Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Powers seniors finish with flourish
By John Gunther, Sports Editor
Monday, May 18, 2009 | No comments posted.
MONMOUTH — One year ago, Chelsea Standley’s season was essentially cut short by an injury at the district track meet. Teammate Kyle Blanton saw his season end a few weeks earlier with an injury.
This year, both Powers seniors got their day in the sun — literally and figuratively, at the Class 1A state meet at Western Oregon University.
Standley, who was a favorite to place well in three events as a junior and suffered an ankle injury in the final round of the long jump at the district meet, placed in the top five in all three of her events.
Blanton, meanwhile, was one of the most surprising champions in the two-day meet, taking the title in the javelin under a scorching sun Saturday afternoon.
Blanton placed third at the district meet and only reached state because he met the automatic qualifying standard for the event. But he uncorked the top two throws Saturday, taking the lead early and then capping his victory with a throw of 174 feet, 1 inch in the fifth round — a 13-foot improvement from his best before the state meet.
That more than made up for a disappointing 12th-place finish earlier Saturday in the high jump.
“I’m so happy,” Blanton said.
Standley had the same feeling, even though she finished fourth in the 100 meters after posting the top time in qualifying Friday, and later took fifth in the 200.
“I’m thrilled,” she said. “If I’d gotten hurt again at districts, it would have been hard to take.”
The 100-meter final was one of the closest races of the day. Sherman’s Karissa Mobley won in 13.12 seconds, and the next five finishers crossed the line in the next 16 hundredths of a second. Standley was timed in 13.23.
Later, she finished fifth in the 200 in 27.63 and said she was impacted by the conditions.
“It’s a little warmer than what I’m used to,” she said.
Pacific’s Wren Carter had a personal best for the second straight day and added a second state medal for the meet.
Carter improved her best by 6 seconds while finishing fourth in the 1,500 meters in 5:15.56.
On Friday, the sophomore finished fifth in the 3,000 meters in 11:15.56, a 10-second improvement.
“I’m definitely glad I PRed in this race,” said Carter, who followed the speedy lead of Perrydale’s Briana Hawes, who won in 5:02.97.
“It’s better to have faster runners ahead of me,” she said.
Carter’s brother, Julian, was 10th in the boys 1,500.
Pacific’s other girl in the meet, Jesse Culley, finished 10th in the shot put after placing ninth in the javelin.
This year, both Powers seniors got their day in the sun — literally and figuratively, at the Class 1A state meet at Western Oregon University.
Standley, who was a favorite to place well in three events as a junior and suffered an ankle injury in the final round of the long jump at the district meet, placed in the top five in all three of her events.
Blanton, meanwhile, was one of the most surprising champions in the two-day meet, taking the title in the javelin under a scorching sun Saturday afternoon.
Blanton placed third at the district meet and only reached state because he met the automatic qualifying standard for the event. But he uncorked the top two throws Saturday, taking the lead early and then capping his victory with a throw of 174 feet, 1 inch in the fifth round — a 13-foot improvement from his best before the state meet.
That more than made up for a disappointing 12th-place finish earlier Saturday in the high jump.
“I’m so happy,” Blanton said.
Standley had the same feeling, even though she finished fourth in the 100 meters after posting the top time in qualifying Friday, and later took fifth in the 200.
“I’m thrilled,” she said. “If I’d gotten hurt again at districts, it would have been hard to take.”
The 100-meter final was one of the closest races of the day. Sherman’s Karissa Mobley won in 13.12 seconds, and the next five finishers crossed the line in the next 16 hundredths of a second. Standley was timed in 13.23.
Later, she finished fifth in the 200 in 27.63 and said she was impacted by the conditions.
“It’s a little warmer than what I’m used to,” she said.
Pacific’s Wren Carter had a personal best for the second straight day and added a second state medal for the meet.
Carter improved her best by 6 seconds while finishing fourth in the 1,500 meters in 5:15.56.
On Friday, the sophomore finished fifth in the 3,000 meters in 11:15.56, a 10-second improvement.
“I’m definitely glad I PRed in this race,” said Carter, who followed the speedy lead of Perrydale’s Briana Hawes, who won in 5:02.97.
“It’s better to have faster runners ahead of me,” she said.
Carter’s brother, Julian, was 10th in the boys 1,500.
Pacific’s other girl in the meet, Jesse Culley, finished 10th in the shot put after placing ninth in the javelin.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines