JON NAITO; The News Tribune
Published: April 30th, 2006 01:00 AM
SHORELINE – On a day the weather forced the cancellation of one event and competitors huddled in the restrooms under hand dryers to stay warm and dry, Alex Crabill had his best performance of the season.
With the wind whipping and cold rain falling Saturday afternoon at the 19th Shoreline Invitational, the Charles Wright senior blitzed the field in the 1,600 meters – his first try at the distance this spring – finishing in 4 minutes, 15.62 seconds.
"I wanted to go a bit faster, but the conditions were poor," Crabill said. "I wanted to go out in 63 (seconds) or so, but it ended up being a little slower. I was able to have the strength to pull away the last couple laps."
The UCLA-bound Crabill, the defending Class 1A state champion in the 1,600 and 3,200, started slowly thanks to a larger-than-expected field. He was boxed in during the first lap, before pulling in front on the second of the race's four laps and was never seriously challenged.
"It was tough to run as hard or as fast as he wanted to on a day like this," said Tarriers coach Drew Wartenburg. "More than it being wet, it was freezing. It's hard to warm up, it's hard to stay warm when you're waiting to race, and obviously the track's going to be wet and not as fast as it would be on an ideal day."
Crabill was one of the few locals to find success in the adverse conditions. The foul weather forced the cancellation of the pole vault for the first time in meet history, and other marks for the day were far from stellar.
Among the locals that fared well were several athletes from Tahoma.
The Bears won the sprint medley relay and finished second in the distance medley relay. They would finish second in the team standings with 56 points, eight behind Shorecrest.
Individually, Tahoma's Luke Lemenager won the 800, while teammate Stephan Praast finished second in the high jump with a mark of 6 feet, 2 inches, losing a tiebreaker to Woodinville's Trent Arrivey, who finished with the same mark.
Lincoln's Dontavious Bickerstaff was the day's other local winner, taking the triple jump with a mark of 44-10.
Gig Harbor's Brice Leahy placed second in the discus, while Franklin Pierce's Jon Lara was runner-up in the 300 hurdles and the Tides' Charlie Williams was second in the 800.
Finishing behind Crabill in the 1,600 was Kentwood's Michael Chinchar and Capital's Jordan Swarthout, completing a local sweep in the event.
Jon Naito: 253-597-8742, ext. 6108
jon.naito@thenewstribune.com