Broncos tracksters set 14 personal records over weekend

A cloudy rain-threatening day covered the Spokane Falls Community College campus as 67 teams converged for the Van Kuren Track and Field Invite on April 13.

Lind-Ritzville sent a portion of the track and field team, because entries in each event at a meet this large are limited. A number of LRS competitors were listed as DNS (Did Not Start), so final results for the team were sparse.

Sparse doesn't mean futile, however, as the youngest LRS team members scored the only team points (8) by finishing in a three-way tie for second place in the pole vault, and seventh in women's shot put. Sydney Kinch, a freshman pole vaulter, soared 9 feet to match the second-highest height, but a 9-foot tie with two other vaulters dropped her officially into third place based on the number of misses.

Nonetheless, Kinch was the only freshman to place in the top 19 women vaulters, out of a total of 31 finishers in the event. Sophomore Brynne Nelson added a personal best in the woman's shot put with a throw of 32'4" – good for seventh place among the 71 women entered in the event.

Brooke Coons raced in the 400 meters – turning in a 79.02 time placing her 42nd out of 45 competitors, but giving her valuable experience at a large meet. In addition to her shot put success, Nelson also threw a javelin 65'5" for 32nd out of 51 entrants in that event. Kaylee Monroe and Taylor Stromberger both competed in the long jump – stretching for 12'6.75" and 10'9.75", respectively. Zach and Josh Crouse both tossed the shot, tossing it 23'0' to 21'9", respectively. Sam Michels completed the LRS team entries; running 1600 meters in 5:38.09.

The day before Easter on April 20, the LRS track and field team popped their shell and showed up as freshly hatched as a young Easter chick, setting 14 personal records.

Start with the spectacular: twelve "top 10" finishes. In the pole vault, Kinch took on eight other vaulters and beat seven of them, clearing 9'6." One other competitor cleared the same height, but Kinch had fewer misses, and that's how you break a tie in the pole vault.

But Kinch wasn't done: she set her personal record in 100 meters (13.4) to place 6th among 32 other starters, including her teammate, Linnea Schafer -- who ran a 14.37 for her personal record in the same event. Kinch still wasn't done; she ran 28.68 in the 200 meters for 6th place there, too. And as if to cement her "6s," she placed 6th in the long jump as well (15'8"), another personal record. Schafer wasn't done either: she ran 6:03 in the 1600 for 8th place of 17 starters.

Conrad Ziemer has also proved to be a one-man wrecking crew. He ran a 55.07 (also a personal record) against a tough field in the 400 meters. Then he followed the heels of teammate Spencer Gering (24.62 and 24.77) for 11th and 14th in the men's 200. While Gering ran a 12.13 in the 100 (another personal record for 18th out of 37), Ziemer took on the 800 meter run, posting a solid time of 2:12.61 for 5th place in a 24-man field.

Gering and Ziemer palled up again in the long jump, this time Ziemer getting the better mark (17-08) against Gering's 16-06. Those guys weren't the only Bronco men in the field: Zac Moore flipped a high jump of 5' for 9th place among 13 contestants. And Josh Crouse tossed a couple of things around – a 24-01 shot put coupled with a 58' discus. Michels got into the throwing contest – 98'10" javelin toss, good for 21st of 36 spear-heavers. And Michels is a distance man, too, this time taking on the difficult 1600 (5:39) and 3200 (12:13.55) double.

The Lady Broncos also got into the fun. Julia Klein popped off a 66.86 in the 400 meters, good for 8th place of 21 starters. And if that weren't enough, she validated her performance with a better one at 800 meters – running 7th among 22 others in 2:41.48 for her personal record in that event. Coons followed her 800 teammate in the event with a time of 3:08.38.

Brinley Moore competed alongside Klein in the 400 meter race, finishing 15th of 21 in 73.23. Monroe scratched in the long jump, but ran her best 200 meters (31.35) for a personal record in that event. Nelson picked up a discus and threw it 50'. Then she picked up a 4kg shot, tossed it, and it landed 29' away for another Bronco top-10 finish, this time 8th out of 35 women. Stromberger threw her shot 18'1". Finally, Brooke Koch hurled the spear for 76'10", another top-10 in the javelin.