 |
Drescher wins high jump, places second in
pole vault
NHS girls take home 16th from state
|
St. Paul girls second, boys third at state |
The boys team ties for its best finish in school
history; the girls team wins two events |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
MONMOUTH — Junior Amanda Britnell won
an event and finished second in three others Friday and Saturday to
lead the St. Paul High School girls track team to a second-place
finish at the Class 1A state track meet at Western Oregon
University.
“I think I was more prepared because I knew it’s state and I knew
what to do,” Britnell said. “Last year, I had a hard time in the
triple jump and I didn’t want that to happen again.”
Off
her 10th-place finish of 30-0.75 in the triple jump at the state
meet last season, Britnell’s rebounded Saturday. Her jump of 35-9
came on her first attempt. The mark was also a personal best,
beating her old best of 33-11.5. While an improvement of nearly two
feet might come as a shock, it wasn’t for St. Paul coach Todd Bos.
“She’s jumped that in practice, so we weren’t surprised by what she
did,” he said. “She didn’t do anything extraordinary. She just had a
normal day, in my opinion. She’s capable of all those things.”
In the triple jump, Britnell only jumped twice. On her first jump, she
went 35-9. After that, her left ankle and shin, which she’s battled
all season, started to hurt. Britnell, however, took one more jump.
She couldn’t improve upon her mark and passed on her remaining
attempts.
“After that, I just couldn’t do it anymore, so my coach just told
me to rest,” she said.
Britnell also placed second in the long jump with a mark of 17-6,
another personal best. Her previous best was 16-4.75. The winner of
the event, Alsea’s Angie Miller, won the event at 17-6.5.
Britnell, who finished fourth in the long jump last season at the
state meet, was happy with her performance.
“I was satisfied with that last year, but this year I was very
excited,” she said.
Britnell also finished second in the 200-meter dash (27.16), good
for a personal best, and in the 100 (13.44). The winner in both
events was Damascus Christian’s Emily Holding — a three-time state
champion in the 100 and a four-time state champion in the 200.
“I was really happy to have her as a competitor,” Britnell said of
Holding. “She’s always pushed me.”
This season has been drastically different for Britnell. For the
first time in her high school career, she hasn’t suffered from bouts
of bronchitis and the flu. Plus, she knew what to expect going into
the state meet. Along with a weight training regimen, another factor
in Britnell’s turnaround this season was the addition of Wes Cook to
the coaching staff. The former head coach at George Fox University
was a key for her, Britnell said.
“But it’s probably mostly my mental state, plus the fact that I
haven’t been sick all year,” she said. “It’s a lot of stuff. It
wasn’t just one big thing. It was a lot of different little things.”
Bos said the sky is the limit for Britnell.
“She has more in her,” he said. “If she spends another year of
weight training and stays healthy, there’s no reason she can’t go 18
in the long jump and 37 or 38 in the triple jump, but a lot of
things have to go right in order for that to happen.”
Senior Erika Wilmes ended her high school career with a personal
best of 8-3 in the pole vault to place third. The previous best by
Wilmes was 8-2 at the district meet last season.
Wilmes qualified for the state meet in the pole vault three times.
In her sophomore year, she placed sixth before she finished in a
three-way tie for fifth last season. She said she got involved with
the event as a freshman when she decided to “give it a try.”
Actually, her father Greg, who also competed in the pole vault when
he went to high school at St. Paul, was hoping she would try the
event.
After a tough freshman season when her top height was 5-6, Wilmes
stuck with it and began improving. She started her sophomore
season at 6-6 and gradually improved to 7-6 by the end of the
season. As a junior, she hovered at around 6-6 for a few meets
before she won the Casco League district meet championship by going
8-2. This season, Wilmes won her second district meet title by going
7-6 before setting a personal best Saturday at the state meet.
“It’s been fun,” she said. “I’m glad I’ve been involved in it.”
Wilmes will graduate Friday. She’ll then attend Oregon State
University where besides playing in intramural sports, her athletic
career will likely be complete. At Oregon State, she’ll major in
horticulture.
“My parents have a nursery and that interests me, so it’s where I’m
starting out,” she said.
Also on the girls side, junior Michelle Wilson threw a personal
best of 106-3 to place sixth in the javelin. Going into her final
attempt in the discus, Wilson stood in eighth place, but she
unleashed a throw of 109-0 to place third.
“That was huge,” Bos said.
The 4 x 100 relay team finished eighth (54.98) for the Bucks.
On the boys side, St. Paul tied for its top finish ever at the
state meet — third by scoring 41 points, a point away from second
place. Damascus Christian won with 81 points, followed by New Hope
Christian with 42.
“I just wanted those guys to get a trophy,” Bos said. “I would have
been really disappointed for them if they wouldn’t have gotten one.”
St. Paul was third in 1970 in the “B” classification. That year,
the quartet of Mike Case, Tom Kirk, Frances Davis and Tom Opitz won
the 440-yard relay and finished second in the 4 x 400.
In Monmouth, St. Paul’s 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams proved to
be the team’s best events. With the quartet of Ryan Pierson, Cody
Kirk, Josh Kelly and Matt Anderson, the Bucks won the long relay by
more than two seconds (3:34.05). Adrian was second at 3:36.29.
“Our whole intention from the beginning of the year was to try and
win the 4 x 400,” Bos said. “That was very rewarding to see those
guys run so well and win.”
The same St. Paul four also took second in the short relay (45.64),
just behind winner Wallowa (45.53).
Pierson also placed fifth in the 200 (24.28) for St. Paul and Spier
Lewis was seventh in the 110 hurdles (18.64). Anderson was fourth in
the 300 hurdles (43.05). Elliot Ramos was eighth in the shot put
(40-3) and Derek Wolf had a personal best in the discus (132-5) to
place third.
Notes: Sherman County’s 112 points in the girls meet broke
the previous state meet record of 109 set in 2000.
The St. Paul boys track program has eight top-10 finishes at the
state meet. The Bucks placed eighth in 1992, seventh in 1994, 10th
in 1998, fourth in 1999, ninth in 2000 and in a tie for eighth in
2001. |
|
From
May 23, 2007, Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
