantle, Robbie Phelps, Jim Price, Brittany Price, Teaera Churchwell, Jose' Martinez, and Lars Fagernes. Others with a good shot are Aaron Churchwell, Steven McClusky, Brian Niefert, Sylvia Jameyson, and Taylor Freemantle. Teaera Churchwell and Phelps look to have the best shot at State.
Hudson pitches one-hit gem against Rangers
Hailey Hudson had too much speed against the Naches Valley Rangers, as she tossed a one-hitter in Goldendale's 3-0 win, Saturday in Goldendale.
Hudson struck out 11 batters, as the Rangers had trouble resisting her high fast ball. The Rangers got 10 batters on base through walks, a couple of hit batters, and an error.
While the bats were not much of a threat (nothing left the infield), the Rangers did provide some scary moments with their aggressive base running. The Rangers had nine stolen bases, including five in the second inning. During that inning, the Wolves worked out of a no-outs, bases loaded situation with an out at home on a steal attempt and two Hudson strike outs.
Goldendale scored all they needed when the lead-off hitter, Haley Hoffman doubled and scored on a Hudson triple in the first inning.
Jessica Binns walked and scored in the second, Andrea Keffeler scored in the fourth. Alex Counts was 2-3.
Game two went to the visitors in extra-innings 5-4. Sydney Bloom went the distance in an exciting game that was decided by a bases-loaded single to right field that scored one run. Hoffman was 3-4, Taylor Gaston was 2-4, and Sidney Ross had an RBI.
The games were significant because they proved to the Wolves that they could play evenly against one of the top two teams in the SCAC west. The Rangers entered the game 6-1 in league play. The win elevated the Timberwolves to 3-5.
The Wolves look to close out league play with wins against winless Granger next Saturday, securing their spot in the District playoffs.
Defending champs hit the links at Cle Elum
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
The Goldendale boys will be defending their league title at the District golf championships in Cle Elum on May 14. Goldendale is looking to follow-up on last year's success, but it will be a tough task for the young team. Two of last year's winning team, Kyle Titus and D.J. Campbell graduated, but the Wolves have a shot with two-time champion, Zach Wanderscheid and Ron Lindhe returning from the winning team. Wanderscheid is top seeded and Lindhe is 16th. Riley Ross is the only other golfer to be seeded among the boys.
The Lady Wolves will have a shot at the title, as they qualified four golfers, lead by sixth seeded Amber Ihrig. Joining Ihrig are Cassie Kelly, Lexi Cameron, and Margaret Bellamy. They are one of four schools to have four golfers seeded.
Wanderscheid, the two-time defending champion, is looking to qualify for his third straight State appearance. He shot a 79 on the Suncadia course last year. Coach Dick Patzer said he was particularly proud of this year's team placing seven at district through league play.
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