Aberdeen’s Bryan Sidor and Faith Cardenas, along with Elma’s girls,
North Beach victories from Rodney Washington in the high jump and David Nessa in the 800 meters ensured that the Ray Ryan Memorial All-County Track Championship would be remembered for more than nasty weather.
“Despite the atrocious weather, we competed hard as a team,” Hyak coach Peter Fry said.
Although her anticipated victory in the girls pole vault (she is the reigning state 2B champion in the event) was at least put on hold, North Beach senior Tawni Blankenship emerged with one all-county title Saturday when she prevailed in her first-ever appearance in the triple jump.
Although the meet is not technically over until the boys and girls pole vaults (postponed from Friday due to inclement weather) are completed Monday, Aberdeen’s boys and Elma’s girls fashioned insurmountable leads in the team competition.
Winning seven events, the Bobcat boys amassed 155 points — 50 ahead of runner-up Montesano.
Elma’s girls captured their second consecutive team title. With 168 points, they are nearly 64 points ahead of second-place Aberdeen.
Saturday’s competition began in light rain, prompting one meet volunteer to cautiously forecast that the weather conditions “could go either way.”
Unfortunately for the athletes, coaches and meet officials, they quickly went the wrong way. The majority of the meet was contested in a downpour, with puddles eventually forming on the track. Veteran Hoquiam coach Tim Pelan and assistant meet director Bob Wiley, a longtime coach and official, contended this was the wettest all-county meet they had experienced.
“This was just a case of survival,” Pelan observed.
Aberdeen’s Bryan Sidor and Faith Cardenas were unfazed by the conditions in earning the slam-dunk selections for the Male and Female Athlete of the Meet awards.
A state 2A runner-up last year, Sidor beat back a challenge from Montesano’s Donovan Albert in breaking the meet record in the boys 400. The Aberdeen senior’s time of 50.84 bettered the 51.2 mark originally set by Aberdeen’s Charles Ladd in 1994 and matched by North Beach’s Devin Timpson 11 years later. Runner-up Albert missed the previous record by only about a half-second.
Sidor blew away his competition in also winning the 100 (11.25) and 200 meters (22.91).
Cardenas had a hand in four wins and, like Sidor, was strongly tested only once.
She won an exciting duel with North Beach’s Lorin Cox in the girls 100 so close that it took a finish-line photo to determine the outcome. Cardenas was clocked in 13.2, edging Cox by two-hundredths of a second.
The AHS senior was a more lopsided winner in 200 and 400 meters and also anchored a victorious effort in the 4×200 relay. With a time of 1:01.89, she missed matching her own meet record in the 400 by less than a second.
“Two of the hardest workers on the team,” Bobcat coach April Meissner said of Sidor and Cardenas. “(Bryan) said he was ready. He was kind of amped up for this meet.”
Elma’s girls again displayed their impressive depth.
Sophomore Jillian Bieker was a double individual winner, winning the 300 hurdles in 54.57 and the girls long jump with a leap of 15-11. The sister-brother duo of Sarah and Ben Bridge captured the girls and boys shot puts and Elma also won the girls 4×100 and 4×400 relays.
Elma’s Adrianna Rojas wound up winning the girls 3,200 when North Beach’s Mariah Vogler — possessing a sizable lead at the time — dropped out on the sixth lap with an injured quadricep.
Taholah cut a typically wide swath in the throws. Juniors Celisha Ralston and Denise Dolan-Curleybear captured the girls discus and javelin, respectively, while freshman JauVon James-Juneau and junior Michael Flores went 1-2 in the boys javelin.
Freshman Joey Brenneman had Wishkah’s top finish, a second in the boys 110 hurdles.
Ocosta is tentatively slated to host next year’s all-county meet, named in memory of the late Daily World sports writer Ray Ryan.
BOYS
100 — 11.25 — Sidor (A), Whipple (M), Salas (A), Simpkins (E), Doll (H), Waara (O). 200 — 22.91 – Sidor (A), Salas (A), Doll (H), Vollan (E), Waara (O), Simpkins (E). 400 — 50.84 (meet record) — Sidor (A), Albert (M), Muro (NB), Waara (O), Salas (A), Barragan (A). 800 — 2:28.06 — Nessa (NB), Paez-Teran (A), Jones (E), Mesquita (M), McMillan (E), Alfaro-Leal (A). 1,600 — 5:08.53 — Stolen (A), Shuck (M), Tomko (H), Bailey (O), Bodwell (M), Aschenbrenner (M). 3,200 — 1:14.83 — McKinney (A), Barragan (A), Aschenbrenner (M), McMillan (E), Lennon (O), Geesaman (E). 110 H — 16.5 — Garcia (H), Brenneman (Wish), Johnson (NB), Kaczmarczyk (H), Brown (A), Hartsell (NB). 300 H — 45.75 — Billerback (E), Brown (A), Johnson (NB), Bailey (E), Hollatz (M), Thomas (O). 4×100 R — 46.48 — Montesano, North Beach, Hoquiam. 4×400 R — 3:56.14 — Montesano, Elma, Aberdeen.
HJ — 5-8 — Washington (NB), Garcia (H), Johnson (A), Felten (H), tie between Harnagy (NB) and Church (E). LJ — 20-6 — Johnson (A), Manwell (A), Iverson (M), Davis (A), Washington (NB), Wolcott (M). TJ — 39-11 1/2 — Manwell (A), Whipple (M), Anderson (O), Scholler (NB), Darst (M), Harnagy (NB). Shot — 49 4/12 — Bridge (E), Poplin (NB), Nicklas (M), Brown (H), Larsen (H), Valley (M). Disc — 114-0 — Brown (H), Nicklas (M), Bridge (E), Bradley (M), Cilk (M), Hunt (A). Jav — 139-7 — James-Juneau (T), Flores (T), Chaney (NB), Edmondson (A), Pope (NB), Muro (NB).
GIRLS
100 — 13.2 — Cardenas (A), Cox (NB), J. Martin (O), Pruett (A), Mason (E), Lensegrav (E). 200 — 27.62 — Cardenas (A), Cox (NB), Brydon (H), Pruett (A), Mason (E), Niemi (A). 400 — 1:01.89 —Cardenas (A), Niemi (A), Kershaw (E), Mason (E), Aiken (E), Fritts (M). 800 — 2:39.62 — Peterson (M), Taylor (A), Olson (M), Denny (O), Roloff (H), Rojas (E). 1,600 — 5:56.34 — Peterson (M), Taylor (A), Rojas (E), Cain (O), Schrotberger (Wish), Ambrocio-Felipe (A). 3,200 — 13:52.56 — Rojas (E), Olson (M), Cain (O), Hutchings (M), Schneider (E), Burgher (E). 100 H — 16.4 – J. Martin (O), Bieker (E), Neal (NB), Sandstrom (H), Haskey (Wish), Hendricks (A). 300 H — 54.57 — Bieker (E), Landry (E), Haskey (Wish), Neal (NB), Lisherness (M). 4×100 R — Elma, North Beach, Montesano. 4×200 — 1:51.81 — Aberdeen, Elma, Hoquiam. 4×400 — 4:47.08 — Elma, Aberdeen, Hoquiam.
HJ — 4-11 — Marsh (O), D. Martin (O), tie between Brydon (H), Pruett (A) and Jones (M), Roloff (H). LJ — 15-1 — Bieker (E), Muro (M), Clark (E), Merino (O), Blankenship (NB), Carlyle (H). TJ — 31-9 1/2 — Blankenship (NB), Sackrider (E), Ferry (Wish), Corey (NB), Aiken (E), tie between Schupbach (M) and Desamours (NB). Shot — 32-5 — Bridge (E), Sackrider (E), Ray (E), Jackson (Tah), Ralston (Tah), Mail (Tah). Disc — 99-9 — Ralston (Tah), Sackrider (E), Bates (A), Spradlin (M), Ray (E), Ellis (Tah). Jav – 99-10 — Dolan-Curleybear (T), Krohn (H), Spradlin (M), Pelan (H), Ray (E), Bergeson (A).
