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closeSun shines brightly on local athletes in conference finale
SPSL Sound end of the year track meet draws crowd for season finale
Shaun Scott
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for the final track meet of the season for all of Puyallup School District junior high track and field athletes on May 30 at Sparks Stadium.
Cloudy morning skies gave way to blue skies and sunshine for a slew of athletes competing for hometown bragging rights.
Tim VanHulle, who was the meet director of the event along with Sonya Greenup, enjoys putting on the end of the year meet for Puyallup area athletes.
“Track and field is one of the purest sports out there,” VanHulle said. “It’s all talent and guts and is an individual sport. We have all six junior high schools in Puyallup here today and next year we will have seven with the opening of Glacier View Junior High School on South Hill. Adding one more school will make it even more exciting. Every year it gets bigger and bigger.”
VanHulle said despite having just six schools in attendance, the competition levels between these local rivals are higher than the average fan might expect.
“There’s enough schools here in Puyallup in our league that we don’t have to travel all over. We have our own SPSL Sound league right here,” VanHulle said. “We have talented athletes in this town.”
Edgemont Junior High distance runner Emily Tacke finished in first place in the 1600 meter-run clocking a 5:56.4.
“That is the best time I’ve had all year,” Tacke said. “I never thought I’d do this good. I didn’t start running until a few years ago. I wasn’t much of a runner a few years ago like I am now.”
The Ballou Junior High boys 400 meter-relay team, comprised of Derrick Jones, Nate McDaneld, Cody Layton and Andrew Wagner, finished in first place with a time of 47.97. Ballou was trailing three or four teams before their anchorman Jones received the baton down the final stretch. Jones’ blistering finish was all Ballou needed to win the race.
“It was all him,” Wagner said. “We were behind a couple of teams and he pulled it out for us.”
Jones is the fastest runner on the relay, clocking times of 11.7 and 11.6 on a regular basis in the 100 meters. Wagner, Layton and McDaneld all typically turn in times of 11.9 to 12.1 in the 100M.
Another sprinter showing his prowess on the track included Stahl Junior High’s Terrance Stubblefield in the 110 hurdles. Stubblefield blew away the field, clocking a 14.12 in a first place finish. Stubblefield’s form was flawless as none of his steps came close to even grazing a hurdle like many of his fellow competitors.
“I know that I have speed but all year I’ve been working on my technique,” Stubblefield said. “It’s gotten better and better. This feels really good. I feel like I’m on top of the world.”
Next year Stubblefield will take his athletic talents to the Rogers Rams track and field squad. He will be a sophomore in the spring of 2009.