Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, May 17, 2008

4A GIRLS TRACK: Yates soars to top

The Snohomish senior scores a triple victory, winning the triple jump with a meet-record leap and the high jump to go along with her victory Wednesday in the long jump.

By Mike Cane
Herald Writer

 EVERETT -- All season Jessica Yates said she has yearned for more competition in the triple jump and long jump. Next week she should finally get it.

Yates, a senior at Snohomish High School, broke her own meet record in the triple jump Friday during the Class 4A Northwest District Girls Track and Field Championship Meet at Everett Memorial Stadium. She had a top jump of 39 feet, 0.5 inches -- more than 3.5 feet further than the No. 2 finisher.

Yates also won the high jump Friday and placed first in long jump Wednesday. She qualified for next week's state meet in all three events. But she's zoned in on the triple jump, which she placed second in at last year's 4A championships.

"My mindset was focused only on triple jump. … I just was really determined to jump good," said Yates, a Washington State University recruit.

Yates had her best triple jump in her final preliminary-round attempt. It came after she scratched on her first try and had her knee buckle on her second jump, in which she traveled just 33 feet.

"I was a little scared," Yates said. "My knee gave out and so I was like, 'OK. You need a big one or it's going to be a problem.'"

The top three finishers in each individual event and the top three relay teams qualified for the state meet (May 23-24 in Pasco).

In Pasco, Yates will be expected to challenge Curtis' Andrea Geubelle, who entered the week as the 4A leader in triple jump and long jump.

"I'm ready for next week because it will be like the first time this season that … there's going to be a lot of competition," said Yates.

In the race for the team title, Marysville-Pilchuck scored 153 points and won its first district championship since 1976, M-P coach Randy Davis said. M-P's Nicolette Runyan won the 100- and 200-meter sprints, and she also ran legs on the Tomahawks' first-place 400 and 1,600 relay teams. The 400 relay squad zoomed to a meet record time of 49.57 seconds.

"That's what our team thrives on, our relays," Davis said.

M-P got a great head start Wednesday on its way to the team crown when it earned a 1-2-3 sweep in the pole vault. Robin Mueller won it.

Another individual-event star was Oak Harbor's Mietra Smollack. The senior won the 800 and the 1,600. Her time in the 1,600 (four minutes, 57.56 seconds) bettered the old meet record by more than seven seconds.

Monroe's Kelsey Brennan earned her second individual district title in three days by winning the shot put. On her final throw she launched the shot 38-6.5, nearly two feet further than her top throw coming into the meet.

On Wednesday Brennan won the javelin and also qualified for state in the discus.

Brittany Jones of Cascade, who won the discus Wednesday, placed second in the shot put behind Brennan. Jones said a technique tweak helped her throw about two feet longer than she had been doing earlier this week at practice.

"I didn't think I was going to do that good in shot," Jones said, "but now I kind of have higher hopes."

At Everett Memorial Stadium

Team scores: 1. Marysville-Pilchuck 153, 2. Snohomish 117, 3. Stanwood 99, 4. Monroe 74, 5. Oak Harbor 72, 6. Lake Stevens 66, 7. Jackson 55, 8. Cascade 46, 9. Edmonds-Woodway 42, 10. Mountlake Terrace 40, 11. Shorewood 37, 12. Kamiak 27.

State meet qualifiers

*3,200-1. Davis (Mon) 11:04.62, 2. Bonner (Sno) 11:05.06, 3. Verma (Stan) 11:06.11; 100 hurdles-1. Tri (LS) 15.85, 2. Gross (Casc) 16.0, 3. McDonald (M-P 16.26; 100-1. Runyan (M-P) 12.94, 2. McKole (OH) 13.0, 3. Smith (Stan) 13.01; 1,600-1. Smollack (OH) 4:57.56, 2. Nemra (M-P) 5:04.87, 3. Bonner (Sno) 5:07.75; 400 relay-1. 1. Marysville-Pilchuck 49.57, 2. Stanwood 50.3, 3. Edmonds-Woodway 51.04; 400-1. Oden (M-P) 59.01, 2. Johnson (Shore) 59.6, 3. Teichgrab (Stan) 1:00.08; 800-1. Smollack (OH) 2:14.98, 2. Nemra (M-P) 2:15.66, 3. Davis (Kam) 2:19.47; 200-1. Runyan (M-P) 26.21, 2. McKole (OH) 26.52, 3. Tougas (E-W) 27.05; 300 hurdles-1. Jackson (Stan) 45.92, 2. Jewett (Sno) 46.84, 3. Duvenez (OH) 47.23; 800 relay-1. Oak Harbor 1:47.17, 2. Monroe 1:48.81, 3. Shorewood 1:49.33; 1,600 relay-1. Marysville-Pilchuck 3:59.95, 2. Stanwood 4:03.22, 3. Snohomish 4:07.9; *Javelin-1. Brennan (Mon) 136-8, 2. Hovick (MT) 124-6, 3. Welsh (M-P) 120-10; *Discus-1. Jones (Casc) 122-6, 2. Brennan (Mon) 116-7, 3. Gatterman (Sno) 113-0; Triple jump-1. Yates (Sno) 39-0.5, 2. Donohue (MT) 35-5.5, 3. Cull (M-P) 35-1.75; Shot put-1. Brennan (Mon) 38-6.5, 2. Jones (Casc) 37-4, 3. Peterson (Stan) 36-10; High jump-1. Yates (Sno) 5-0, 2. Soules (Shore) 5-0, 3. Tri (LS) 5-0; *Long jump-1. Yates (Sno) 18-0, 2. Sam (Jack) 16-10, 3. Donohue (MT) 16-9.5; *Pole vault-1. Mueller (M-P) 10-0, 2. Caldwell (M-P) 10-0, 3. Sarah Clark (M-P) 10-0.

*Events completed Wednesday

Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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