Carey track team off to a running start
Panther boys capture first meet
By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer
Fresh off their first-place team finish at the March 26 Valley Invitational meet in Gooding, the Carey School boys’ track and field team hosted the first Northside Conference meet Thursday.
Carey’s 2008 home season debut at Derrick Parke Memorial Field had the usual Northside teams from Dietrich, Richfield, Shoshone, Bliss, Camas County and ISDB plus Castleford, Raft River of Malta, Challis, Oakley and Hansen.
The Raft River boys are the four-time defending State 1A champion on the track, but Carey boys’ coach Lee Cook has 22 Panther boys practicing this spring to give the Trojans a chase in the district races.
On the ISDB track last Wednesday in its season opener, Carey (135 points) out-pointed seven other teams including 2A Wendell (102.5) and third-place Raft River (90.5).
Last year’s Northside Conference boys “Coach of the Year” Cook said, “I was pleasantly surprised. We scored 135 points against some pretty tough competition.”
Senior Blake Whitby is motivated this spring to challenge Dietrich’s Scott Perron and Jonathon Dalton of Deary in the 1600-meter run, Cook said. “Blake is concentrating on Perron and the kid from Deary,” according to coach Cook.
State 1A 1600m champion Dalton and runner-up Perron were less than a second apart at the finish line last May at Boise’s Bronco Stadium and Whitby was in fourth place, less than six seconds back.
The Carey boys, who finished second a mere 14 points behind regional champion Raft River last spring and qualified 11 for state, haven’t won an individual state gold medal in five years at Boise. They’ll aim to rectify that May 24 at the 91st annual State Track Meet.
Whitby and senior D.J. Simpson (relays, 800m) are two of Carey’s four seniors. The others are Kade Peterson (distances), Tyler Parke (high jump, 1600m) and Scott Ellsworth (400m and relays). The juniors are Heith Adamson (sprints, relays) and Andrew Carlson (shotput and discus).
The sophomores include Dillon Simpson (distances), Gonzalo Zarate (200m, relays), Trevor Peck (relays, jumps), Todd Peck (throws, relays), Brett Adamson (800m) and Sean Ackley (throws, weightman relay). Unfortunately, sophomore Brad Peck hurt his back in a motorcycle spill.
Freshmen include Jacy Baird (hurdles, relays) and Joe Laidlaw (hurdles, 200m).
D.J. Simpson won the 800m run (2:18.00) at last Wednesday’s Valley Invitational and put down a 58-second lap in the 400m dash. Parke was second in the high jump at 5-8. Adamson was the 100m dash runner-up and Zarate did well in the relays, coach Cook said.
Cook added, “Jacy Baird was a pleasant surprise in both hurdle events and Brett Adamson did a great job in the 800.”
Panther girls’ coach Lane Kirkland has welcomed a small group of nine girls led by senior Jen Cenarrusa. Kirkland said senior leader Cenarrusa (hurdles, jumps, relays) has a good chance to make a state trip in the 100m high hurdles.
Cenarrusa placed second in the high hurdles Wednesday on the Gooding track. Sophomore Jessica Parke (jumps, pole vault, relays), a state qualifier in high jump last spring, took third at 4-8 last week at ISDB.
Panther juniors are Emily Andrews (throws), Emilee Butcher (throws), Kayla Bailey (relays), Brooke Bingham (hurdles, relays) and Shelby Hansen (relays, pole vault).
Sophomore Amy Ellsworth (800m, 1600m, relays) should have a good year, Kirkland said. Freshman Lorene Andrews (throws) is practicing.
The Carey teams have four home meets this spring including the Northside Championships May 8. Carey won the boys’ conference title last spring over Camas County of Fairfield, while Camas captured the girls’ title over Richfield, with Carey third.
