Lakewood’s Scott wins 2A boys long jump

Published 10:22 pm Thursday, May 26, 2011

TACOMA — During the 2A boys long jump finals it was difficult to read Lakewood’s Andre Scott. The senior’s face was hidden thanks to neon yellow mirrored sunglasses and a bright yellow Wu-Tang Clan hooded sweatshirt that held the early evening drizzle at bay.

Scott’s warm up attire made it tough to tell if he was nervous heading into his final attempt Thursday night at Mt. Tahoma High School, but his jump told the story.

After scratching on his first two tries, Scott, who was the second to last jumper of the finals, bounded down the lane and exploded into the pit 22 feet, 5.75 inches away. No other jumpers broke the 22-foot mark and Scott captured the title after finishing fifth in 2010.

Scott’s pre-jump outfit wasn’t the only thing new for 2011, so was how hard he worked.

“I’ve never really trained like this,” Scott said of his regimen this season. “This is the most I’ve ever trained. Obviously it paid off pretty well.”

Scott wore shin guards on each leg to protect his shin splints on hit first two attempts in the finals, which ended with his foot over the line, but took them off for the final jump.

“I feel like the more you wear them if you take them off, the better you perform,” Scott said. “It’s like you go a little faster.”

Whether superstition or sound technique, it’s a strategy that he will likely employ again today when he competes in the 100- and 200-meter runs, events that are new for him at the state meet level.

His coach Monica Rooney watched from the sideline and wasn’t nervous despite Scott’s dramatic final jump.

“It’s part of jumping,” the Lakewood co-head coach said. “You just have to make the adjustment that’s the important thing.

“I’m very proud. He’s come through a lot to get here to this state meet and be a state champion.”

His long-time rival, Will Hallberg, of South Whidbey finished in seventh place (21 feet), which was a bit of a disappointment due to a minor hamstring issue. But Hallberg, who finished sixth a year ago, was happy to see someone from the Cascade Conference take the title.

“It’s good,” Hallberg said. “We’re friends, so I’m happy that he won it.

“I told him at the beginning that it’s got to be either me or him.”

In his final athletic feat of the day Scott took a graceful back flip off the medal stand.

Over on the track in the 3A 3,200-meter run, Glacier Peak’s Jeff Bastian took home third place with a time of 9 minutes, 2.64 seconds. Kamiakin’s Anthony Armstrong ran 8:57.36 and Bastian was on his hip for the first seven laps but Armstrong pulled away in the final 400 meters.

“Just to stick with those guys from the east side of Washington, I knew if I could stick with them I’d run a good time,” Bastian said. “I was happy to get right down there with them. It was awesome.”

Bastian finished as the top 3,200 runner from the west side of the state and fellow Wesco 3A runner Matt Crichlow took 10th with a time of 9:30.48. Bastian will also look to medal in the 1,600 Saturday.

In the 4A shot put, Arlington’s Dan Boyden was the highest placing sophomore with a 52-foot mark that was 8 feet behind the champion, Auburn’s Danny Shelton. Boyden took home the eighth-place medal. Lake Steven’s Carey Campbell ended up in 14th place.

The last final of the day was the 4A boys 3,200 and Jackson’s Blake Nelson snagged the seventh-place medal. After dropping as far back as 11th place early in the final lap, the T-Wolves junior made up serious ground in the final 200 meters to secure a spot on the podium.

Archbishop Murphy’s Conner Ballew ran the 2A 3,200 in 9:52.39 to finish 12th.

In another final, Everett’s Adam Whitley had a disappointing day, failing to clear 11-6 in the pole vault. Kelso’s Jonathan Wishard took the 3A crown with a 14-9 vault.