Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, May. 30, 2009

PREP BOYS' TRACK: Blok sticks to the plan to win 1A high jump title

The recipe for Zach Blok's Class 1A state championship in the high jump was simple on Friday, May 29. in Cheney.

"I just rested up all week really good and did what I was supposed to do," Blok said in a phone interview. "It turned out the way it was supposed to turn out."

The Lynden Christian senior matched his personal best set one week earlier at the tri-district meet, clearing 6-4 to claim the title.

"That was just a great performance on his part," Lynden Christian coach Kent DeHoog said in a phone interview. "I thought he was struggling a little bit early. Maybe it was his nerves playing a part. He didn't really get his natural good form jump until about 6-2. At that point he looked like himself."

It was at about at that height, when he was seeing competitors start to struggle to get over the bar, that Blok said he started to believe he had a shot to win the state title.

"Actually I was just shooting for a top-five finish," Blok said. "I wasn't even thinking I'd finish in first place ... It was a feeling of accomplishment. I never imagined I'd win, but it feels really good to get it."

So what did Blok do to celebrate?

He ran the anchor leg of the Lyncs' 4x400 relay team, helping Chris Johnson, Cody Heeringa and David Griess get into the event finals on Saturday, May 30.

"He ran a great leg in that 1,600 relay," DeHoog said. "He had a great split. All those guys did. To qualify that relay for the final is quite an accomplishment. The weather and the heat were rough on all the West side schools. For those guys to stay fresh enough all day to turn in that type of performance says a lot."

As does winning a state title.