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CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – In track and field, athletes are geared to reach their peak performances at the end of the season.

And that makes meets such as this weekend’s Okinawa district finals problematic for coaches.

Island bragging rights are definitely on the line, but the Far East championships won’t be held for weeks.

“That is a fence-sitting situation,” said coach Kevin Taylor of Kadena. They’ll hold field events and the 3,200-meter run Friday at Kubasaki and the rest of the running finals Saturday at Chatan Stadium near American Village.

A coach may be tempted to line up his athletes in events they’re entered in at Far East “exactly how they qualified,” Taylor said. “But that mean you’re sacrificing” district finals team points.

“But if you look at it the other way and try to win district, then you’re not necessarily rehearsing your athletes for Far East because they might be in different events.”

Taylor says Kadena is taking the middle ground, “putting certain athletes in certain events because they’re going to Far East, and other athletes in other events because we want points for district,” he said. “We may not win district because of it, but that’s how we’re trying to do it.”

Kubasaki, on the other hand, has a Far East overall team banner to defend, but plans to go full out and capture the district title first.

“All the varsity people are in their top events where we think they can score the most,” Dragons coach Jon Fick said. “Of course, this is one of our goals, is to win district, put our best foot forward here.”

Among the favorites are two-time Far East cross-country champions Ana Hernandez and Andrew Kilkenny of Kadena in distance events; Kaelyn Francis, Rahman Farnell and Jarrett Mitchell of Kubasaki in sprints; and throwers Jazmyn Sharper of Kadena and Kareem Key of Kubasaki.

Districts are the next-to-last meet on island before the Far East meet May 19-20 at Yokota. The Air Force’s annual all-comers meet is slated for May 10 at Kadena.

Elsewhere, this weekend’s schedule is a light one, with the two-week Advanced Placement course testing period beginning Monday.

Just a lone softball game pitting Kubasaki at Kadena is on the Okinawa docket, as is the case with Humphreys visiting Seoul American in Korea.

One baseball doubleheader, Yokota at American School In Japan, and two Yokota home soccer matches are on tap in Japan. Meanwhile, Guam’s boys volleyball and girls soccer seasons enter the home stretch; the boys volleyball season concludes Tuesday.

ornauer.dave@stripes.com

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Dave Ornauer has been employed by or assigned to Stars and Stripes Pacific almost continuously since March 5, 1981. He covers interservice and high school sports at DODEA-Pacific schools and manages the Pacific Storm Tracker.

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