SNOHOMISH — Unless you’re a kite, a cool and blustery day is usually not the time to go soaring.
But Monroe High School pole vaulter Alecia Longsine had no trouble with the elements on Saturday, reaching 10 feet, 6 inches to win her event at the Larry Eason Invitational track and field meet
at Snohomish High School.
Longsine’s mark was 1 foot higher than her nearest rival. Three other vaulters cleared 9-6, and no one else in the field of 24 did better than 9-0.
And the weather? No big deal, Longsine said, despite occasional rain and almost continuous wind.
“It was actually all right compared to the other meets we’ve had (this season),” she said. “It was actually one of the better weather days. … Once we got up to the upper heights we had a little bit of a tailwind, which was kind of nice because you can get more speed.”
Longsine, a senior, easily cleared 8-6 and 9-0 on her first vaults. She missed twice at 10-0, but went over on her third and final try. At 10-6 she also missed twice, but was successful on her last attempt.
She then had the bar raised to 10-10, which is 1 inch higher than her Monroe school record. She missed and called it a day.
A year ago, Longsine had the No. 1 mark going into the District 1 championship meet, which is also the state qualifying meet. But her season ended with a disappointing day — or as she put it, “I choked. I lost it with nerves.” — causing her to miss out on a trip to state.
Last year “was hard,” admitted Longsine, who placed 10th at state as a sophomore, “but it was like a learning experience. I just have to learn to (deal with) my nerves when the pressure is on.”
This season, she said, the goal is to reach 12 feet. To get there, she needs to polish her technique and improve her speed, “but my coach thinks I can do it.” And as she looks ahead to college, “12 feet will pretty much get me a full (scholarship) anywhere,” she said.
Another Western Conference athlete who performed well on Saturday was Cascade’s Natasha Caldwell, who won the javelin with a toss of 118-4. That mark was 5 inches beyond Racheal Pederson of Burlington-Edison.
Caldwell winning throw was about 9 feet short of her personal best, but that probably had a lot to do with the weather, she said. “Especially with the javelin, which is so easily affected by the wind. But everyone has to live with the same conditions.
“It definitely wasn’t my best throw today,” she added. “But given the conditions, I think it was a decent day. I felt pretty good about it.”
Caldwell, who took up track as a sophomore after breaking her finger while playing softball as a freshman, won her event at the Eason Invitational after placing seventh as a sophomore and third a year ago. “Coming back my senior year,” she said, “my goal was to get first. And I got first.”
Also winning on Saturday was Stephanie Goei of Shorewood in the hammer (127-04).
One of the meet’s top girls performers was Decatur super freshman Hannah Cunliffe, who breezed to victories in the 100 (12.16) and 200 (25.30).
Sehome easily won the team title, finishing with 71 while Eastlake and Juanita tied for second with 35. Cascade with fourth with 33.
At Snohomish Veterans Memorial Stadium
Team scores–Sehome 71, Eastlake 35, Juanita 35, Cascade 33, Holy Names 32, North Kitsap 31, Abbotsford 28, Squalicum 26, Burlington-Edison 26, Arlington 24, Decatur 24, Redmond 23, Issaquah 23, Lindbergh 21, Skyline 19, Sedro-Woolley 18, Snohomish 18, Blaine 17, Roosevelt 16, River Ridge 15.5, Mt. Rainier 15, Garfield 14, Everett 14, Enumclaw 14, Shorecrest 14, Monroe 13, Liberty 13, Edmonds-Woodway 12, Port Angeles 12, Newport 11.5, Sequim 10.5, Highline 10, Mt. Baker 10, Lakeside 10, Shorewood 10, Glacier Peak 10, Camas 8, Cedarcrest 8, Renton 8, Bellingham 5, Lynnwood 5, Meadowdale 4, Bishop Blanchet 3, Auburn 2, Ballard 2, Kamiak 2, Mt. Si 1.5, Nathan Hale 1, Emerald Ridge 1, Anacortes 1.
100 hurdles–Cecelia Jackson (Holy Names) 15.18; 100–Hannah Cunliffe (Decatur) 12.16; 1,600–Kim Rabenstein (Burlington-Edison) 5:15.76; 400 relay–Sehome (Shannon DeBacker, Jori Hall, Zoe Moller, Kendra Thomas) 50.43; 400–Haley O’Connor (Eastlake) 59.21; 300 hurdles–Michelle Stolz (Highline) 45.12; 800–Madeline Rathburn (Lakeside) 2:18.08; 200–Hannah Cunliffe (Decatur) 25.30; 3,200–Jordan McPhee (Mt. Rainier) 11:08.77; 800 relay–Sehome (Kendra Thomas, Zoe Moller, Jori Hall, Shannon DeBacker) 1:45.98; 1,600 relay–Skyline (Dorie Dalzell, Alexis Daugherty, Michelle Bretl, Jordan Branch) 4:09.66; High jump–Olivia Vincent (Holy Names) 5-05.00; Long jump–Zoe Moller (Sehome) 18-00.75; Triple jump–Alanna Coker (Juanita) 37-01.25; Shot put–Gina Flint (Squalicum) 37-05.00; Discus–Gina Flint (Squalicum) 128-01; Javelin–Natasha Caldwell (Cascade) 118-03; Pole vault–Alecia Longsine (Monroe) 10-06.00; Hammer–Stephanie Goei (Shorewood) 127-04; Distance medley–Sehome (Sarah Huffman, Eva Vigh, Jaden Duffy, Madison Sullivan) 13:20.34.
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