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A champion's welcome:
Islanders celebrate Smith's dual state titles
posted 05/25/02
Islanders and a Friday Harbor fire truck greeted the Wolverine team as it arrived at Friday Harbor Sunday, May 26, 2002. Nathan Smith won the high and long jumps at the Class A Track and Field Championships in Cheney Friday and Saturday, May 24 and 25 and Karen Morrill placed eighth in the javelin.
Smith, riding in a school van, grinned as the fire truck rolled past cheering boosters holding banners and gold and purple balloons.
"It's awesome," Smith said of his dual title trip.
Smith becomes Friday Harbor's first dual state champion since sprinter Tami (Mason) Hayes earned four firsts in 1987. Smith's leaps of six feet, five inches in the high jump and 22 feet, four inches in the long jump met his goals of snapping school records. Nigel Starr set the previous marks at state in 1986.
Only two other athletes in Smith's class went home with a pair of gold medals. He also scored more individual points than all but six competitors in Class A. He finished with 20 points, tied for sixth.
Smith competed in the third of four four-person heats in the long jump Saturday. He knew his school-record-tying first jump of 22 feet, .25-inch was a solid effort but his second jump of 22-4 boosted his confidence to the top of the awards stand. "When I got that I was pretty stoked because I though I was going to be first," Smith said.
Levi Morris of Lake Roosevelt finished second with a 21-6.75 jump and Kevin Hatch of Freeman placed third with a 21-1.5 effort.
Smith didn't do anything special before the state long jump competition except run and jump as "fast" and "high" as he could. The cool, slightly damp weather might have made Smith feel at ease -- all but a few of the Wolverines' meets were rainy, windy and cold. "It was pretty good weather for jumping," he said.
A miscue dampened Smith's first event at state. He went out of the zone on a handoff in the 4 x 100-meter relay preliminaries midday Friday. His relay mates -- Chad Cymbalista, John Marsh and Jesse Kjolso -- didn't drop the teamwork baton though. They supported Smith in his record-setting high jump performance later that afternoon. "They all stuck behind me," Smith said. "Everybody has a mistake the first time at state. It was pretty overwhelming."
Smith, who started strong as a freshman and then sat out his sophomore season after knee surgery, proved he could overcome adversity once more. "We knew what Nathan could do when things were up," said Friday Harbor coach Hertel said. "We didn't know what he could do when things were down. I'd say he showed us."
Winning the high jump earned Smith more than a medal. Coach Hertel promised to shave his head if any of the Wolverines won a championship. With the team watching, Hertel buzzed off his locks. "It was pretty funny," Smith said.
The coach believed in his team's ability: He packed a shaver for the trip. "Mr. Hertel had confidence," Smith said.
Since the Wolverines returned with two titles, Hertel trimming off his beard also seemed order. His co-coach in life overruled such a notion though: Before leaving on the trip Hertel promised his wife Lunnette that he'd not shave his goatee.
In other boys action, Lopez senior Jason Buffum finished 15th in the javelin with a 142-foot throw.
Smith adds another first
posted 05/25/02
Friday Harbor High School junior Nathan Smith took another state title Saturday, May 25, 2002. He came in first in the long jump with a jump of 22 feet 4 inches. He also broke the school record. The Track Team will be returning to Friday Harbor on the 5 p.m. ferry Sunday, May 26. The ferry arrives in Friday Harbor at 6:15 p.m.
Nathan Smith soars to state high jump title, school record
posted 05/24/02
Nathan Smith bettered his previous best by three inches to win the Class A State Track and Field Championships in Cheney Friday, May 24. The six-foot, five-inch mark breaks a 16-year-old school record.
"I'd been clearing it (his previous PR) by quite a bit, but couldn't get my form down," the junior said. "Everything clicked today."
"Nathan had a good, hot day." said Friday Harbor coach Greg Hertel.
Smith entered the state meet with the goal of tying the Wolverine record of 6-4 set by Nigel Starr in 1986. Smith matched that and cleared 6-5 - an inch higher than his height -- on his second attempt. "That's awesome…. I'm pretty happy," Smith said of owning another school record. Earlier this season he set a school mark in the long jump by leaping 21-9.
Andy Collins of Zillah, who qualified for state with a top-seed 6-6 effort, failed to clear the bar at 6-2 and finished third with a 6-0 jump. "That gave me confidence," Smith said. Watching Tri-District Champion and second-seed and state runner-up Shin Kobayashi of Charles Wright top-out at 6-2 also spurred on the fourth-seeded Smith. "Shin normally does better," Hertel noted. With no competition nor idea if tied the school mark, Smith "just kept jumping."
Smith will continue leaping Saturday. He enters the long jump with the sixth-best qualifying mark but his record jump is four inches longer than the top seed's qualifying performance.
Friday Harbor's Drew Allen came just shy of earning a state medal in the discus. He tossed the disc 120-1 and finished 10th. The top eight finishers receive medals. Collins won the event with a 147-4 throw.
Chad Cymbalista, John Marsh, Jesse Kjolso and Smith did not finish in the 4 x 100-meter relay race. A baton was dropped on the same handoff zone that the Wolverine girls team miscued last year. "It was the curse of the third exchange," Hertel said.
The team - all juniors - vows to return to Cheney in 2003. "They said, 'Next year we're going to do it and do it better,'" according to Hertel.
Smith, Allen and Wolverine 400 relay team advance to state
updated 05/20/02
Five Wolverines will be competing at the Class A State Track and Field Championships in Cheney this week.
Nathan Smith leaped a personal record 6-foot-2 and finished second in the
high jump at the Class A Tri-District Meet at King's High School Saturday,
May 18. The junior will also compete in the long jump: He jumped 20 feet,
5.25 inches and finished second at Tri-District. Smith enters the state meet
as a No. 4 high jump seed and a No. 6 seed in the long jump.
Smith will anchor the Friday Harbor 4 x 100 relay team. The quartet -- Smith, Chad Cymbalista, John Marsh, Jesse Kjolso - finished sixth at Tri-District in 46.10 seconds. They qualified for state as the 12th seed in spite of two ailing members. The runners won't be eating any soup on the ferry on the trip east, though: Two of them apparently became ill from eating some chowder on the boat.
Drew Allen will also represent the Wolverines in Cheney. He finished the Tri-District discus runner-up after tossing the disc 128-8. "Drew picked a great day to have his best throw," Hertel said. Allen enters the state meet as a sixth seed.
Hertel believes Smith has a solid chance for a medal in the high jump. "He's been consistently among the top in the state," the coach said.
Allen may have a harder time in the discus since he is up against "Eastern Washington farmboys who can throw," Hertel said.
Some Wolverines did not qualify for state but improved their times. Lucas Franco came in ninth in the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:40, which was a personal record. Kjolso who was ill, finished eighth in the hurdles.
Track postseason information
Friday Harbor boys and girls track teams will compete in the District 1 Track Meet at La Conner on Saturday, May 11, 2002. The top five qualifiers in each event will advance to the Tri-District Meet at King's High School (Shoreline) on May 16 and 18. The top six qualifiers in each event at the Tri-District Meet will advance to the WIAA State 2A, A and B meet at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, May 23 through 25, 2002.
Wolverines place second at Tri-District
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