Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 27, 2015 13APolk County Sports

Benz takes second in discusCLASS 5A PREP TRACK AND FIELD

White, Remington also place in Eugene on Friday and Saturday

EUGENE — Headed intothe OSAA Class 5A statemeet on Friday and Satur-day, something was differentfor Dallas junior KyleenBenz. The three-time statequalifier was on a missionto not let state overwhelmher.

“I was going throughwarmups doing the usualthings to make it feel like it’snot a big meet,” Benz said. “Iwasn’t nervous at all. Ithought I’ve been doingthis for a while. Is h o u l dknow how toadjust if I dos o m e -thing

wrong.” T h e n , s h e

scratched on herfirst discus throw.

“I thought, ‘Oh mygod. What if I don’t getany (of my throws) in,’and started psychingmyself out,” Benz said.

Luckily, that stress wasshort lived as Benz placedsecond in the discus onSaturday with a throwof 117 feet, 8 inch-es, her second-straight secondplace finish.

“It’s actuallynice,” Benz said.

“… I had a good series ofthrows. I could have donebetter, but I’m proud of whatI did.”

Benz, who also took 11thin the shot put, was one ofthree Dallas athletes toreach the podium at thestate meet.

Sophomore Aaron Whitefinished fifth in the boystriple jump with a mark of42-2½, while senior DanielleRemington placed eighth inthe girls javelin with a throwof 108-8.

For White, state markedwhat he hoped was the be-ginning of somethingspecial.

“It was really great,”White said. “I didn’tdo my best, but thefact that I’m a soph-omore it’s fun toknow that I have thepossibly of comingback for two moreyears.”

In addition to hiscompetitors, Whitebattled nerves and

taking in the atmos-phere of a state meet

for the first time. “It was a little crazy,”

White said. “I don’tthink I was ready (formy first jump) a little

bit. I was thinkingtoo much and Ij u m p e d p r e t t y

badly.”

White recovered to reachthe podium, though over-coming nerves remains thetop priority for the 2016track and field season.

“I’ve been jumping for awhile, so I don’t need tonervous,” White said. “I need

to figure that out if I make itnext year.”

While White pondered thefuture, Remington soaked inthe present. As a competitorin one of the first events onFriday, Remington didn’thave to wait long to compete.

“I wasn’t very nerv-ous. Just excited to behere,” Remingtonsaid. “It all wentby so fast. I feltlike I just gothere and it wasover.”

She may have been thefirst of Dallas’ athletes tocompete, but that didn’tmake the experience anyless exciting.

“It’s crazy,” Remingtonsaid. “That’s another thingabout being early, there’s notas many people watching sothere’s not as much pres-sure. But the environment isinsane. I’m really glad I gotto come here.”

Remington didn’t set anew personal record, butshe did beat Lebanon’s Kate-lyn Frederic, providing a bitof revenge.

“I’m glad I placed,” Rem-ington said. “I didn’t throwas well as I wanted to, but Ibeat the girl who beat me atdistricts so that’s nice at theend of the year.”

As Remington competedfor the final time as a DallasDragon, performing at thestate meet provided her theperfect way to end her highschool athletics career, Rem-ington said.

“It’s a good way to end,”she said. “I’m glad I got tocome and experienceeverything. I definitelywanted to end here at thestate meet. I think I could

have done better andthat would have madeit a little better, butI’m not disappoint-ed.”

LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-ObserverDallas junior Kyleen Benz hurles the shot put to place 11th at the OSAA Class 5Astate track and field meet on Saturday afternoon.

By Lukas EggenThe Itemizer-Observer

WhiteRemington

EUGENE — In a matter of hours,the preliminary heats of the boys200-meter run became huge forCentral senior Thomas Peterson.

“It wasn’t super important com-ing into state,” Peterson said. “Butit was a big deal for me. It was kindof like redemption because I didn’tmake the finals of the 100.”

Peterson qualified for the finalsat the OSAA Class 5A state meet onFriday and Saturday. He would tiefor fifth, finishing with a time of22.77 seconds.

“I was happy I made it in some-thing,” Peterson said.

Battling illness and hamstringissues, Peterson didn’t compete at100 percent. But he made the mostof his final opportunity to competewith the Panthers.

“I worked through it and I didthe best I could, so that’s all I couldask for,” Peterson said.

He recorded Central’s best finishat the state meet. Sophomore AbbyMcBeth placed ninth in the girls1,500 in 4:59.76, while senior Tay-lor Knauss finished 12th in the girlslong jump with a mark of 14 feet,9¼ inches.

Senior Kaj Bansen scratched inthe boys long jump.

As Peterson soaked in his laststate meet, McBeth reflected on atrying season, one that saw her

track and field year nearly derailedbefore it began.

Given all she worked through,including issues dealing with overtraining, finishing ninth at statewas something she was proud of.

“Any day you can compete withthousands of people watching you,that’s a good day,” McBeth said.

“It’s a lot of fun to be in this atmos-phere, even if I didn’t compete atmy best. It’s still a great experi-ence.”

For McBeth, this season provid-ed a vastly different experience forher, but one that helped her enjoythe moment more.

“Last year as a freshman I think I

amped it up a little bit more in myhead than it really was,” McBethsaid. “This year was comfortable,honestly. I wasn’t nervous or any-thing.”

McBeth will be the lone statequalifier returning to Central nextseason. But she’ll be one who cannot only help other state qualifiersget ready for the experience, buthow to manage their time andtraining throughout.

“I swear I’ve learned a lifetime

supply of lessons from this wholeover training,” McBeth said. “Talk-ing to (coach Eli) Cirino, somedayI’m going to be able to help myteammates who are going throughwhat I am going through.”

And while she’s already lookingahead to cross-country, she’s alsolearned one important lesson.

“It’s definitely time for a break,”McBeth said with a smile. “An actu-al break with no running, believe itor not.”

Peterson makes podium in 200CLASS 5A PREP TRACK AND FIELD

Senior sprinter ties for fifth in the 200-meter run at OSAA state meet

LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-ObserverCentral senior Thomas Peterson ties for fifth place in the boys 200-meter final on Saturday at the OSAA Class 5A state track meet.

By Lukas EggenThe Itemizer-Observer

LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-ObserverCentral sophomore Abby McBeth catches her breath after finishingninth in the girls 1,500-meter run on Saturday afternoon.

EUGENE — In the weeks to fol-low, Perrydale juniors Taylor Priceand Sarah Clark will likely find

fond memoriesof the OSAA Class2A state trackand field meet.

I n t h e m o -ments and daysafter, the duowere looking to-ward the futureas much as thepresent.

“I had higher hopes going in,but my body is so drained,” Pricesaid. “It was nerve wracking Iguess. I think people thought,she’s a junior, so she’s going to begood, but I didn’t really know

what I was doing.” Price finished eighth in the 300-

meter hurdles in 52.96 seconds,while Clark took 10th in the javelinwith a throw of 95 feet.

“I was extremely nervous,” Pricesaid. “I tried to relax, but when Igot out there, I was breathingheavily already because I was sonervous. I had to calm myselfdown.”

Clark experienced similar feel-ings as both competed at state forthe first time.

“I was thinking of not messingup,” Clark said. “That kept goingthrough my mind not to mess up.”

As Price and Clark soaked in thestate meet experience for the firsttime, the girls knew this momentwas a big one.

“I’m really grateful I made it tostate,” Clark said. “I’m kind of sad

for the people who couldn’t makeit to state. Only Taylor and I madeit (on Perrydale), so it was really

exciting to get the opportunity.” Despite enjoying the experience,

Price and Clark also couldn’t helpbut look to the future.

“I want to make state,” Clarksaid. “I want to get first or secondnext year. I know I need to work alot harder at practices and condi-tion a lot more for next year. I needto do everything correctly to getmy form good. … My teammatesand coach push me to achievegreatness. They try and work me ashard as I can so I can get better.That’s what helped me this year.Knowing I can make state pushesme.”

Pirates coach Brian Evans hopestheir experience at state will domore than motivate them to workharder — he expects to see hiswhole team gain from it.

“State was a great learning expe-

rience for my two girls and, indi-rectly, a great learning experiencefor the whole team even if theyweren’t there to witness theevents,” Evans said. “I believe thedesire the girls gained to get betterfrom their experience at Hayward(Field) will rub off onto all theirteammates.”

Price and Clark may havehoped to finish higher at statethis year, but that doesn’t meantheir accomplishments are loston them.

For both, qualifying for statehelped cap off a journey that theywill treasure for years to come.

“Obviously, I wanted higher, butI can’t complain,” Price said. “A lotof people would wish to qualify forthe finals. I’m very thankful for thesupport I have from my family andfriends.”

Perrydale duo gains experience at stateCLASS 2A PREP TRACK AND FIELD

By Lukas EggenThe Itemizer-Observer

ClarkLUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer

Perrydale’s Taylor Price tookeighth in the 300-meter hurdles.