Sevie girls are Cougars' claws

Even though they had by far the most athletes on the track, winning their first home track meet of the year this week was not the cakewalk Langley Middle School track athletes have become known for in recent years.

At 140 members, the 2002 Cougars are the largest bunch to ever take to the track in one season at LMS, though not the most dominant.

Against teams from Eisenhower Middle School and Gateway Middle School at Waterman Field Wednesday, the Cougars needed a near sweep of the top three places in every event by the seventh-grade girls and a strong eighth-grade showing to take the meet win. They won with a combined 243.5 points to Eisenhower's 155.5 points and Gateway's 90, even though the Eisenhower boys won both the seventh and eighth-grade meets.

The sevie girls were unstoppable, winning 10 of 12 events and taking 26 of the 36 top-three placings. Amy Pfeiffer was the team's top point-getter, winning the 100 meter hurdles, the 100 and the long jump. Other first-place finishers were Anna Schmitt in the 800, Kelsey Kimmel in the 400 and in a blazing 5:44.5 1,600. Also coming up winners were Lindsey Mock with a 29.21-second 200; the team of Hope Richards, Mock, Emily Grove and Jessica Winn in the 4x100 relay; and Kimmel, Schmitt, Pfeiffer, and Elizabeth Dealey-Thomason in the 4x200 relay.

Other Cougar scorers included Caitilynn Larmore, Katy Gordon, Casey Brasko, Amelia Cave, Katie Lint and Kaitlin Phillips.

Adding to the girl-power theme of the meet were the eighth-grade Cougars. Though not as dominant as their younger teammates, they still won their portion of the meet, outpointing runner up Gateway by 47 points.

First place finishers for the Cougars were Katie Watson in the 100 hurdles, Mary Bakeman in the 1,600, Sarah Olson in the 100, Katherine East in the 400, and Maya Black in the high jump and long jump. Olson and East also teamed with Rita Jones and Kaylee Baldwin to win the 4x100 relay. Also placing were Martha Edgley, Jennifer Hansen, Marie Enell, Janelle Iverson, Dale Freundlich, Anna Miller, Meriah Glasen, and Sara Hicks.

Though the wins were fewer for the Cougars in the boys meets, they still showed speed and strength. Following in older brother Nick's footsteps, seventh grader Marco Plastino won the 110 meter hurdles and the high jump, and placed one-tenth of a second out of first in the 100 meter dash. The only other Cougar sevie winners were Jason Fitz, who took the 800 in 2:29.6 -- four seconds faster than the closest competition; and Noah Jolley, the top discus thrower with a toss of 79 feet. Other LMS scorers were Zach Dahl, Ben Vanderwood, Matt Long, Chad Anderson, Thomas Skaggs, and Clark Sarbaugh.

Victories were most sparse for the eighth-grade boys, who placed third as a team behind Eisenhower and Gateway. Jordon Streitler was the team's only event winner, taking the high jump with a 5-foot, 2-inch leap.

Second-place performances came from Chris Depender in the 1,600 and 800, Braelyn Davis in the long jump and Richards in the 110 hurdles. Other point getters were Evan Johnson, Orson Ossman, Keith Ryde and Todd Berry.

The Cougars host one more meet at home, this Wednesday at Waterman Field. They compete in league prelims in Everett May 22 and finals on May 29.

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