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Duo place at State Track Championships
Kennedy vaults to fifth, Kunkel follows suit in long jumpat 2A State Track Championships
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Brandon Kennedy (pole vault), Taylor Kunkel (top left), Kevin Hille (middle left) and Luke Grigg (bottom left) all competed at the WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires State 2A Track Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma. Kennedy and Kunkel each placed fifth in the pole vault and long jump, respectively.
The Jackrabbits weren’t stellar at the WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires 2A State Track Championships last weekend, but a pair were good enough to place fifth.
Both Brandon Kennedy and Taylor Kunkel had routine outings in the pole vault and long jump, respectively, to place fifth overall.
While the did not post their best marks of the season, they did have to dig deep to place that high on the podium. Kennedy used a clutch final attempt at 14 feet and Kunkel erased the memory of Friday night to pop a 16-foot, two-inch mark on her second attempt on Saturday morning.
The other two Quincy participants were Kevin Hille and Luke Grigg. Grigg missed the podium by less than one-tenth of a second in the 110-meter high hurdles and Hille was unable to pop a fourth straight personal best in the discus.
Kennedy – clutch jump
Kennedy ended his senior campaign by blowing through his favorite stick – the 14-7, 175 pole vault pole. The stick has given him a few big jumps this season, especially at districts and once at the state venue.
“He was killing that pole,” coach Scott Alexander said. “He topped out on that pole and he was on it for only two weeks.”
After clearing 12-6 and 13-6 with ease, he had a pair of hiccups at 14-0. He missed his first two attempts and needed to clear the height to move into the top five. On the advice of former pole vault mentor and current athletic director, Bill Alexander, Kennedy went with the “Brandon” jump. So without hesitation, he blasted down the runway and up and over 14-0 and earned fifth place.
“It’s aight,” the senior said.
Last season, Kennedy placed second at 14-9, but this year he was forced into limited practice time with a foot injury. But the season still was successful in his eyes.
“It’s fine. It was a long season with injuries,” he said.
He nearly extended his season by a few jumps with his second attempt at 14-3. After missing his first try, he came back with an attempt that was one of his best vaults of the day.
“He just barely hit it with his hip on the way up,” Scott Alexander said. “He just barely hit it, but it was a good jump.”
“It was legit,” Kennedy echoed. “I think it was due to the standards.”
Kunkel – one big jump
Kunkel entered the state championships with an eye on the triple jump podium, but that never happened. The junior had one of her worst outings of the season and fell to 10th place with a best mark of 33-1.25.
“That was horrible,” she said. “I don’t even know what happened.”
That meant she turned her focus on the long jump the next morning. After a measly 14-9 opening mark, Kunkel came back with her best of the day at 16-2 and change.
“After yesterday and jumping 14 feet on my first jump I was scared,” Kunkel said. “I tried not to think about it.”
It was her only good jump of the day. She came back with pair of 15-5 marks and two scratches. But the mark of 16-2 left her with a smile as she walked to the podium in the middle of the infield at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
“That’s all that matters,” she said about earning a medal. “It’s kind of nice making it in the long jump and placing, because I didn’t make it in the long jump last year.”
She did make state in the triple jump last year and plans on coming back her senior year, despite the trials of the 2009 season. She has taken a beating in the triple jump both mentally and physically.
“I like it a lot,” Kunkel said. “There’s a lot more to it than running and jumping.”
Grigg – oh, so close
Grigg was as close as a sophomore can be to making the finals in the 110-meter high hurdles. He was ninth overall among the two heats of eight participants. But his time of 15.70 seconds was just bested by Lakewood’s Nikolay Borisov’s 15.61.
“He just missed by one-tenth of a second,” coach David Stoddard said. “By a sophomore that is huge. He came in 12th and finished ninth.”
He showed improvement in the short hurdles race each of the last three weeks of the season, which tells Stoddard a few things about Grigg.
“It’s the little things. He adjusts,” Stoddard said. “Like running tall in between (hurdles). He’s a good kid and an easy kid to coach and he listens.”
Hille – just making state
Hille improved by leaps and bounds over the past month in the discus, which gave him the ride to state. But the tank was a little empty in Tacoma Saturday morning. The senior had a best mark of 121-10 and placed 13th.
Quincy individuals
110HH-9, Grigg 15.70 (PR). 300IH-14, Grigg 42.72. Discus-13, Hille 121-10. PV-5, Kennedy 14-0. LJ-5, Kunkel 16-2.75. TJ-10, Kunkel 33-1.25.
