Enders helps vault Snohomish into first place at Eason Invitational

By Chris Trujillo

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH – The first time she did it, Emily Enders topped off in the pole vault at six feet. That was two short years ago.

Today, the Snohomish High School junior is setting school records – and nearly state records, too.

In just her second full season participating in the exhilarating pole vault competition, Enders has proved to herself that, just maybe this is her sport. Especially since her impressive second place finish at the 14th annual Eason Invitational on Saturday reached a towering 12-feet 2 inches – which topped the previous school record by nearly two inches which she set last week at the Pasco Invitational. Her mark, which was two inches short of first-place finisher Erin Shafer of Olympic High School (12-4), put her in the top five in the state for this season.

“This sport looked so much fun that I had to try it,” Enders said. “I almost quit last year, but my mom wouldn’t let me quit. I am thrilled about today because I didn’t it here at home.

“I’ve practiced a lot and I moved up in poles. I used to use a 135-pound pole, but now I am using a 160-pound pole. My coaches just told me I was ready for a bigger pole.”

Enders wasn’t the only Panther athlete to shine in the familiar confines of Snohomish’s Memorial Stadium. Emily Kling outjumped Kacie Fischer of Sehome High School by more than a foot to win the triple jump with a distance of 37 feet 9 inches. Earlier in the day, Kling finished second behind Skyline High School’s Christina Tupper in the long jump.

Nevertheless, it was the strong performances by Enders, Kling and Snohomish’s distance medley team (Lucy Miller, Ashley Miller, Kim Holland and Kelly Boxman) that earned the Panthers first place with a team score of 63.5 – 1.5 points better than second-place Sehome.

“This was just a super performance by everyone especially our jumpers,” Snohomish coach Dan Parker said. “Emily (Enders) is just getting better and better every time. And Emily Kling, what a great day for her. I think the kids just felt comfortable here at home. This was a good day. The meet ran great, and we set a lot of personal records.”

Akosua Fordjour led Shorewood’s distance medley team with a fourth place finish and Rachel Botham helped the Thunderbirds’ 400-meter relay team take third place. Shorewood finished the day with an eighth place finish with 30 points.

Sarah Owen finished second for the second time in two years in the 400 with a time of 59.22 and fourth in the 200 to lead the Royals, who were amongst only three local schools to break the top 20, to a 15th place finish with 25 points.

“Yeah, it is frustrating to finish second twice in the 400 but the girl who won really deserved it,” Owen said. “But I am really excited about my finish in the 200. I didn’t expect to run it and now I hope I can carry it over into state.”

Edmonds-Woodway finished 25th with 11 points. Arlington and Everett tied for 30th with eight points. Mariner and Sultan rounded out the Snohomish County schools, finishing 35th and 36th respectively.