The News

LAKER GIRLS TIE FOR 12TH AT STATE

By BOB ROBINSON

Eric Lider, the Lake Oswego High School track and field coach, was having an early breakfast and  feeling chipper as he looked ahead to the May 29 final day of the OSAA 6A-5A-4A State Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene.

"Our girls are doing OK," he said. "If things go well today, I think we could get into the 20s in points. That would be a good finish for us."

Then, as if following their coach's instructions, the Lakers, led by seniors Tate Murray and Cali Reis, went about the business of scoring 23 points to tie for 12th with South Eugene in the 6A meet.

Murray, as expected, did the major damage. Already with eight points after a runnerup finish to Jesuit's Annamarie Maag in the previous day's 3,000 meters, she came back for third place in the 1,500 behind Franklin's Julia Fonk and Maag for six more points.

The performance wrapped up the Stanford-bound Murray's outstanding four-year run in the state meet. She failed to score as a freshman but piled up 31.75 points in her final three years while earning a total of six medals. Her time in the 3,000 was a career-best 10:04.42 and she had a season-best 4:39.54 in the 1,500.

Reis, a late starter as a hurdler, powered to a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles. She had a career-best time of 44.92.

         Reis also ran the second leg for her school's 4X100 relay team which squeaked into the final and then posted a 48.93 time to finish sixth. It was a high-velocity race in which the top six teams ran season bests.

Seniors Madison Keele (first leg) and Jacqui Wallis (third leg) plus sophomore Christy Wood (anchor leg) joined Reis.

Wood picked up LO's other point with an eighth-place finish in the 100 meters. Again, it was a speedy race and the injury-plagued Wood's time of 12.54 was a career-best.

The 4X100 relay team's experience provided an interesting sidelight to the Lakers' weekend. After some shaky baton passes in the prelims, the Lakers finished ninth in 49.89, 1/1000th of a second behind St. Mary's for the last qualifying spot. But St. Mary's was disqualified for a lane violation and the Lakers survived to run in the final.

Assistant coach Forest Sherman, who worked with the relay teams, had written down a time he felt the 4X100 group could accomplish two weeks earlier and kept it secret. His prediction of 48.89 missed by just 4/100th of a second.

"A good day," Sherman said of the relay effort.

The relay placing also provided a distinction for Wallis. She earned at least one medal at state in each of her four seasons with a total of five.

Other Laker girls who qualified for state but didn't score were Latane Cox in the 800 and Nicole Gregoire in the pole vault. Still, Gregoire, a senior, was living a Cinderella story after winning the Three Rivers district title with a jump of 9-6, a foot higher than her previous best.

Gregoire cleared 9-0 at state to finish 11th while Cox's 2:24.76 time in her 800 prelim heat was short of qualifying.

Sophomore sprinter Will Shannon was the lone Lake Oswego boy to qualify for state _ in the 100 and 200. He didn't make either final but his time of 22.81 in the 200, two places short of advancing, was a career best.

LHS, LO Track Eye Districts

By Matthew Sherman

The Lake Oswego Review, May 20, 2010

It's shaping up to be another very exciting Three Rivers League district track meet this year.

On paper, the Lake Oswego and Lakeridge girls team should battle to win the meet in a contest that could go down to the very final race of the event.

Each team has a handful of strong contenders who could not only potentially win district titles but who could also score at state.

"The girls meet is going to be really fun and interesting. There's going to be some great battles," Laker coach Eric Lider said.

Lake Oswego's Christy Wood and Lakeridge's Krissy Hengesh will do battle to make it to state in the sprints while the Pacers' Amy Wiley has the league's top time in the 400.

Latane Cox is a strong candidate to make state in the 800 for Lake Oswego while Tate Murray is one of the states’s top performers in the 1500 and the 3000.

Lakeridge freshman Kelly O'Neill should give Murray some strong competition in those events as well.

In the hurdles, Wiley and Lake Oswego's Cali Reis are among the favorites.

Both of Lake Oswego's relay teams also hope to advance to state while Lakeridge's 4x400 team easily has the league's best time this year.

The district meet might come down to the field events in the girls competition.

Lake Oswego's Amber Swayne and Melanie Overall hope to advance in the shot put as do Lakeridge's Lexi Ross and Kaleen Coker.

Lizzie Lucas from Lakeridge has one of the league's top marks in the discus while Ross is the defending state champion in the javelin.

As always, the javelin should be a highly competitive event at the meet since as many as six individuals in the league might hit the automatic qualifying mark.

In the pole vault, Lake Oswego's Gabi d'Amato hopes to crack the top two as does Claire Hoobler-Curtis in the triple jump.

For Lakeridge, Kimberly Weston and Becky Iancu could advance in the long jump while Weston and Anne Mueller are also strong candidates in the triple jump.

In the boys competition, Lake Oswego hopes to get sprinter Will Shannon through in one if not both of the 100 and 200 meters while Robbie Magill from Lakeridge is also a strong contender to crack the top two in the 200.

Kevin Pearson from Lakeridge will contend in the 800 and the 1500 while Max Heninger currently has the league's second fastest time in the 3000 for the Pacers.

In the 110 hurdles. Lakeridge's Myke Tavarres will be favored to advance while Andrew Crow has a strong opportunity in the 300 hurdle for Lake Oswego.

Lake Oswego's 4x400 relay also has the league's second fastest time to date.

In the field, Lakeridge's James Adler is ranked in the top five in the league in the discus as is Michael Hoch in the high jump.

The district meet will take place Thursday and Friday at the old Oregon City High School track.
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