Brewer and Lindner win titles in Yakima track and field opener
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
It may have been just a jamboree, but the results of the 23rd annual Eisenhower track and field jamboree showed that the Klickitat girls are going to be tough this year. In the first meet of the year for area high school track and field athletes, Klickitat came home with three wins, a second, a third and a fourth place against girls from Eisenhower, Ellensburg, Eastmont, East Valley, Toppenish and TLG.
Samantha Brewer led the way winning the high jump and 55 meter hurdles. The hurdles win in 9.32, was Brewer’s third straight in the event, going back to her first Ike Jamboree as an eighth grader. Her winning high jump of five-feet, matches her win in 2009. She was second in the event in 2008, losing out on number of misses at the winning height of 4-10.
Zoe Lindner was the other Vandal winner, beating out freshman teammate, Lara Parsons in the javelin. Linder’s 93-7 winning throw was more than 10 feet longer than her eighth place performance in 2009. She also threw the shot put beyond 30 feet in her first action of the year, with a 31-2 put, good enough for third place.
Parsons’s 89-1 javelin toss was more than a foot longer than the third place throw by Eisenhower’s Carrie Johnston. Parsons also competed in the 2,000 meters, finishing 10th. Another freshman from Klickitat, Sarah Ingebo, also had a good first meet with a fourth place finish in the discus (79-1) and eighth in the shot put (25-1.5). Brenda Lambert made her third appearance at the Ike Jamboree, running a 5:0.17, 1,000 meters and throwing the shot put 23-1.
The field for the jamboree was somewhat limited as many athletes were shy of the 10 practices needed to compete. Dion Curtis was the only boy competing for the Vandals, competing in discus and javelin events. Curtis made a big gain in opening day javelin with a toss of 100-7, for 11th place. Last year Curtis placed 18th with a throw of 89-1. Curtis was also 11th in the discus at 94-1.
TLG had a small number of entries at the Jamboree. Freshman Valerie Vogt joined the long list of strong runners from Trout Lake and Glenwood, turning in a 3:30.61 in the 1,000 meters for fourth place. Vogt also placed eighth in the javelin with a 73-8 toss. Lucas King ran the 600 meters in 1:31.44, almost identical to his 2009 time at the Jamboree. King won the event in 2009 and was second this year. Brian Langfield showed steady progress in the pole vault, clearing 10-6, for fifth place. Last year that height won the event. Langfield jumped 8-6 at the 2008 Jamboree and 9-0 in 2009. Harvey Starr also showed improvement over last year’s 9-0 jump with a 10-0 effort this year. Tygh Schuster cleared 9-0 for eighth place. A pair of freshmen, Alex King and Chase England ran the 1,000 meters together with England finishing 10th in 3:08.63 and King 11th in 3:09.08. The King brothers, Starr and England teamed up for fifth place in the sprint medley. Klickitat and TLG teams compete in the Mullen Leavitt Invitational in The Dalles on Mar. 18 and in the Papa Wells Invitational in Yakima on Saturday.
Timberwolf nine set to challenge top of SCAC
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
You never want to set yourself up for a fall by being overly optimistic, but the Goldendale Timberwolves have good reason to think they can be one of the top two teams in the SCAC west this year.
The main reason for optimism is experience. This year’s team will look a lot like last year’s team, a year older and enhanced with a couple of players from Klickitat and freshmen who will contribute. The 2009 version of the Timberwolves was cruising along, anticipating a showdown against Naches Valley when the wheels came off and upset losses to Cle Elum and Zillah changed their season. The Wolves had an early exit from the District playoffs following a a pair of one run losses.
Naches Valley is another reason for optimism. The Rangers graduated much of last year’s State Champion team, so if they can be had, there is no time like the present. Cle Elum and Zillah will still challenge, but the Wolves hope to make it a two horse race.
One of the new faces in the Timberwolf line-up is Seth Davis, from Klickitat. Davis is familiar to the team, many of whom were his teammates on the Timberwolf football team this fall. Davis, who played baseball for White Salmon in 2009, will see some time on the mound during the opener against his old team in Goldendale on March 18, starting at 3;30 p.m. Davis will probably share time behind the plate with the team’s leading hitter, Aaron Cochran, who will DH when not catching.
Another bright addition will be freshman Lucas Denney, expected to play second base, giving the Wolves a strong defense up the middle with Cody Herin at short stop.
Following Thursday’s opener, Goldendale takes on SCAC east Kiona-Benton in a Saturday double header which starts at 11 a.m.. A return game against Columbia-White Salmon will be played in White Salmon on March 22.
New era for Cougars under Yecha
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
A new era has begun for Lyle-Wishram baseball with Scott Myers stepping down from the program he has coached for the past 15 years. There never is a good time for transition, as you always leave behind players whom you have enjoyed coaching, but this year was probably as good as any with several seniors on last year’s team.
New coach Pat Yecha doesn’t have a lot of carryover from last year’s starting line-up. One of his biggest tasks will be finding some pitching and replacing Mid-Valley MVP of 2009, Mike Murphy and all-league players Mike Eiesland and Chris Wolff, plus the running and catching of Ty Freemantle. Dylon Davis, an all-league honorable mention, will be the mound ace and Dillon Huffman will take over Murphy’s center field duties. Keale Wiseman, Trey Kitchens and Dustin Mutch are talented players who will likely fill second, short stop and third base positions, respectively.
Yecha is a first year teacher at Lyle with classroom responsibility for science and algebra. He hails from Colville, Washington where he was involved in baseball up through Legion ball. He is a graduate of Washington State University. The Cougars’ opening day game was played in Dufur on Tuesday. The home opener is a double header against Sherman County this Friday, starting at 2 p.m. |
