Things learned, observed in Pacific high school sports spring season Week 11.0.
Published: May 9, 2012
“C’mon, Allie! Amanda’s right on your shoulder!”
The shouts and yells from across the track were very much audible to Allie Reichenberg, the Kubasaki superstar junior distance specialist. Although she was well in front in the 3,000-meter run, her teammates wanted her to push harder, and try to imagine reigning Far East cross-country champion Amanda Henderson of Seoul American on her right shoulder.
Her big day was just beginning. She would go on to run four events. And win all four. In district meet record time. And if she hadn’t done so before, stamped her name all over the lists of favorites in the Far East meet later this month at Yokota.
3,000, 11:29.87. Old record, 12:07. More than 37 seconds!
3,200 relay, 10:41.11. 5.89 seconds better than the old mark.
1,500, 5:09.34. Old record 5:26. Killed that one.
800, wanted to skip it but decided to run anyway. 2:33.34. Old record 2:37.
“She isn’t just beating records; she’s slaughtering them,” teammate and reigning Far East boys cross country champion Erik Armes said, shaking his head.
But the cheers and handclapping had barely died down at last Saturday’s Okinawa Activities Council district track and field meet’s closing ceremony when a grain of data from a track meet hundreds of miles north surfaced.
It was at Camp Casey’s Schoonover Bowl in South Korea. And it was almost as if she had watched every last second of Reichenberg’s record day.
For Henderson turned right around and ran the 800 in 2:26 in the last DODDS Korea meet of the season.
“Good on Okinawa, but is it good enough for Far East,” Henderson probably meant to say.
Made me long imagine what the 3,000, 1,500 and 800 races will be like come Far East; anybody who was at the Mike Petty Memorial Meet in April on Okinawa remembers that sprint to the tape in the 3,000 that resembled the home stretch of the 200.
And it won’t be just between those two: don’t for a minute discount Abigail Wall of Yokota, or Alison Bowman of Guam High, or Michelle Stolle of American School In Japan and goodness knows who else.
That Yokota track should be perfect for record-setting, and not just by the two long-distance runners.
And perhaps for sprinters Rahman Cairnes of Okinawa Christian International and Jade Cummings of Zion Christian Academy, who rewrote the 200-meter records, and Zion’s boys relay team, which rewrote the 3,200 record as well.
These folks didn’t just beat records. They took several slabs of C-4, a detonator and some wire to the record book and turned the thing into so much mulch.
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If the Pacific soccer boys single-season goal-scoring record is going to be broken, it will probably have to wait until the Far East Boys Division II Tournament at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Tyelor Apple, the Matthew C. Perry striker finished the regular season with 57 goals, the last during a two-match road sweep of E.J. King; they have one more tune-up match with Hiroshima San Frecce U-16 team before hitting the road for Korea.
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Justin Sego. Jared Paul. What a breakout game Kadena’s baseball team had last Saturday, edging Kubasaki 8-7 on freshman Brandon Steffins’ two-run walk-off single at Kadena’s Four Diamonds Complex. The Panthers had batted a collective .152 against the Dragons their first four meetings; Kadena went 14-for-29 and Sego and Paul each went 4-for-4 with a combined two homers and six RBIs. Should make this weekend’s Okinawa Activities Council best-of-three championship series interesting.
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Kubasaki’s girls, meanwhile, need to recapture the mojo that led to victories in their first two games over Kadena this season, or else the Panthers will come away with their 10th straight island championship.
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Among the places to be this weekend are Yokosuka Naval Base, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, where American School In Japan puts its eight-year Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools girls soccer title streak on the line at Nile C. Kinnick. Mari, Kalie, De’Asia, Em and the Bulldozer against Joey Yamada and the Mighty Mustangs.
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Then, there’s the Kanto Invitational track meet at Yokota, the one-day dress rehearsal for Far East. And hopefully a preview of it as well. Green flag flies at 9:30 a.m. See y’all there.
