Dingfield claims first place in Division 2 race
Medical Lake’s Micah Dingfield heads toward the finishline on the way to his first individual victory at the Nike Pre-Nationals last Saturday.
The fortunes of the Medical Lake cross country program continue to improve with the most recent accomplishment a girls’ championship in the 2012 Nike Pre-Nationals and Micah Dingfield’s individual victory in Division 2.
The event, staged last Saturday at Portland Meadows’ 5,000-meter course, drew 80 teams and over 3,000 athletes from eight states.
Senior Kelby Wegner led Cardinal girls’ runners with a time of 20 minutes, 23.2 seconds. Freshman Sakaiya McCoy clocked a 20:59 and finished seventh, for the team won the Division 3 championship 101-112 over Oregon’s Scappoose.
Dingfield paced the Division 1 field with a 16:22, finishing two seconds ahead of Graham-Kapowsin’s Jonthan Jackson’s 16:24.1. ML senior Zeb Klemke was sixth in a time of 16:42.3. As a team, Medical Lake (162 points) finished behind champion Mountain View of Vancouver, Wash. (79), Yakima’s Eisenhower (95) and Seattle’s Shorewood (145).
“It was another really good meet for us, I’m glad we went,” Medical Lake head coach Gene Blankenship said. “My kids, almost to a person on the varsity came to me and asked how come we haven’t come up here before?”
Blankenship had been to the event before, but that was with West Valley of Spokane, and that when it was staged at a different location, not Portland Meadows. “Actually we (West Valley) won Division 1,” he said, but he was wary of the new way the event was staged where runners had to hurdle hay bales along the course.
“I was always afraid of the hay bales and that’s what I told the kids,” Blankenship said. “I was afraid of doing something stupid over (jumping) a hay bale, getting hurt.”
Medical Lake competed well and ran in the divisions they belonged so it was a good barometer on progress.
Division 3 is for developing programs. “I put our girls in there because I didn’t realize how strong we were to tell you the truth because we ran away with that,” Blankenship said.
This was Medical Lake’s second team win in a row after a Northeast A win over Newport last Tuesday, and from a team that had not won a meet in 2011.
The difference, Blankenship said, “We’ve got basically the same girls back.”
The addition of senior Brandi Wren, a former soccer player, has made a difference. “Maleeka Wegner is running so much better; Sakaiya (McCoy) our freshman is a solid second for us,” Blankenship said. “But the rest of the girls are just coming on strong.”
“The boys’ team, we’ve just gotten stronger, that’ all there is to it,” Blankenship said. “We’re still running four sophomores.”
One of those is Dingfield, who won his first-ever individual championship Saturday.
Blankenship relayed Dingfield’s thoughts after the win. “Gene, I was so scared when I took over first place,” he said. “I didn’t know if I made the right move or not.” But his coach reassured him he did the right thing.
“We’re really solid through (No.) 3,” Blankenship said. “Four, five, six and seven are real close together.” And it’s those final spots that will determine how the Cardinals do at state competition, he said. “It’s getting them to run just a little harder; we can’t afford that big gap between three and four.”
Last Tuesday the boys collected a pair of Northeast A League wins, 15-48 over Freeman and 18-43 versus Newport. Dingfield was the top boys’ finisher in a time of 16:15 on the 5,000 meter course that winds through the Medical Lake campus.
The girls beat Newport 15-48 but lost in a squeaker 26-29 to Freeman. Kelby Wegner’s 20:03 was 11 seconds back of winner Tati Foster of Freeman.
Medical Lake hosted Lakeside in an NEA meet at home yesterday (Oct. 4).
Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].
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