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Finally Golden

Local Sports | Fri, 05/15/2009 - 11:42 pm | Read 1050 | Commented 0 | Emailed 0
Tags: Monmouth, track & field

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MONMOUTH — They gave her six throws, but Emma Buchholz needed only one.

The Sheridan High School senior was the top-seeded competitor in the javelin heading into the OSAA 3A Track & Field State Championships and she proved she belonged at the top, winning the state title Friday with a throw of 125 feet, 4 inches. It was her first throw of the competition.

The meet, hosted by Monmouth’s Western Oregon University, represented her third and final attempt at a championship, after finishing sixth and fifth in previous years.

“It’s indescribable,” Buchholz said moments after the results became official. “This was my goal, and I’m so happy that I finally got it. This year I came out really confident. I didn’t doubt myself and I didn’t hold back anything.”

Toledo senior Kara Humphrey was the Spartan’s biggest threat, but her best mark of 121 even was the closest anyone would get. Clatskanie’s Kaylee Taylor finished third with a throw of 120-11.5.

“I knew it felt good,” she said of her winning throw. “I didn’t force it or muscle it. It was all technique and was just a good throw. I’m really proud of myself right now.”

That was a sentiment shared by Willamina’s Chelsea Moser. Sneaking in with the 10th and final slot in the long jump, the freshman shocked the field with a leap of 16 feet, 2 1⁄2 inches. It was more than a foot better than her qualifying jump and it was good enough to propel her to a silver medal. Grant Union’s Jacee Retherford won with a mark of 16-9.

“I didn’t expect to do anything like that,” Moser said. “But every jump I made, I did better than I’d done before. I just felt like, with me coming in ranked 10th, I had nothing to lose so I just went for it.”

Competing today in the triple jump will be Moser’s older sister, Sheridan’s Amber Moser. She may also run on the Spartans’ 400-meter relay team. So Chelsea, who also finished fifth Friday in the high jump with a clearance of 4-8, has done her part. Now it’s up to her sister.

“It would be pretty cool if we could both win a medal at state,” Chelsea Moser said. “We’ve been talking about that for a while. She always does so well, and she makes me want to do better.”

Moser wasn’t the only Bulldog to reach the medal stand Friday. Sophomore Andy Zimbrick also medaled, taking bronze in the triple jump. He actually held the lead going into the finals, but Daniel Soupir of Grant Union pulled ahead with a jump of 41 feet, 11 1⁄4 inches. Zack Burton then, on his final jump, pushed the distance to beat even higher, putting a 42-00.75 on the board.

Zimbrick had the final jump of the competition, but wasn’t able to best his earlier distance of 41 feet, 61⁄4 inches, leaving him in third. While not disappointed in his effort, Zimbrick was hoping he would fare better.

“You know, I’m not really disappointed. Coming in, though, I just thought I could have done better,” he said. “But I was off on my board. I’ve been on all year, but, I don’t know ... today was just not my day, I guess.

“It was a good learning experience. I’m only a sophomore, so I’ve got two more years. And I’ve learned that you’ve got to keep a positive attitude. Positive attitude, positive results.”

The Yamhill Valley got one more top three finish from Dayton’s Abby Aguiar. The junior struggled a bit on Friday and was a few feet under her seeding mark, but still managed an impressive throw of 114 feet, 3 inches. Cascade Christian senior Rachelle Buck won with a 123-6, while Toledo’s Jessica Thompson took silver with a 120-7. Amity’s Nikki Newton placed eighth.

“It was definitely a thrilling experience,” Aguiar said. “I had a lot of adrenaline surging through me for sure. It was a lot of hard work, but it really paid off big time. I met some great girls and great competition.

“I’ll be back. And I feel like next year I’m going to progress even faster.”

When it comes to fast, not many in the state can keep up with Sheridan sophomore Seth Wenger. The top-seeded sprinter in the 100, Wenger matched his season best with an 11.24-second run Friday, sending him into today’s finals with the top time. Amity’s Christian Cabrera was also in the 100-meter field, but was disqualified on a false start in his preliminary heat.

Wenger will also be running in today’s 200 final, which is shaping up to be an extremely tight race. Wenger qualified with the fifth-fastest time Friday, clocking a 23.11.

In the girls 100, Amity sophomore Jade Bachmeier made it to the final with a time of 13.17 seconds. She later advanced in the 200 as well, crossing the tape in 27.28 seconds.

In the boys 400, Amity junior Jon Pennington cruised into the final with a third-best 51.88 while teammate Valerie Atsma earned the final spot in the 100-meter hurdles final with a time of 17.92. Also moving through were Dayton’s boys sprint relay team (third with a 45.16) and the Sheridan girls 400-meter relay squad (fifth in 52.48).

In Friday’s lone running final, the 3,000, Perrydale’s Briana Hawes was edged at the line by Portland Lutheran’s Ali Brauer, giving her fourth. Brauer crossed in 11:09.55 while Hawes was clocked at 11:09.57. McKenzie’s Sarah Hanchett won the event, surprising the entire field. She was seeded in the bottom third with a qualifying time of 12:26.81 — her time Friday was a 10:49.97.

Today’s 3A track events will begin just past noon with the girls 400-meter relay. The field events will kick off at 1 p.m.

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