Snohomish High’s Anderson wins another title

Published 11:31 pm Friday, May 29, 2009

TACOMA — Consistency is crucial. Marlyn Anderson had it. His opponents didn’t.

While his foes’ performances fluctuated wildly from throw to throw Friday in the Class 4A boys discus event, Anderson stuck with his time-tested technique, uncorked a string of solid tosses and captured a state title for the second time in less than 24 hours.

Anderson, a Snohomish High School senior, won the 4A discus crown with a top throw of 159 feet, 11 inches during Day 2 of the Class 2A, 3A and 4A boys track championships at Mount Tahoma Stadium. It was far from Anderson’s top performance — his personal record is 168-10 — but it was enough to win again, a day after he won the shot put.

In the discus, Anderson beat second-place finisher Steven Forgette of Heritage by 3 feet.

“What an incredible finish. How could you ask for anything better?” Snohomish track coach Tuck Gionet said.

The Eastern Washington University-bound Anderson is the first male Snohomish High athlete to win shot put and discus titles in the same state meet in 25 years. Dave Wilson did it in 1984.

“It means a lot,” said Anderson. “I worked really hard, and it shows that hard work pays off.”

Asked if he would have liked to win the discus with a more impressive throw, Anderson said it didn’t matter — a win is a win. Coach Gionet felt the same way.

“Every competition is different,” Gionet said. “You win the competition. You don’t worry about the (personal record) thing. That probably bugged him a little bit, but at the same time the guy is a two-time state champ, all because of coach Jay Adams.”

Adams coaches Snohomish throwers. He worked closely with Anderson and was thrilled to watch him improve on his fourth-place discus finish in 2008. Adams praised Anderson’s dedication, which included an intense weight-lifting program and weekly throwing sessions at the University of Washington throughout the winter.

Even during warmups, Anderson is on a mission, Adams said.

“He does things just right. He goes off by himself and concentrates, like you ask. He really approaches the competition in a professional manner, for a kid,” said Adams.

Entering the meet, Anderson was ranked first in both of his events, so his victories were not a surprise. But it might take time for him to fully appreciate his achievements, Adams said: “It’s what he expected. I think it’s going to take awhile for it to sink in — how special it really was.”

Fairly quiet and reserved during interviews, Anderson reveals a different side of his personality to teammates, coaches and opponents.

“In about half an hour you will not be able to get him to shut up,” coach Adams said, laughing. “I think the main reason he likes track is just (the socializing). During the competition, he’s just buddies with these other guys.”

The 2A, 3A and 4A meets conclude today. Edmonds-Woodway sophomore Alec Fellows will try his third 4A top-eight finish of the weekend. On Friday, he took third in the 110-meter hurdles and sixth in the triple jump. Today he will compete in the long jump, where he is seeded 11th.

Fellows exceeded his expectations in the 110 hurdles and set a personal record (14.60 seconds). “I was just happy to be into the finals and getting a medal,” he said. “I was just trying to get anything top eight.”

Other notable 4A boys

n Jackson’s Dan Truong and E-W’s Fellows placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the triple jump with marks of 44-4.5 and 44-1.5. Snohomish’s Christopher Rusnak was eighth (43-0.5).

n In the pole vault, Jackson’s Felix Ekness was fifth (13-6) and Monroe’s Jordan Moses was eighth (13-0).

n Lake Stevens’ Eric Huswick took seventh in the discus. Huswick placed sixth in the shot put Thursday.

n Stanwood’s Robert Hanke took seventh in the 110 hurdles and he won his 300 hurdles preliminary heat.

n In the high jump, Lake Stevens’ Brennan Frost was sixth and Arlington freshman Maxim Bryson was seventh. Both of them cleared 6-6.

Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.