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The Best of '11
Success came from across the board last year
Kurtis J. Wood/sports@qvpr.com
The QHS football team won the 2A state academic championship with a 3.39 grade point average.
Whether it was the Quincy High School football team winning the academic state championship or Kylie Kooistra hoisting her Miss Rodeo Washington crown, there was much to remember about 2011.
1. Field of Dreams
But let us start with a couple of parents on a mission - Brenda Garrison and Steve Omlin. The two hatched a plan more than two years ago to breathe new life into the QHS baseball field.
Their idea turned into a plan, the plan turned into countless hours of research and finally into a dash for the cash. After an exhaustive search of what was needed, from backstops to posts, Garrison and Omlin started getting their plan laid out. But it needed to be done and still keep the field in use.
“We had to do it piece by piece and not from scratch and still give the kids a place to play,” Omlin said.
They also were fortunate enough to get help from all over the community, from donated trucks to hauling rock to a boom truck for installation of the new scoreboard a couple of weeks ago.
The fencing alone cost $14,500, bleachers were another $5,500 and the netting and pieces for the backstop came in at $5,500. That was just for the materials. Garrison and Omlin were able to install, build and put together the field themselves or find help from the community.
2. Academics first
Third-year head football coach Stephen Wallace believes in school first. That philosophy was stamped and sealed this past season when his Jacks football team won the 2A State Academic Football Championship with highest grade point average in the state at 3.39.
They were also awarded the “Pride of Quincy” certificate from Mayor Jim Hemberry.
All it took to earn the award was a 45-minute window after school. That window from 3-3:45 allowed students an opportunity to study alone or with help.
“(They were allowed to) work on homework and school projects, study for quizzes and exams, tutor other student-athletes, and get one-on-one help from teachers in their classrooms,” Wallace said.
In return, he had seven student-athletes earn a 4.0 and five more earn a 3.8 or higher. This achievement in the classroom also paid off on the field.
“During the football season, study hall is used to maintain academic eligibility and ensure that we have a full team capable of contributing to our team’s on-field success. The academic success we achieved this year reflects how motivated our student-athletes remain during our sport’s off-season,” Wallace said.
“The GPA’s used to determine the football academic champions are based off of our student-athletes Spring semester GPA’s. Therefore, the overall benefit is a year-long focus from our student-athletes on academics - not just during football season.”
3. Miss Kylie
Kylie Kooistra’s dream of becoming Miss Rodeo Washington became reality after competing with five other candidates on Labor Day weekend in Ellensburg. In conjunction with the Kittitas County Fair was the four-day pageant to determine who would be the next Miss Rodeo Washington. It turns out Kooistra won five of nine events, as well as the crown. But this was more than just an opportunity to wear the crown for a year.
“It’s more of becoming a better person and representing something bigger than yourself,” she said. “It’s been a goal of mine.”
Achieving the goal came in steps. The first came in 2007 as Miss Othello Rodeo, followed by Miss Moses Lake Roundup in 2008. After a year away, she became the 2010 Miss Cheney Rodeo.
“It’s kind of a big deal,” Kooistra said. “It’s kind of exciting.”
What’s more exciting is fulfilling a dream and becoming a role model for the girls who watch her at the rodeos.
“My favorite? The fans and seeing the reactions on what goes on in the arena and seeing a little girl in the stands who is seeing a rodeo queen for the first time,” she said with a smile. “This is one aspect of my life that really excites me. Being a role model and (letting people know) dreams are possible.”
4. Derby draws over 500
The Quincy Valley Tourism Association hosted their first Trout Derby on Burke Lake in March and had more than 500 participants, as well as countless boats on the 73-acre lake.
“It was good,” said QVTA board member Pete Beaumont. “We had the weather on our side.”
What they got was blue skies, sunshine and 520 anglers in search of a tagged fish. The fishermen brought boats, canoes, lawn chairs and warm clothes and went home with plenty of stringers. But the big money fish eluded all the anglers Saturday. Of the 15 tagged fish released by the QVTA, just one was caught. Kelly Schultz reeled in the lone tagged fish, but it was not the $3,000 or $1,000 fish. She was given a consolation prize of $100, several free pizza coupons, a gift certificate to Hooked on Toys and other coupons from local merchants.
The biggest fish of the day went to Cashmere’s Jim Carroll. He came to the lake with two friends to try and catch a tagged fish, but came away with the largest fish of the day - a 6.22-pound trout. Carroll won a Traeger barbecue, which was donated by Gates True Value.
5. Ybarra caps career
Manny Ybarra stands alone as a Quincy High School wrestler. There have been champions over the years, but no one has accomplished more in a four-year span than Ybarra.
He may not have a state title in his clutches, but he is a champion at QHS now and forever. Many of the senior’s accomplishments are school records.
Ybarra ended his prep wrestling career with a whopping 144 wins against 30 losses and was a state runner-up three times and a placer all four years.
• As a freshman he was 33-13 and placed fourth at state. • As a sophomore he was 36-6 and placed second at state. • As a junior he was 38-3 and placed second at state. • As a senior he was 35-8 and placed second at state.
• League record of 29-6 over four-year career and 13-5 at state in four years.
• 4-time Vashon Island Tournament champion • 3-time Cheney Invitational champion • 2-time Bob Mars Invitational champion • 2-time Cashmere Invitational champion • 2-time District champion • Overall grade point average: 3.84
School records include:
• 144 wins overall • 4-time state participant (also done by Troy Stephens) • 4-time state placer • 3-time state runner-up.
6. There is always track
A pair of seniors ended their career at Quincy High School by etching their names in the record book. Adrian Diaz made his decision to become the best after the 2010 season and Jazmine Perez battled injuries to hit the books.
Run, Adrian, run!
While senior Adrian Diaz ended his high school journey on a slower note than intended, it was a far cry from where he ended his junior season.
He broke the school record twice, dropped more than 30 pounds, qualified for the state track championships and in the process, shed himself of shin splints from the 2010 season.
“You have to run with pain,” distance coach John Heikkila said. “It’s hard to get in a good workout.”
With healthy shins, loads of summer mileage and a state appearance in cross country, Diaz entered the track season in top form. His work was about to pay dividends.
Last year he ended the season with a career best 11:36 and change in the 3200-meter run and capped his journey this season with a school record time of nine minutes, 58.83 seconds.
For Diaz, the record is his legacy.
“That was one of the basic goals of the season,” he said. “That’s what coach Heikkila and I talked about - go out and crush the school record and make that your own.
“That record is something I leave behind, before someone else takes it.”
The fastest Perez?
Jazmine Perez was coined as one of the fastest girls in QHS history and for good reason. She holds one school record and sniffed two more in her career. She has made her mark in the 400-meter dash after a school record time of 60.21 seconds. But she also ran the 100-meter dash in 13.12 and the 200-meter dash in 27.14.
“Because of her injuries we will never know what she could have run if she was healthy the whole season,” sprints coach Cory Medina said. “That’s the reason I say she is arguably one of the fastest girls to run at Quincy. 2nd all-time 100, 2nd all-time 200, 1st all-time 400 and 5th all-time 800!”
