No surprises for Medical Lake track

Medical Lake track co-head coach Gene Blankenship said there were no shocking results at last week’s District 7 track meet at Newport.

He hopes, and thinks, perhaps, that his athletes who are headed to this weekend’s State 1A, 1B and 2 B track meet at Eastern Washington University’s Roos Field could just be the surprise.

“Everything happened just about the way we thought,” Blankenship said of the meet that ended just before the rains came.

As expected Keyhon Ross won both the 100 meters (10.95 seconds) and the 200 (22.20) and qualified. Same for the 4x100 relay where Nehemiah Fields, Jared Wright, Dawson Lack and Ross all qualified.

“We were hoping Olijawan (Smith) would qualify in the 300s,” Blankenship said of his hurdler who did nail a berth in the 110s. “He was in first place coming off the final turn, in the last straight, and hit three hurdles in a row.”

On the girls’ side Lexi Rolan also swept the 100 (12.40) and 200 (25.60) races and qualified for state. The top two finishers in each race earned a berth.

Freshman Jaxyn Farmen earned her way to Roos with a pair of runner-up finishes in the long jump at 16-feet, 8.5-inches and the triple with a 35:1.25 mark.

Blankenship was careful not to reveal how he prescored the state meet, opting instead to project if his kids overachieve that they could once again equal their 2015 runner-up finish.

“Keyhon (Ross) is predicted to finish second in the 100 and 200 (meters),” Blankenship said. “I think he can win it.”

Lack was predicted to earn a third place finish in the 100 but his coach thinks the senior might have a second in his legs. He’s penciled in at sixth or seventh in the 200, “But I think he can do better than that,” Blankenship said.

“Those are possible,” Blankenship said. “Whether they happen or not, but I think they’re really possible.”

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].