Like many high school seniors, Rebecca Lance counts down the milliseconds to graduation. “My life’s been kind of crazy and hectic and kind of stressful,” said Lance, a discus thrower. “I’m ready to be done.” But before the video game-loving, horse-riding, former synchronized swimmer gets her diploma, she has one more chance to break Mountlake Terrace’s girls discus record.
Beginnings: Lance, who started throwing the discus her sophomore year after ditching the high jump and running events, launched a personal-record discus throw of 111 feet, 3 inches last month at South Whidbey’s Westling Invite. In the past, Lance tried other throwing events, but she said the discus fits her body type better: “I have long arms and legs. I use my levers to throw it. It’s just a lot easier for me to do (discus) than shot put, which is mostly about power.”
On the record: Lance’s PR throw is about five feet short of the Terrace girls record. After placing third Wednesday at the Wesco South divisional meet with a throw of 104-1, she has another chance – possibly her last – to eclipse the record this week at the Class 4A District 1 meet at Stanwood High. Just the top three competitors in each event advance to state.
Coach’s corner: Mountlake Terrace track and field coach Russ Vincent said Lance, a two-time Edmonds School District meet champion, is very deserving of her captain status, which teammates determined with a vote at the end of last season. The eccentric thrower keeps the Hawks upbeat and knows how to lighten up tense situations, Vincent said: “She’s a very interesting character, to say the least.
Make a splash: Lance competed on the Terrace swim team for four years and her best event was the 500 freestyle. She placed second at districts this past fall. Asked to share her funniest moment in sports, Lance cited the 2005 Wesco South divisional swim meet. Before she swam the 500 freestyle final, Lance told her coach she was going to finish in 6 minutes, 4.97 seconds – a random time that just popped into Lance’s head. When Lance touched the final wall, she looked up at the scoreboard and could barely believe her eyes: her time was 6:04.96. “I was laughing so hard and everyone else around me was like, ‘What are you laughing about?’” Lance said. “I was like, ‘I just called my time!’” Close enough, anyway.
Who are you? “People describe me as a little bit crazy. I’m really outgoing,” said Lance, who works part-time as a lifeguard in Lynnwood, collects dragon figurines and hopes to pursue a career in digital gaming. Lance’s hobbies include competitive barrel racing with her horse, Oakie; expressing herself through art; and attending demolition derbies at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe.
Favorite TV shows? “Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel) about the dangerous lives of Alaska crab fishermen working in the Bering Sea; popular CBS crime drama “CSI”; and “Mythbusters,” where experts test – and often debunk – popular myths and urban legends, also on Discovery.
Wierdest things in your wallet? Her favorite fortunes from fortune cookies.
Best vacation? Disneyland at age 11. It was Lance’s first and only time in an airplane.
If you could meet anyone? Jesse James, host of automotive game show “Monster Garage” on Discovery.
Mike Cane, Herald Writer
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