Medical Lake's 4x100 relay team is a key to Cards' track success. From left to right are Dawson Lack, Jared Wright, Olijawan Smith, and BJ Smith.
When Medical Lake came in second place last May at the state 1A track meet at Eastern Washington's Roos Field it took many by surprise.
The Cardinals finished behind King's High School of Seattle 88-56 in 2015 as they sought to defend the team title they won in 2014, but did so with just six entries, most of whom have now graduated.
So as the 2016 season dawned, the Cardinal co-coaches, Gene Blankenship and Steve Keith, figured it would be a year of rebuilding. Well surprise again as Medical Lake is competing at a level neither coach thought possible.
"My biggest surprise last year was we graduated a lot of our seniors, and a lot of our studs," Keith said. "But (this year) we had kids come out of the woodwork, a lot of good athletes stepped up and switched from other sports," keeping Medical Lake competitive and in the hunt for more success.
The Cardinals should place well this year, Keith said. "I don't know how high," he said with Blankenship adding his usual vote of confidence that, "We're going to place in the top-four." If they don't, Blankenship said it would be disappointing.
Where as long distance running - the benefit of their success as back-to-back 1A cross country champs in 2013 and 2014 - had been the strength of the program in the past with competitors like Domenic Rehm and Micah Dingfield, now ML's strengths rest with the sprints.
The Cardinals' 4x100 team has been impressive and is among the leaders in the state. Dawson Lack, the No. 2 sprinter in 2015, behind Tellas Johnson, is now No. 1 and is joined by Keyhon Ross a transfer from Louisiana.
BJ Smith is a cousin of Ross and the first leg in the 4x100. He came to Medical Lake from South Carolina. He transferred late in the 2014-15 school year, Keith said, too late for spring sports.
"This year he put in a lot of work and has worked his way onto the team," Keith said of the talented group that could defend their individual state title. With the addition of Lack and others, "We stand a real good chance," he added.
Another new face, from Spokane's North Central High, is junior hurdler Olijawan Smith, ranked among the top performers in the state. "Now we have a hurdler that's pretty darn good," Blankenship said.
Smith just showed up at school, passed all his eligibility tests and will be a key element in another good finish for his team. "He kind of blew the socks off everyone when we say him hurdle," Keith said. Not only is he a great athlete, but Smith is "Coachable and nice," Blankenship added.
The weak link, surprisingly, is the distance team, "Our top four distance runners go sophomore, freshman, sophomore, (and) junior," Blankenship said. While the future is again bright, they are simply too young to make a case in league and the postseason, Blankenship said.
The team could have used Mason Williams, a sophomore, who was No. 1 in distances in the fall, but he chose to play soccer this spring.
On the girls' side there have always been one or two solid competitors, Blankenship said. And this year is no exception.
Lexi Rolan, a junior sprinter, is No. 1 on both the team and in the Northeast A League and among the top runners in the state.
"She's doing incredibly well, her conditioning is coming along great and she's still recovering from a hip flexor," Keith said.
Freshman Jaxyn Farmen has been impressive in the jumps. "She's already broken our school record in the triple-jump," Keith said. "I think she is going to go a lot further, which is real exciting."
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaneyatcheneyfreepress.com.
Reader Comments(0)