LAKE STEVENS M-P track rookie Kenny York thrives on competition.
In his first season out for the sport, York discovered a flair for the javelin, and has yet to finish second in the event, improving in proportion to the strength of his challengers. And as the caliber of competition has increased in the postseason, York has faced better and more talented rivals.
At the Wesco North League Championships, York beat his previous best mark and set a new league record to win the event with a throw of 186-11.
Of course, he had to beat Everetts Andrew Stiger, whose 185-3 gave York one of his smaller margins of victory.
Sophomore thrower Fono Vakalahi gave M-P another first-place finish with a 153-10 throw in the discus. Fellow Tomahawk Philip Klein joined Vakalahi among the regions elite discus throwers, taking seventh place with a measure of 129-9.
Vakalahi didnt fare quite as well in the shot put but placed fifth, at 48-. Two Tomahawks nipped at his heels in that event as well, as Joel Erickson was sixth with 46-3 and Jeremy Goldman taking eighth at 45-5.
The May 9 and 11 competition was bittersweet for Duane LaPeyri. The seniors 6-2 high jump was good for second place, tying the winning jump. He took fourth in the long jump with a best jump of 20-4 and ran a leg of the second place 4×100-meter relay. But in the triple jump, one of his strongest events, LaPeyri scratched three times, rendering him ineligible in the event for the rest of the season.
I think if hed gotten any mark, he wouldve moved on, said M-P head coach Randy Davis.
Sophomore Andy Abadam bested his 4×100 teammate in the long jump, finishing second with a jump of 20-7. Jonathan Jorgensen was sixth with 20-1.
With the exception of field events, which were divided between the two meets, athletes competed in preliminaries at Lake Stevens two days earlier. Runners qualified for finals on May 11 by a top-two finish in one of three heats. Those six athletes were joined by the events next two best times.
The Friday meets top nine finishers in each event go on to compete at Shoreline May 16 and 18, which will then determine finalists for state competition in Pasco.
Abadam made the cut on the track as well, qualifying for the May 11 finals in the 200 with another 4×100 teammate, Josh Rabung.
In other boys action, Jacob Binder and Robby Walker both made it to Friday competition in the 400, finishing the finals race sixth and seventh in 52.5 and 52.9. Travis Sanderson qualified in the 300 hurdles, besting his Wednesday time by almost a second to finish seventh in 41.89. Taylor Gibson took third in the pole vault and Justin King tied for fifth in the event, clearing 13-6 and 12 feet respectively.
On the girls side, a trio of M-P sprinters had their rivals seeing red, literally.
The Tomahawk track team qualified three girls senior Megan Crenshaw, junior Nicolette Runyan and freshman Alisha Oden for eight slots in the girls 200-meter dash in the finals competition on May 11.
Runyan and Oden finished 1-2 in 26.21 and 26.31. Crenshaw took seventh in 27.91.
The threesome were also part of the winning 4×400 relay that finished in 4:03.16, four seconds ahead of the second-place Cascade team.
Oden placed in the long jump as well, her best mark of 16-11 good for second place. Runyan won her Wednesday heat in the 100, putting her in the Friday competition where she took second, just a hair behind Oak Harbors Carson McKole. McKole finished in 13.12, Runyan in 13.15. Crenshaw placed sixth in the 400 finals competition.
Juniors Michaela Caldwell and Robin Mueller each cleared 10-3 in the pole vault for second and third place, officials giving Caldwell third on misses.
Theyve been little Bobbsey twins this season, Davis said of the girls, adding that Caldwell and Mueller have consistently jumped about the same most of the season.
First place in the pole vault went to Stanwoods Colleen Meas who, Mueller said, was only jumping about 9-6 last year.
I practice as much as I can, five days a week, Mueller said, when asked how she works on improving in the sport. On weekends, I lift weights and do yoga.
Sarah Clark was part of a three-way tie for fourth, clearing 9 feet for M-P.
Sophomore hurdler Alex McDonald moved on from Wednesday competition in both the girls 100 and 300 hurdles. On Friday, her 17.44 placed her eighth in the 100 hurdles, but she tied Monroes Liz Hampton for second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.60.
Freshman Kaylie Kimmell competed in 800, 1,600 and 3,200, but emerged out of Wednesday only in the 800. She took sixth in her second go at the event, finishing two laps of the track in 2:34.10. Sophomore Marissa Schafer fared better in the 3,200, placing eighth in 11:58.40.
In the field, Myranda Dudgeon placed in the javelin with a best throw of 111-9. Jade Hanson and Nancy Couls both placed in the girls high jump, Hanson taking second at 5-2 and Couls tying for seventh at 4-10. Couls placed in another event as well, taking eighth in the triple jump at 33-1. She was edged for seventh by freshman teammate Cali Cull, who jumped 33-10.
Getting third and third, with the limited numbers we had at the end was really pleasing, Davis said. Kids were excited and showed a lot of enthusiasm, showed a lot of team spirit, cheering on their teammates better than a lot of teams I saw there.