Pasco Invite — Barbosa, Bergman fight through the pain
By SCOTT SPRUILL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
SARA GETTYS/Yakima Herald-Republic
Prosser\'s Nectaly Barbosa (right) and Ellensburg\'s Isak Bergman (left) share congratulations after the boys 800 meter run, which Barbosa won, at the Pasco Invite track meet in Pasco, Saturday, March 15
PASCO — Nectaly Barbosa\'s back was so tight he grimaced with nearly every movement, and Isak Bergman had a bum ankle that was so cranky Saturday morning he could barely walk.
So imagine what the state\'s premier 800-meter runners will do when they\'re feeling good.
The two rivals and friends shook off their irritating ailments long enough to stage a memorable duel in the 45th annual Pasco Invitational as Barbosa, Prosser\'s nationally acclaimed junior star, narrowly missed breaking the
21-year-old meet record with a time of 1 minute, 50.98 seconds.
While he missed the meet record by a scant 0.15, Barbosa\'s time was still good enough for the second-fastest ever by a junior in state history. And Ellensburg\'s Bergman, also a junior, flashed across the finish in a career-best of 1:53.18.
\"I don\'t know what happened with my back. I think maybe I slept weird because it was bugging me this morning and it\'s pretty tight now,\" said Barbosa, who opened with a 54-second first lap. \"I loosened up the best I could and I felt better before the race. I was still hoping for that (meet) record, but it\'s still a good time.\"
Racing on a wet track after a half-hour rain and lightning delay in the mid-afternoon, Barbosa charged out to a big lead with his ambitious pace but Bergman was especially strong in the third 200, surging into second and closing the gap on the front-runner.
When Bergman crossed the finish line he raised his arms in celebration because he saw that Barbosa had stopped the stadium clock at 1:50. He knew that meant a big personal best.
\"I was trying so hard to keep my form together on the last lap because that\'s where I buckled a little last year at state,\" said Bergman, who placed fourth a year ago in the 3A state 800 behind Barbosa\'s winning effort. \"This time I held together and that\'s where I got the two seconds off my PR. The way my ankle\'s been feeling, I\'m real happy with that.\"
Earlier in the day, Bergman, a bass player, performed in a jazz competition at Columbia Basin College.
\"I\'ve been nervous all day for both things,\" he said. \"As the day went on, my ankle felt better but my stomach didn\'t. I can\'t wait to get something to eat.\"
At a Mid-Valley League meet in Prosser next month, Barbosa and Bergman are planning to hook up for another 800 duel.
\"In a few weeks,\" Bergman added, \"we\'ll be able to run some sick times.\"
The huge day-long meet started with a bang locally as West Valley\'s girls loaded up in the distance medley and easily ran off with the victory, clocking a school record of 12:44.90 for a 15-second win over Snohomish.
Michelle Schubert led off with the 1,200 leg (3:47), Rachael Johnson followed in the 400 (1:02) and Stephanie Shuel covered 800 (2:29) to set up Lisa Olander\'s 1,600 anchor leg (5:25).
Ellensburg\'s Kayla Standish had a stellar day, finally getting her basketball legs switched over to track and field. After placing third in the 100 hurdles in 15.50, just two-hundreths out of second, the sophomore rallied late for second place in the triple jump with a big season-best of 36 feet, 9 3/4 inches.
Standish\'s effort in the triple jump was especially impressive since the temperature plunged toward the end of the meet as evening descended on Edgar Brown Stadium.
Sitting in fifth place with one jump left, Standish added over eight inches on her final attempt to leap into second. Pullman junior Lindsay Myron, who edged Standish for second in the hurdles, was the winner at 36-11 1/2.
Photo:87883,\"I was looking for some good marks here because I was sick of my lousy jumps,\" said Standish, who had been in the 34-35 range in the last two weeks. \"I\'m getting my form back. After basketball it takes a while, especially in the triple jump.\"
In the 100 hurdles prelims, Standish ran a career-best 15.32.
West Valley had two placers in the boys meet. Jarom Smith nearly got a career-best in the 110 hurdles while placing fourth in 15.13 (14.78 in prelims), and Chris Glaser finished seventh in the 3,200 in 9:36.47.
The boys pole vault, which had three local entries who had cleared 14-6 or better, produced only Mike Blanchard\'s fifth-place finish at 14-0. The Selah senior gave way at 14-6, and Interlake\'s Ryan Vu lifted the state best to 15-3.
Selah\'s Shene Davis made the girls 100 final and placed eighth, and helped the Vikings set a school record in the 800 relay of 1:48.09.
Two meet records fell and Eastlake\'s Jessica Pixler had a hand in both. After pushing Mount Spokane\'s Megan O\'Reilly to a record 4:47.98 run in the 1,600, Pixler doubled back to establish her own mark in the 800 with a time of 2:12.64.
Richland\'s Kayla McKeirnan (1st 200, 1st 400) and Kamiakin\'s Kyle Schauble (1st 110H, 1st 300H, 2nd LJ) were named the meet\'s top athletes. They led their respective schools to the team titles.
BOYS
Winners, local results
100: 1, Ryan Hamilton (Evergreen-Van) 10.96; 9, Spencer Douglas (WV) 11.75. 200: 1, Hamilton (E) 22.49. Top local: Foi Malaki (Ike) 23.10. 400: 1, Zeke Hill (Curtis) 49.21. Top local: Chris Rose (WV) 53.12. 800: 1, Nectaly Barbosa (Prosser) 1:50.98; 2, Isak Bergman (Ellensburg) 1:53.18. 1,600: 1, Abdi Hassan (Nathan Hale) 4:22.24. 3,200: 1, Chris Kwiatkowski (Bellingham) 9:24.59; 7, Chris Glaser (WV) 9:36.47. Also: 9, Stephen Englund (Ike) 9:41.94.
110H: 1, Kyle Schauble (Kamiakin) 14.75; 4, Jarom Smith (WV) 15.13 (14.78 prelim). 300H: 1, Schauble (Kam) 38.64. Top local: Brett Goodman (WV) 42.84. 4x100: 1, Evergreen 43.15. Top local: Eisenhower 44.95. 4x400: 1, Kamiakin 3:28.03. Top local: 9, Eisenhower 3:30.35. Distance medley: 1, Mead 10:44.66. Top local: Eisenhower 11:12.44.
Shot: 1, Korion Morris (Renton) 61-7. Local best: Thomas Hale (WV) 46-10. Disc: 1, Korion Morris (Renton) 175-6. Local best: Matt Gill (WV) 138-5. Jav: 1, Mark Presby (Richland) 179-7. Local best: Taylor Tanasse (WV) 163-8. HJ: 1, Trent Arrivey (Woodinville) 6-6. LJ: 1, Anthony Zachery (Ferris) 22-7 1/2. Local best: John Lugo (WV) 19-11 3/4. TJ: 1, Stephen Marshall (Southridge) 46-2 3/4. Local best: Lugo (WV) 42-3 3/4. PV: 1, Ryan Vu (Interlake) 15-3; 5, Mike Blanchard (Selah) 14-0.
GIRLS
Winner, local results
100: 1, Chanel James (Wilson) 12.53; 8, Shene Davis (Selah) 13.14. 200: 1, Kayla McKeirnan (Richland) 25.40. Top local: Crystal Johnson (Davis) 27.00. 400: 1, McKeirnan (Rich) 57.28. Top local: Rachael Johnson (WV) 1:03.33. 800: 1, Jessica Pixler (Eastlake) 2:12.64 (meet record). Top local: Stephanie Shuel (WV) 2:28.34. 1,600: 1, Megan O\'Reilly (Mount Spokane) 4:47.98 (meet record). Top local: Michelle Schubert (WV) 5:22.65. 3,200: 1, Bronwyn Crossman (Squalicum) 11:10.18. Top local: Sandra Martinez (Davis) 11:59.63.
100H: 1, Devin Brooks (Holy Names) 14.96; 3, Kayla Standish (Ellensburg) 15.50 (15.32 in prelims). 300H: 1, Angela Jensen (Fife) 45.48. Top local: Alli Krous (Ike) 49.70. 4x100: 1, Kamiakin 49.84. Top local: West Valley 51.33. 4x200: 1, Kamiakin 1:45.03. Top local: 9, Selah 1:48.09. 4x400: 1, Eastmont 4:05.14; 7, West Valley 4:12.73. Distance medley: 1, West Valley 12:44.90.
Shot: 1, Katie Poston (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 42-3 1/2. Top local: Jordan Stueckle (Selah) 35-8. Disc: 1, Poston (BF) 143-0. Top local: Claire Schilperoort (Sunnyside) 104-0. Jav: 1, Courtney Kirkwood (Othello) 148-2. Top local: 9, Alli Krous (Ike) 118-8. HJ: 1, Kelly McNamee (Ferris) 5-6. Top local: Kristle Moss (Riverside Christian) 5-2. LJ: 1, Eleaya Schuerch (East Valley-Spo) 17-7 1/4. Top local: Natalie Nobbs (RC) 15-10 1/4. TJ: 1, Lindsey Myron (Pullman) 36-11 1/2; 2, Standish (Ell) 36-9 3/4. PV: 1, Laura Schvaneveldt (Interlake) 11-6. Top local: Hilary Moore (Prosser) 9-6.