S. Whidbey earns third straight NCC championship

By Bob Mortenson

Herald Writer

LYNDEN – Katy McGillen was changing shoes faster than Imelda Marcos, but it was a justifiable case of function over fashion.

With all four of her events occuring more or less simultaneously, McGillen was on the go for three straight hours Friday busying herself with two first-place finishes and two second-place finishes and helping lead South Whidbey to its third consecutive North Cascades Conference girls track championship.

South Whidbey racked up 159 points to outdistance Mount Baker with 122.5 and Meridian with 104. Sultan finished fourth with 84 points and Lakewood was fifth with 79.

The Falcons wasted little time establishing their dominance by sweeping four of the top five places in the first racing event, the 110-meter hurdles. McGillen led the way finishing first in a time of 16.01. Lakewood’s Amber Nash was second in 16.17. Emily Bartlett, Caitlin Robinson and Becky Gabelein finished third, fourth and fifth respectively as the Falcons amassed 25 points out of the starting gate.

“We had hoped to score 20, so getting 25 was a bonus,” South Whidbey coach Doug Fulton said.

McGillen also enjoyed a victory in the high jump and finished second in the long jump and javelin.

“I scratched on my last long jump but that was okay,” McGillen said. “Coach Fulton put pressure on us, he wanted us to repeat as league champions and that pushed us.”

South Whidbey’s Claudia Gil-Osorio took first in the 100-meter dash with a sparkling 12.69. In the 1,600, Karen Schwager gave the Falcons a boost with a surprise third-place finish.

The Falcon contingent of Gil-Osorio, Nicole Mock, Lindsey Binford, and Melissa Poolman sped to victory in the 400 relay with a nifty :50.84.

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