The 21st version of the Shoreline Invitational will take place this Saturday, April 26 starting at noon at Shoreline Stadium.
The largest all-boys track and field invite in the Northwest will include 86 schools and more than 1,000 athletes.
This is the biggest Shoreline Invite to date. The most schools represented in previous years was in 2006, when athletes from 77 schools participated.
Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for students with an associated student body card and $4 for seniors and children.
The Invite features some of the top athletes in the state. Out of 17 events listed, eight athletes who hold the top marks in the state of Washington right now as listed on the Athletic.net Web site will compete.
The top local athlete is Lynnwood’s Dylan Burnett-Lewis who is sixth in the state (all classifications) in the javelin with a throw of 187-2. He is the top-ranked javelin thrower at the Shoreline Invite.
Burnett-Lewis threw 178 last week at the Pasco Invite and finished sixth although his first throw, which he scratched on, would have won the competition, said Lynnwood coach Duane Lewis.
The marks at Pasco were less than stellar mainly thanks to temperatures in the mid-30s to low 40s.
The Shoreline Stadium javelin runway is slightly uphill, Lewis said, so Burnett-Lewis might not break out with his best mark there either.
Evergreen (Vancouver) beat out Kentwood and Sehome for the team title last year, but is not back to defend its title this year. Top contenders could include Garfield, Kentwood, Newport, North Central and Sehome.
Listed below are the top entrants in each event as submitted by the coaches:
100 meters: Devin St. Clair, Kentwood, 10.74 seconds, ranked third in state.
200 meters: Devin St. Clair, Kentwood, 21.74, first
400 meters: Maurice McNeal, Tacoma Baptist, 49.02, third
800 meters: Paul Winger, Bonney Lake, 1:56.33, third
1,600 meters: Mason McHenry, Sehome, 4:19.54, sixth
Freshman/sophomore 1,600: Ben Johnston, North Central, 4:25.5, not ranked
3,200 meters: Ryan Prentice, Mt. Rainier, 9:24.05, third
110 hurdles: Stephone Jordan, Garfield, 14.55, first
300 hurdles: J Hopkins, Everett, 38.58, first
400-meter relay: North Central, 42.34, first
1,600-meter relay: Eastlake, 3:20.9, first
Distance medley: Eastlake, 10:30
Sprint medley: Everett, 1:32.1
Pole Vault: Justin George, Yelm, 15 feet, second
Javelin: Dylan Burnett-Lewis, Lynnwood, 187-2, sixth
Discus: Conner Larned, Enumclaw, 179-1, first
Shot put: Andrey Levkiv, Hazen, 57-1, first
Long jump: Jeremy Taiwo, Newport, 22-7.5, first
Triple jump: Jeremy Taiwo, Newport, 46-7.5, third
High jump: Jamaal Thomas, Garfield, 6-6, second
Richard Woodworth, Newport, 6-6, second
The meet will be dedicated to John Serl, who taught and coached students in the Shoreline School District for 38 years. Serl coached football, track, wrestling and basketball.
Coaches like new 3A league
Coaches Mark Stewart of Meadowdale, Mike Wollan of Shorecrest and Dorian Manza of Lynnwood, all said they like the new Western Conference South Division 3A football league which will include their teams along with Everett and the new Glacier Peak.
“I’m excited about it,” Wollan said. “The opportunity to settle it on the field is the way you want it.”
Previously, the playoff teams were determined by the 3A teams’ division records in the combined 4A/3A Western Conference North and South divisions.
“I think it’s a great idea. I think it gives every 3A team in the Wesco a better shot at making the playoffs and a schedule that’s lot more fair across the board,” said Manza, adding that his Royals only played two 3A teams, Shorecrest and Meadowdale, out of 10 games last year. “We’re excited about the season. I’m looking forward to that schedule for sure.”
Last year, Shorecrest needed a win over Mountlake Terrace and an Arlington loss to Marysville-Pilchuck to clinch a quad-district playoff spot. The Scots beat Terrace but missed the playoffs when Arlington rallied to beat Marysville-Pilchuck 21-20.
Shorecrest did not play Arlington during the regular season. They did play Everett, a Wesco North 3A team, and lost, but the game was a nonleague game.
Stewart, whose Mavericks were the top 3A seed the last two years, said the right teams generally earned the playoff berths under the old format. But with Everett the lone remaining 3A team in the Wesco North, a change was needed to make the system more equitable.
“The majority of teams thought this would be the best solution,” Stewart said.
Shorecrest won a Western Conference South Division co-championship in 2005 its first since 1994, but as a 3A team in a predominantly 4A league those have been tough to come by.
“Now with the third league you get a better chance to win a league championship,” Wollan said. “It’s a struggle for us as a 3A school to win a league championship and now we have a chance.”
“I think it’s going to make for some exciting football,” Wollan said. “We’re going to get to play some new teams. We’ll see how it plays out.”
The new league will give Glacier Peak, the new school in Snohomish that will have no seniors its first year, a chance to be more competitive, Manza said.
Stewart, whose nonleague schedule includes top 4A teams Edmonds-Woodway and Kamiak, said he wished there were a few more 3A teams in the league but still likes the arrangement.
“We’re still playing good rival games, we’re still in a good league with good coaches,” he said. “It will be fun.”
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