15 West Valley View, Avondale, Arizona, Friday, May 11, 2012


Area athletes primed for Div. I state meet


by Mike Russo sports editor


With more than 60 schools competing in Division I track, qualifying athletes for the state meet proved tougher than ever for Westview, Millennium and Tolle- son.


meet was scheduled to begin Wednesday but was postponed because of the weather. The entire meet will be held starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa.


TRACK


Bowen and Millennium coach Harold Smith. “It’s pretty much what we expected.” Bowen said of


The Division I state


Bowen said. Millennium


“Overall, we are pretty pleased with who we got it,”


Millennium qualified eight boys in five events, led by Dallas Harrington, who will compete in the 200 and on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.


Muhammad and Javon Oliver may also run at state. They are the first alternate after being credited with a time of 57.4.


Harrington is seeded 22nd in the 200 after recording a best time of 22.38. He will be joined on the 4x100 unit by Brian Batts, Lavonte Hatcher and Aaron Hart. Their time of 43.34 has t hem ranked 15th. DeMar Jenkins, Marcus Howard and Jaquan Own will


“Competition is very stiff in Division I,” Tolleson coach Jim Baker said. “It’s tough getting in. I didn’t know how many [athletes] we would get in.” Similar sentiments were voiced by Westview coach Jeff


Westview’s entrants. “It’s tough now to get in. You used to have a region meet where if you finished in the top three you got in to state. Now it is strictly a competitors’ list.


likely join Harrington on the 4x400 team, which is also seeded 15th with a time of 3:25.78. There is a chance that Batts could substitute for Harrington in the race, Smith said.


Jenkins is entered in the 800 with a time of 1:56.37, earning him the 16th seed. “DeMar ran his 1:56[37] at the Westside Invite at [Glendale] Deer Valley,” Smith said.


“Looking at the competitors’ list and the quality of the athletes, if you make the finals, it is pretty impressive.” “In Division I, there are so many good teams, we feel fortunate to get in as many athletes as we did,” Smith said. “We had a lot of athletes on the bubble.” Hurdler Terrance Bland leads Westview’s contingent of eight boys in six events for the state meet. Bland has qualified in both hurdles races. He is seeded


seventh in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.95 seconds, and he is 23rd in the 300 hurdles in 40.85. The 4x100 relay team of De Aundre Sanders, Bland, Guillermo Cuevas and Sam Audon made the field with a time of 43.28, being seeded 13th. Westview fared better in getting athletes qualified for


Jacob Szostek has triple jumped 43-1 and gained the No. 16 seed for state. Paul Burbank is seeded tied for 17th in the pole vault at 13-9.


Lady Knights The Lady Knights’ lone state qualifier is sophomore distance runner Rene Contreras.


Contreras will compete in both the 800 and 1,600 races. She is seeded 22nd in the former in 2 minutes, 21.84 seconds and 24th in the latter at 5:24.26


Almani Jackson will compete in the triple jump. He has the 13th-best distance at 43 feet, 07.75 inches. “Almani has come along pretty well,” Smith said. “He’s a soccer player who jumped in few meets for us. He peaked at the end of the season.”


Lady Tigers A half dozen Lady Tigers qualified for the state meet in


eight events. Joyelle Dancy and Kaylee Shalongo both qualified in


two individual events. Dancy is in the 100 and 200, seeded 16th and 12th, respectively. Her time in the former race is 12.68 and it is 25.95 in the latter.


Shalongo will run in the 400 and 800. She is seeded 10th in the shorter race with a time of 59.27 and is ninth in the longer race in 2:19.08.


field events. Two Knights qualified in the high jump. Trevon Bosley and Sanders have both leaped 6-1 and are tied for 20th in the seedings.


moved her to shorter races and she has done very well,” Smith said. Two Lady Tigers are in the triple jump. Aysia Oliver is seeded 12th at 31-1.25, while Mecca Muhammad is ranked 21st at 34-0.25.


9-10.


The 4x400 team of Dancy, Muhammad, Passionate Amukamra and Shalongo will be in the field, having qualified seventh with a time of 4:02.23. “Our girls 4x400 got in big time,” Smith said. The 4x100 relay team of Natasha Postzsche, Dancy,


“Kaylee used to be a distance runner but we have


“Their time was not properly recorded and they should be in the field,” Smith said. He planned to contact the meet director to try to rectify the oversight. “The girls did basically what I had expected,” Smith


said.


One important member of the Lady Tigers’ team will not complete at state. “Lacey Peterson is a top 1,600- and 3,200-runner but she is injured,” Smith said.


Tolleson Tolleson’s boys have entries in three events at the state


meet.


events. He is seeded third in the shot put with a heave of 57-9 and he is ranked seventh in the discus, having thrown 156-8.


Rogelio Garcia has qualified for both of the throwing


“Roger started out working on form and technique and he has made good progress,” Baker said. “In his last three invitationals, he PR’d. He threw over 57 feet at the [Tolle- son Union High School] District meet. “Roger’s throws [in the shot put] are up four feet from last year. He is pretty confident going into state. “I’ve had a lot of success with shot and discus people.


We’ve had someone in the state meet just about every year since 2001.” The Wolverines also will be represented by their 4x400 relay team. Andre Walters is one of two alternates in the 100. His best time in the race is 11.13. Two Lady Wolverines will compete and a third is an alternate. Alex Garcia will be in the field of the 300 hurdles. She is seeded 24th with a time of 48.09. Long jumper Bell Ogbanga is qualified 18th with a leap of 16-6. Yaharim Satterwhite is an alternate in the 300 hurdles. Her qualifying time is 48.12.


Muhammad also will be in the long jump after qualify- ing 23rd at 16-2.5. Ave Spencer has the 16th-best leap in the pole vault at


“Both girls [Garcia and Ogbanga] are young; both sophomores,” Baker said. “They have come on very well. Alex is in her first year of running hurdles.” Despite having fewer competitors than recent years,


Baker is looking forward to the state meet. “We’ve spent the last two weeks on mental training,”


Mike Russo can be reached by email at mrusso@westvalleyview.com.


Please Help the hungry in our community! Donations go down in the summer, but demand remains high. Our food banks need your donations. Drop off food at any of the following businesses:


AVONDALE


American Legion 35 N. Dysart Rd.


Avondale City Hall 11465 W. Civic Center Dr.


Avondale Public Library 11350 W. Civic Center Dr.


Avondale Public Library 495 E. Western Ave.


Food City 1450 N. Dysart Rd.


Food City 323 E. Main St.


McDonald’s 13055 W. Rancho S.F. Blvd. (inside Walmart)


West Valley National Bank 12725 W. Indian School #C-108


West Valley View 1050 E. Riley Drive


BUCKEYE


Buckeye Community Center 201 E. Centre Avenue


Buckeye Public Library 310 N. 6th Street


Buckeye Valley


Chamber of Commerce 508 Monroe Ave.


Buckeye Feed 24100 W. Hwy 85


Dr. Saide Recreation Center 1003 E. Eason Avenue


Goddard School 4320 N. School Hill Rd.


McDonald’s 1060 S. Watson Rd. (Inside Walmart)


McDonald’s 587 S. Watson Rd.


Powers-Leavitt Insurance 111 E. Monroe Ave.


Store More! Self Storage 1596 S. Watson Rd.


Tom Jones Ford 23454 W. Hwy 85


West Valley National Bank 111 E. Monroe #100


GLENDALE


AZ Cyclery 6808 N. Dysart


Coyote Tire Pros Automotive Repair 13127 W. Glendale


GOODYEAR


Ace Hardware 610 N. Estrella Parkway


Agave Blue Yogurt 13778 W. McDowell #301


Art Printing 13220 W. Van Buren #100


AZ Battery Store 560 N. Bullard #E-50 AZ Cellular


1981 N. PebbleCreek Pkwy #1


Blonde by Default 15671 W. Roosevelt St. #103


May 1 through May 31 FOOD DRIVE If you would like your business to be a collection point for the food drive please email advertising@westvalleyview.com


Caballero Grill 1800 N. Litchfield Rd.


David Gerard Salon 3810 S. Estrella Parkway, #305


Estrella Falls Dentistry 14441 W. McDowell Rd., #B-106


Goodyear


Self Storage & RV 2121 S. Litchfield Rd.


High Security Self Storage 13360 W. Van Buren


Hilgers Orthodontics 1646 N. Litchfield Rd., #210


Hilgers Pediatric Dentistry 14425 W. McDowell Rd., #F-102


Manuel’s Mexican


Restaurant 13319 W. McDowell Rd.


McDonald’s 13870 W. McDowell Rd.


McDonald’s 632 N. Estrella Pkwy


McDonald’s 870 N. Dysart


Osborne Jewelers 406 N. Litchfield Rd., #200


Powers-Leavitt Insurance 1650 N. Dysart Rd., #2


Re-Store 13735 W. Auto Dr.


RV Master Techs 13765 W. Auto Dr. #128


Sage Health Family Medicine 14419 W. McDowell Rd. #E-102


Southwest Valley


Chamber of Commerce 289 N. Litchfield Rd. Total Wine


1416 N. Litchfield Rd.


Wilhelm Automotive 3900 S. Estrella Parkway LITCHFIELD PARK


Ace Hardware 5110 N. Dysart Rd.


Dunn Orthodontics 5220 N. Dysart Rd., Bldg E #150


Dysart Dental 5220 N. Dysart Rd., #160


Elite Tae Kwon Do 13341 W. Indian School Rd. #301


Morrissette Martial Arts 116 N. Old Litchfield Rd. #B


Studio of Styles 505 E. Plaza Circle #B


Wilhelm Automotive 13073 W. Indian School Rd. PHOENIX


Anasazi Bookstore 10540 W. Indian School Rd., #3


Arizona Prep 10720 W. Indian School Rd. #7


TOLLESON


H&R Block 9550 W. Van Buren


n Buren


Providing food to the Agua Fria Food Bank,


All Faith Community Services (Buckeye & Goodyear Food Banks)


and Tolleson Food Bank


Baker said. “I believe mental training is as important as physical training.”


SPONSORED BY And the caring W


est V business community alley


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