Soaked by a cold rain and depleted by athletic suspensions resulting from a post-dance party a week ago, the boys and girls on South Whidbey High School's track team had a rough start to the season Thursday.

Good thing no one was keeping score.

Still, the Falcons pushed through the lousy conditions in a pre-season jamboree at Waterman Field to give spring a proper start.

Taking on teams from Oak Harbor and Jackson, the South Whidbey boys had the toughest day. The Falcons' only wins came in the 1,600-meter run, when junior Brandon Bilyeu won a finish-line sprint against Jackson's top distance runner, and with Paul Edgeman's long hops in the triple jump. Bilyeu's finish time was 4:37.3.

Others placing for the boys included Jason Jerome, Kyle McGillen, and James Sundquist.

The Falcon girls had a far better time of it. Had the meet counted toward the team's season result, the local girls would have come out on top after taking wins in eight of 13 events. The Falcons dominated early, with a 17.0-second winning performance by Katy McGillen in the 100-meter hurdles, a 13.1-second winning dash by Claudia Gil-Osorio in the 100-meters, Nichole Mock's 28.8-second victory in the 200, and Karen Schwager's runaway, 5:29.3, win in the 1,600.

In the 4x400 relay, Schwager, Melissa Poolman, Lindsay Binford and Michelle Schorr teamed up to beat Jackson's and Oak Harbor's best by turning in a 4:26.1 run. On the field, McGillen hopped 4 feet, 8 inches to take the high jump, while triple jumper Kellie Horn and long jumper Brittany Peterson notched even victories of their own. Horn's mark was 30-5.5, while Peterson tied an Oak Harbor jumper at 12-6.

The Falcons' first official meet of the season is Thursday against Granite Falls and Lakewood.

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