For the week of April 9 - 15, 2003

Carey runners break from the gate

Track and field season begins

---

Carey School’s track and field teams hope to extend their Northside Conference winning streak in 2003 and ride the momentum all the way to the 48th annual State 1A track and field meet in May in Boise.

Longtime Panther boys’ coach Blaine Tingey has welcomed 11 boys to early-season practices, and second-year Carey girls’ coach Lane Kirkland has 10 girls out for track.

The formulas of success that worked last spring for the Carey girls’ and boys’ teams could work in 2003.

Last May, coach Kirkland’s well-balanced Carey girls nipped defending champion Camas County of Fairfield 170-162 for the Northside Conference girls’ title—Carey’s 10th Northside banner in 11 years.

Strong in sprints and distances, coach Tingey’s Carey’s boys captured their first Northside Conference championship since 1999 with a 142-118 decision over Dietrich.

Carey has one returning state champion and she’s a good one—senior Ginger Bingham. She was unbeaten in 100-meter high hurdles last spring and won the state race in 17.00 seconds at Lyle Smith Field in Boise.

In her three years of track, Bingham has qualified for state in 10 events. This spring she’ll do high hurdles and 300m intermediates plus the 100m dash and 1600m relay.

Other girls are seniors Nicki McAfee and Jesse Molyneux; juniors Kiri Adamson, Sarah Lynn Shaffer and Cheyanne Bingham; and sophomores Melissa Peck, Brooke McAfee, Whitney Peck and Brenna Silva.

Coach Kirkland has put together four relay teams.

On the 400m relay are Kiri Adamson, Molyneux, Brooke McAfee and Whitney Peck. The 800m relay group includes Nicki McAfee, Molyneux, Brooke McAfee and Whitney Peck. The medley has Adamson, Cheyanne Bingham, Nicki McAfee and Silva.

The 4x400 or 1600m features Cheyanne Bingham, Nicki McAfee, Ginger Bingham and anchor Silva.

State discus qualifier Molyneux will also enter the shotput and discus while Nicki McAfee does the long jump. Kiri Adamson plans to enter the long and triple jump. Sarah Lynn Shaffer is a high jumper and is looking at 400m, 800m and 1600m.

Cheyanne Bingham, like her older sister, will try both hurdle events. Distance runner Melissa Peck is lined up for the 1600m and 3200m.

Brooke McAfee will enter the triple jump and high hurdles, Whitney Peck will tackle the shotput and discus, and Silva will lend her sprinting abilities to the 200m and 400 dashes.

Everybody who knows Carey coach Tingey knows his favorite event is the 4x400m relay—and the Panthers boasted the district champion 1600m relay squad last spring.

"But we’re not going to have a 4x4 relay. We’re going to concentrate on the medley," said Tingey.

One of the main reasons is the strength of reigning district 800-meter champion Destry Simpson at the tough two-lap distance. Simpson is one of five Panther senior boys who will lead the current Carey edition.

The seniors are Simpson, Shawn Hennefer, Seth Adamson, Robbie Ellsworth and Joe Patterson. The six juniors are Ty Simmons, Blake Surerus, Bryson Ellsworth, Cody Hennefer, K.C. Rivera and MaKay Nielson.

In the medley relay are Rivera and Adamson at 200m distances, Shawn Hennefer 400m and Simpson 800m. Adamson will start the 400m relay with Rivera, Surerus and Simpson.

Shawn Hennefer, a gifted sprinter who placed fifth in last spring’s State 1A 400m dash, will tackle the open 100m, 200m and 400m dashes along with the medley. Simpson will also enter the open 800m and 1600m runs.

Adamson plans to do the long jump and 300m intermediate hurdles. Robbie Ellsworth is in the long jump, triple jump and 400m dash. Out for track for the first time, Joe Patterson is a distance runner.

Other events for Carey’s juniors are: Simmons 1600m, 3200m and triple jump; Surerus shotput, discus and 100m dash; Bryson Ellsworth shotput, long jump and relays; Cody Hennefer shotput, discus and both hurdles; Rivera long and triple jump; Nielson 1600m and 3200m runs.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.