Kinnick's Robert Parker navigates the long jump. (Michael Gasidlo/Special to Stripes)
Nile C. Kinnick and Yokota ran away with last year’s Far East track and field team titles.
Don’t look for more of the same.
“It should be close,” Red Devils coach Luke Voth said of what could be a razor-thin margin between defending champion Kinnick, Kadena and Humphreys in Division I. Defending Division II champion Yokota might have a battle on its hands with Matthew C. Perry and Zama sporting balanced rosters.
“I feel like we have a chance, but a lot of things will have to work out for us,” Voth said. “A few of our athletes will have to over-perform. Everyone else needs to do at least what they’re capable of.”
For the first time since it moved to Yokota in 2012, the Far East meet has a new home, at least for this season. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni takes over host duties, with a field of seven D-I schools and 11 D-II teams competing over two days.
The forecast calls for rain the night before the meet, giving way to sunny skies, highs in the high 60s with light and variable winds.
Voth’s Red Devils are hoping for big performances from four-year jumper Robert Parker III, sprinter Mason Maryan and young distance runner Emmett McNamara on the boys side.
Sprinter and middle-distance runner Justice Owens and sprinter-hurdler Erica Norman could have strong meets, along with distance runners Mya Shah and Far East cross country champion Lauren Cabradilla, thrower Kierra Jackson and long jumper Lily Alvarez.
A transfer from Perry, senior thrower Braylon Stephens, has proven his worth in the discus, as has shot-putter Troy Hill for Kadena, Panthers coach Sergio Mendoza said.
“They’re big additions (to the team) and they take it seriously,” Mendoza said of the two throwers. Stephens “has the potential to give us big points, and he has the maturity and team leadership. He’s brought a level of discipline that the team needed.”
The Panthers also sport a balanced field of runners, including sprinter Isabella Price, distance runners Jeremiah and Adriana Williams and hurdlers Derryck Miller and Ananda McCoy.
Humphreys is also flush in athletes in all events, thrower Joshua Canion, sprinters Jahydan Johnson and Josef Brinkerhoff, distance runners Annelise Parker, Ammon Allen and Joey Brown and Pacific record-holding triple jumper Jordan Johnson.
Kubasaki is loaded with sprinters, such as senior Ryan Hater – who missed last year’s Far East with a torn hamstring – and freshman standout Savannah Stewart.
Freshman Savannah Stewart, a transfer from Ohio, could give Kubasaki’s girls sprint program a huge boost. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
“Savannah is in a great place,” Kubasaki coach Joshua McCall said. “She can go in loose with no expectations. Ryan is on the other side of that coin. There’s more pressure on him as a senior, but he’s one of the most mentally tough athletes I’ve had the pleasure of coaching.”
International schools such as American School In Japan, St. Mary’s, Seisen and Sacred Heart are capable of getting big wins from their athletes. ASIH’s Yumi Rinon leads the Pacific in long jumping.
One athlete who might rise up – literally and figuratively – is senior Ren Dick of Robert D. Edgren. His personal best in the high jump is 1.95 meters – just .05 shy of the Pacific and Far East meet record set in 2011 by Kadena’s Lotty Smith.
“Not overthinking and just sticking to what works,” Eagles coach Timothy Schwehr said.
“He has all the technical components down. But putting them all together for that one jump to give him the record is all that’s eluded him so far.”
Zama’s Robert Baulsir could challenge Hill and Stephens in the throwing events. Yokota has great balance with its sprint corps of Camielle Dixon and Baron Reed plus its distance tandem of Madeleine Frost and two-time D-II cross country champion Matthew Rowland.
A former D-II cross country champion, Hannah Jernigan, is one of Perry’s headliners, along with sprinter Jeremiah Wardrobe. Branden Ferguson of Osan could make noise in the distance races. And McKenzie Andrews of Daegu is capable in the middle distance events.
