By Jack Millikin Herald staff writer
It\'s been seven years since the Kamiakin girls finished in the top two at the 4A state track meet and even longer for the boys team.
So it was a curious sight to see the Braves girls and boys teams just ticked off even after each squad had secured a top-three finish at the conclusion of Star Track XXIV on Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium.
\"We do everything together. We train together, we have a philosophy of training them to run four events and they don\'t like to lose,\" said Braves girls coach Cheryl Schauble after the girls team finished second with 44 points behind Olympia (50), while the boys team tied for third with Skyline with 35 points behind Wilson (50). \"That\'s what we instill in them.\"
Kyle Schauble, a Kamiakin senior, collected his first state titles in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles after finishing sixth in the 110 highs last year. Schauble\'s time of 14.20 seconds in the 110 highs tied him for first on the all-time Mid-Columbia list with Barry Leavitt of Kiona-Benton (2003). Schauble also won the 300s in 37.77.
Michaela Haggett was a workhorse for the Kamiakin girls, winning the 100 hurdles with a wind-aided 14.45 and finishing the day as the lead leg on the 4x200 relay team, which topped the field with a time of 1:43.06.
\"We definitely ran that last race (4x200) with guts, because we didn\'t have a lot of strength left,\" Haggett said.
Attrail Snipes of Rainier Beach and Megan O\'Reilly of Mount Spokane both completed their own version of a triple crown.
Snipes, the defending 3A boys 400 champion, earned his over the two-day meet, sweeping the short sprints with wins in the 100 (in a wind-aided 10.71), the 200 (22.22) and the 400 (48.83).
\"I\'m just thankful. I\'m satisfied, but I know I could have run better,\" said the soft-spoken Snipes, who battled through a strained hamstring over the weekend.
O\'Reilly, who won the 4A cross country title in the fall, outkicked Jessica Pixler of Eastlake over the final 200 meters to win the 1,600 in 4:46.58, adding that title to her state-recordperformance in Friday\'s 3,200.
\"After I ran the 2-mile, I said if I don\'t get (the triple crown) I had an excuse,\" said O\'Reilly, who will attend the University of Montana this fall. \"But that last 250 (meters) it just hit me -- I wanted that triple crown so bad. Something kicked in, and I just went.\"
Jason Harris of Renton broke the meet record in the 3A boys javelin, recording a 202-10 toss on his sixth and final throw.
\"The guy from Cheney (shot put winner Bob Wilske) was trying to scare me,\" Harris said. \"He was asking me what my PR was, so I told him 199. He told me he threw 210, 220, and I thought, \'Whatever, dude.\' I didn\'t believe him. He didn\'t even make the final.\"
Kayla McKeirnan carried a heavy load for Richland, scoring 21 points in the 100, 200 and 400, including her first state title in the 400 at 55.76. The Bombers totaled 30 points to finish fifth.
Prosser junior Nectaly Barbosa lived up to the hype in the 800, cruising to a convincing win in 1:52.01 over Mid-Valley League rival Isak Bergman of Ellensburg, who ran a highly respectable 1:54.67.
Whitney Hooks of Cascade (Everett) doubled up after an unprecedented fourth 4A shot title Friday with a discus title.
East Valley of Spokane won the boys 3A team title with 46 points, outscoring Shorecrest (42) and West Valley of Yakima (41). North Central won the girls team title with 69 points, beating out Rainier Beach with 42 points.
n Jack Millikin can be reached at 582-1406 or via e-mail at jmillikin@tricityherald.com.