Sports - High Schools

POSTED: Saturday, May. 30, 2009

PREP TRACK AND FIELD: Whatcom County shines at state track

TACOMA - Blaine's Shayne Moore could scarcely stop from screaming with joy.

Ferndale's Tanya Bjornsson couldn't believe she had won a gold medal even after it was draped around her neck.

And Robin Taylor was cool as a breeze after the Borderite junior nabbed her second state title in as many years in the Class 2A girls' pole vault.

Whatcom County certainly made its mark at Star Track XXVII on Friday, May 29, at Mount Tahoma High School.

Moore and Bjornsson capped a solid day at the state track meet with a pair of titles, helping finish what Taylor started in the early session. Moore ran a blistering time of 14.61 seconds to take the Class 2A boys' 110-meter hurdle finals and Bjornsson turned in a 14.66 to win the Class 3A girls' 100-meter hurdles.

"This is just amazing," Moore said.

Taylor was a little less exuberant, but just as happy with her winning vault of 11 feet to take the pole vault title. She won the event as a sophomore with a mark of 11-03.

"I'm feeling good now that it's over," Taylor said. "I felt pretty confident that I was going to do well today."

Sehome's Nelson Westlin didn't leave Friday's round as the Class 2A boys' shot put champion, but he was still satisfied with a runner-up finish. Westlin put the shot 58 feet, 8 inches on his first throw and sat in first place throughout the round until East Valley's Jonathan Buchanan unleashed a toss of 60-07.25 to win the title.

Westlin bettered his previous best mark by one foot and improved on his third-place finish from last season. Sehome's Jacob Gilbert was eighth.

"I came close to a state championship," Westlin said. "I just didn't hit some good positions on a couple of my throws. I thought that my second to last throw was going to be longer than it was, but that's how it goes. I threw a (personal record). That's the best I could do."

Other Whatcom County athletes who medaled on Friday included Ferndale's Kim Harbine who placed fifth in the Class 3A girls' javelin with a throw of 126-10, Sehome's Krista Dixon who tied for third in the Class 2A girls' high jump with a leap of 5-foot-2, Lynden's Brett Bajema and Sehome's Harrison Finely placed sixth and eighth in the Class 2A boys' triple jump, and Alyssa Wicknick from Bellingham was eighth in the Class 2A girls' 100 hurdles.

"I came in to the meet ranked sixth, so placing third was really good," Dixon said. "And I hit a (personal record) today so that was also good. It helped that a lot of the girls competing with me were freshman and I think they got a little jittery."

While Whatcom County athletes like Taylor and Westlin were ecstatic on Friday there were others, like the Lynden's boys' 4x100 relay team, who were devastated. The Lions came in as the favorites to win a state title in the event, but a bad exchange on the first handoff resulted in a disqualification and put an end to that dream.

"It was hard to see from where I was," Lynden coach Layne Hutchins said. "I had people up in the stands telling me that our runner's foot was out of the exchange zone and the baton was in, but it's a judgment call. There's nothing you can protest, nothing you can do."

The team had to wait several tense minutes before an official ruling was made, and afterward they were clearly frustrated. Sehome finished with a time of 43.45 in the relay to qualify for the finals.

"It was close," junior Jake Christianson said before the decision was made. "He started a little early and I yelled and he slowed down, but I don't know."

The Lions fared much better in the 100 meter dash, sending Blair Bomber, Dusty Duncan, and Jordan Weeks through to the finals. Sehome's Justin Thomsen is the fastest local qualifier in the field.

While most local runners were doing their best to qualify for the finals, Blaine freshman Cherish Morrison was running away from the field. She showed why she's the likely runner to beat in the Class 2A girls' 100-meter dash, finishing with the fastest qualifying time of anyone in the field with a time of 12.35.

"I changed my start a little bit," Morrison said. "I usually just stand straight up and run, but today I was able to stay crouched over like I'm supposed to. I think I skipped a step at one point during the race, but I still won."

Morrison could be setting herself up for a very memorable state track meet, with finals in the 200, 400, and a relay still to come on Saturday. She set a meet record on Friday in the 400 with a time of 57.28, topping the previous mark of 57.62 set in 2007.

"I'm just thinking about this like it's a regular track meet that means a lot," Morrison said. "It's just like any other meet, and if you win you get a cool medal."

Sehome's Clinton Overman was another local runner who turned in a personal best on Friday. Overman dropped below two minutes in the Class 2A boys' 800 meters for the first time this season to win his qualifying heat with a time of 1:59.05. Squalicum's Dzmitry Ryzhkou finished second in his 800 meter heat, but had the second fastest time in the field at 1:56.94.

"Dropping below two minutes was a longtime coming for me," Overman said. "I wanted to go out fast today because I got boxed in at district. I guess I just knew it was time. I've run two minutes basically all season so I'm glad it could happen here."

Bellingham's Becca Friday cruised to a win in her Class 2A girls' 800 heat to set up a showdown with city school rivals Sophie Curl from Squalicum and Sehome's Annie Moore in the finals. Those three, along with Sehome's Madison Heilmann, will make up half the field on Saturday.

Curl ran the fastest time of the two heats at 2:15.22, followed closely by Moore. Friday ran a comfortable 2:19.63 to qualify for the finals, winning her heat by nearly three seconds over Heilmann.

"It wasn't like I could just blow this race off and coast," Friday said. "I had to stay pretty focused and make sure to get out of the mix I didn't want to get caught in the pack."

With the final day looming and the Sehome boys' track and field hoping for its third consecutive title, it's clear the Mariners have their work cut out. Sehome picked up nine points from its shot putters, and is hoping for many, many more points on Saturday.

"I think we're right in the hunt for a three-peat which is where we want to be," Overman said. "There's a lot of pressure at state, but that's the way it should be. It's the state tournament."

Reach Joe Sunnen at joe.sunnen@bellinghamherald.com or 756-2862.