Deaf athlete from Lakewood wins 300 hurdles at state

Associated Press

CHENEY – Lakewood sophomore Amber Nash, who is deaf, saw the smoke from the starter’s pistol, then smoked the field Saturday in the 300-meter hurdles in the Class 2A track and field championships at Eastern Washington University.

Nash, who was seventh earlier in the day in the 100 hurdles, set a school record of 45.57 seconds in the 300.

Lakewood coach Mike Evans said Nash’s victory came as no surprise to him.

“After the workout she had last week, I looked at the watch and said, ‘Oh, oh, we’re ready to go,’” Evans said.

Evans said Nash uses what’s called a Moye starting block. It allows her to begin the race with one hand down instead of two, enabling her to keep an eye on the starter.

“She senses well,” Evans said. “She watches the trigger finger and for the smoke. She seldom has a bad start.”

King’s scored 129.75 points to defend its A state girls team title. King’s has won the A girls team state title five times during the past eight years.

King’s Julie Reese was the only double winner in the meet, taking first in the shot put and discus. She added a second place in the javelin.

“We had great performances from everyone today,” said King’s coach Daunte Gouge. “(Julie) Reese’s great performance was par for the course for her.”

The Tacoma Baptist boys defended their own A team title, with Brian Wall and Josh Bousman scoring 44 1/2of the team’s 70 points. It was Tacoma Baptist’s fourth championship in eight years.

King’s second-place finish was only five points from the championship. The title came down to the last leg of the last relay race, where Tacoma Baptist pulled away to win the race and the crown.

“We were just happy to have the chance to be that close to Tacoma Baptist,” said King’s coach Daunte Gouge.

Archbishop Murphy’s David Wilcox won the state championship in the 300 hurdles and finished eighth in the 200.

Mike Rawlins, from Mount Baker, set a state 2A boys record with a time of 48.50 seconds in the 400 and placed first in the long jump to lead Mount Baker to the 2A boys state title.

South Whidey was eighth and scored a victory in the 1,600 relay.

Brian Wilson led Willapa Valley to its first B boys title with victories in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.

Wilson finished second in the 400 and anchored the winning 4-by-100 relay team.

The B girls team title came down to the final event, the 4-by-400 relay, with Riverside Christian, DeSales and defending champion Valley Christian all within one point. Riverside Christian won the event – and the team crown – in a meet record time of 4:07.66.

Danielle Ayers-Stamper, from LaCrosse-Washtucna, won her fourth straight B girls titles in both the 100 hurdles and the long jump to wind up her prep career.