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Shelton-Mason County Journal
ATNLETEOFTHEWEEK
SHS senior
to run at
Journal phOtOS by Emil) Hanson
Shelton senior Bryton Rodgers clears the bar in the finals of the boys' pole vault at the 4A State Track and Field
Championship on Friday at Mt. Tahoma in Tacoma. Rodgers took 12th place with a cleared height of 13'.
Endicott eighth, Jones lOth, Rodgers 12th
at 4A track and field championship
Shelton senior Indi Endicott falls to the mat
after clearing the bar in the finals of the boys'
pole vault. Endicott took eighth place with a
cleared height of 13'.
By EMILY HANSON
emiZy@nT(zsoncounty.corr~
Three Shelton seniors ended their
track and field careers at state last
week.
"I'm very happy with how the state
meet went for our Shelton athletes,"
SHS head track and field coach Doug
Sells said. "With all three athletes, it
was a great way to cap off their semor
track season. I'm sure going to miss
them."
On Thursday and Friday, seniors
Lolly Jones, Indi Endicott and Bryton
Rodgers competed at the 4A State Track
and Field Championship at Mr. Tahoma
in Tacoma.
Endicott and Rodgers both cleared
13' in the pole vault, though Endicott
took eighth place and Rodgers took
12th.
"There were actually seven vaulters
that cleared a height of 13' feet." Sells
said. "They determine tie-breakers by
looking at how many misses each vault-
er had at previous heights."
He said both seniors had a "wild
ride" in the pole vault.
"The weather was a little hectic but
it was hectic for everyone so no vaulter
got any advantage or disadvantage from
it." Sells said. "Competition is what
matters on the day of state. You never
know what is going to happen or who
is going to come out on top. I'm really
happy with how these boys competed."
In the girls' discus, Jones took 10th
place with a throwing distance of 112'2",
which Sells said was her second best
throw ever.
"A lot of the time, it's not about how
you place, it's about the experience of
going and competing," Sells said. "Jones
had a great time. She competed very
well and ended up placing 10th, much
better than she was seeded coming into
the meet. She came to compete and she
did."
See SHS Track and Field on page C-4
jumors orgamzmg
Track meet
By EMILY HANSON
emily~g~nasoncounty.cora
. Three Shelton juniors
are working together to
organize this year's Her-
shey Track and Field
Meet.
David Ajamu, DeShon
Bell and Ralph Kinne are
planning and organizing
the pre-meet details as
their senior project. At 5
p.m. on June 7 at Shelton
High School, the three
boys will also oversee the
event.
"It's a track meet for
kids 9-14 to compete in,"
Bell said.
Kinne said there will
be running events, a soft-
ball throw and a long
jump during the meet,
which is sponsored by
The Hershey Company.
Boys and girls ages
9-14, as of Dec. 31, 2011.
can compete in two run-
ning events and one field
event.
Kinne said the three
boys, who all have track
and field experience.
chose to run this meet
for their senior project
because they thought it
would be fun
"We thought we'd like
working with the kids. in-
teracting with them," he
said.
Ajamu added that this
meet will help the young
athletes prepare for high
school track:
"Also. if we ever want
to put on a big event, we'll
have experier~ce with or-
ganizing one, putting up
fliers and doing advertis-
ing," Bell said.
The running events
the athletes can compete
in include the 50-me-
ter dash. the 100-me-
ter dash, the 200-meter
dash, the 400-meter run,
the 800-meter run, the
1,600-meter run and the
400-meter relay. The
children can also compete
in a softball throw and a
standing long jump.
"I think there'll be a lot
of participation," Kinne
said. "The kids'll have fun
and get to compete."
Since the juniors are
working together on the
meet for their senior
project, they said they've
split the work evenly.
Kinne was responsible for
creating and distribut-
ing fliers, Ajamu was as-
signed to make wall post-
ers and large fliers for the
event and Bell was put
in charge of writing the
press releases.
All three boys are also
working on g#tting 10 vol-
unteers each to help run
the event and have split
up the local elementary,
middle and junior high
schools. Each boy said he
has gone to schools with-
in the Shelton School Dis-
trict and within Mason
County to recruit young
athletes to participate
in the meet as well as to
give the meet informa-
tion to the front offices for
morning announcements.
Registration for the
~..,,..:.~ ~.:::. ~ ~ ~:::r: ................. ii ............................ ................
meet begins at 5 p.m. on
June 7 and the events
are scheduled to start at
5:45 p.m. All participants
must bring a copy of their
birth certificate to verify
their age.
"I hope we get a lot of
kids," Bell said.
Ajamu said he hopes
the meet has a lot of com-
petition..
"They have ever~hing
to gain and nothing to
lose." Kinne said.
Participation m the
event is free. For more
information, contact the
City of Shelton recreation
office at 432-5194.
St. Martin's
By EMILY HANSON
emily@masoncounty.com
Shelton senior Nathan
Morgan knows, exactly
where he'll be next year and
exactly what he'll be doing.
Morgan has been accept-
ed at St. Martin's Univer-
sity (SMU) in Lacey and has
already been chosen to run
for the Saints for both the
cross country and the track
and field teams.
"I made the decision
about two
months
ago to go
to St. Mar-
tin's and
got con-
firmation
from the
coach, Ju-
lie Sulli-
Nathan van," Mor-
Morgan gan said.
"She was
excited to
get me (for the teams). She's
had Shelton kids go there
before so she knows the pro-
gram."
While at SMU, Morgan
plans to major in civil engi-
neering. This major, the fact
that he wanted to continue
running after high school
and the fact that he wanted
to go to a private college
helped him choose SMU. he
said.
"I looked around the state
for engineering schools with
running programs," Morgan
said. "I found some schools
in Colorado that had what I
was looking for and it came
down to going really far
away or staying local."
Morgan's interest in civil
engineering was sparked
by his father, who used to
be a Naval Seabee, or civil
engineer, for the Navy doing
civil construction.
Morgan's father also in-
troduced the graduating se-
nior to his athletic passion:
running.
"My dad and I have been
running together since I
was young," Morgan said.
"I didn't do any sports be-
fore high school because I
was home-schooled. I was
really excited when [ found
out there were running pro-
grams at the high school."
Morgan used to wrestle
for SHS as well, but said he
chose not to this year so he
could train during the win-
ter for the track season.
"I've gotten more compet-
itive," he said.
Despite the extra train-
ing, Morgan's season ended
at the league champion-
ship, sooner than he hoped
it would.
"l really wanted to make
it to districts but we're in
a really tough league," he
said. "I was only a half-sec-
ond away from a qualifying
time in the 1,600-meter."
Morgan ran cross country
and track for the Highclimb-
ers the last three years.
When he's not on the track
or running trails, he was in
the classroom, excelling at
academics. Morgan said he
has between a 3.5 and a 3.6
grade point average while
taking advanced and honors
courses such as college Eng-
lish, calculus and physics.
"Part of going to college
is I really wanted to im-
prove my running," Morgan
said. "I could've gone into
the military but I wanted
to go to college and improve
my running."
Morgan's strong athletic
and academic performanc-
es have earned him four
See Athlete on page C-4
Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 31, 2012 - Page C-1