“South Whidbey’s boys and girls track and field teams may be even better than their coaches thought they were.Facing 4A Oak Harbor and Jackson in a preseason jamboree, the Falcons sent both the Wildcats and the Timberwolves home with metaphorical bloody noses after battering the bigger teams in the sprints, field events, and distance running.Big surprises early in the meet came from senior Dail Bates and sophomore Andy Wills, each a winner in the 100-meter dash. Bates’ 13.19 second time beat out teammates Andrea McGillen and Melissa Poolman even though she is still recovering from soccer injuries sustained last fall. Wills led his 11.69 second race start to finish, followed closely by freshman teammate Nick Plastino, who placed second.In the high jump freshman Katy McGillen and sophomore Kellie Horn placed first and second in the first edition of a competition that could go all the way to the state finals. McGillen was also the top girls hurdler on the day, winning the 100 highs. Falcon Emily Bartlett placed second in the race.Other field event highlights came from Katy’s senior sister, Andrea, who won the triple jump at 33-6, and Horn, who won the long jump with a distance of 14-10. Freshman Colleen Johnson was the best placed thrower for the girls, placing second on a 65-9 toss in the discus. For the boys, Stewart Bowers was the best flyer, nailing a 17-10 leap in the long jump to take second.In the distance events, junior Karen Schwager had the most unanticipated run of the afternoon. Teamed with cross country team pack leaders Sarah DeGraaf and Julie Gabelein in the 1,600, Schwager pulled ahead in the late going to place third as the top South Whidbey finisher. Gabelein was fifth and DeGraaf was sixth. In the boys 1,600, senior Braden Giswold could not stay with Oak Harbor running phenom Scott Sebens, but still managed to clock a blazing 4:35 in his first race of the season. Also running well in the race were Brett Perkins and Joe Candelario, who ran his best race in more than a year. At 800 meters, freshman Malaena Hymas was the most successful Falcon, placing second in 2:40.4. James Sundquist was the best boy at 800 meters, placing eighth in 2:23.The Falcons also fielded two fast 4×400 relay teams. The boys team of Giswold, Perkins, Brandon Bilyeu, and Candelario scorched Oak Harbor’s and Jackson’s best on the way to a 3:33.5 victory. The girls team of Poolman, Lindsey Binford, Hymas, and Schwager placed second in 4:31.4.The teams compete again next Thursday in a road meet at Lakewood. “