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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 2017)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com TRIATHLETE — GINNY SOLLER MEADWAY SWIMMING, BIKING AND RUNNING TO WIN Former Seaside athlete has newfound career Ginny Soller Meadway runs in the “Hotlanta” marathon last year in Atlanta, Georgia. By GARY HENLEY The Daily Astorian A t Seaside High School, her big sports were soccer, basketball and track. Now, Ginny Soller Meadway is winning awards for swimming, biking and running, and usually all on the same day. The former Seagull star took up mar- athons, half-marathons and triathlons last year, and has taken to triathlons like … well, a gull to water. “I started triathlons last year,” said Mead- way, who now lives in Seattle. “My hus- band thought it would be a good idea to do all three sports instead of just running. Lit- tle did he know how expensive the triathlon world is.” Meadway has competed in events from the East Coast to the West, from Canada to the southern U.S., and recently came up big in the eighth annual Lake Meridian Triathlon last Saturday in Kent, Washington. Out of 78 females entered in the “Olym- pic Wave” triathlon (nearly 32 total miles of competition), Meadway fi nished fi rst in a total time of two hours, 23 minutes, 11.1 seconds. Meadway, 35, completed the 1,500-meter swim in 27:00.1. She had the best time in the bike portion (1:09:32.3, over 24.8 miles), and the second-best time in the 6.2-mile run (43:55.0). Second place overall was Kari Vreugden- hil, in 2:23:52.8. “It’s an all-out sprint, plus endurance dis- tance,” she said of her most recent event. “You need both. I have done two 70.3 (mile) Ironmans this summer. I placed on my sec- ond in Canada, which is the biggest accom- plishment of my racing so far.” In one of her most impressive fi nishes, Meadway was the fi rst female fi nisher (and second overall, men and women) in the Jail- house 5K run in Hampton, Georgia. Out of 357 fi nishers, she crossed the fi nish line in 20:27, second behind Tom Dillard (18:51). Meadway was also the fourth female fi n- isher in the 2016 Hotlanta Half-Marathon in Atlanta. In a return to the North Coast last spring, she took fi rst in the Astoria Run on the River Half-Marathon, in 1:31.34; and in “Ironman 70.3,” July 30 in Whistler, British Colum- bia, she fi nished fourth in her age group (and 16th overall female). Meadway ran in her biggest event April 17, taking part in the Boston Marathon, which she completed in 3:22.44. Up next for Meadway is the “Full Iron- man” competition in the annual Coeur d’Alene Ironman event, Aug. 27 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It’s a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run, said Meadway, a former sprinter and pole vaulter in her days at Sea- side High School (she still owns the third- best pole vault mark, 9-6, in school history). Of her new career in triathlons and mara- thons, Meadway has “podiumed” or come in fi rst in almost every race she has entered the last two years. “I freakin’ love it,” she said. Above: Ginny Soller Meadway, third from right, following her latest win, last Saturday at Lake Meridian. Left: The top spot on the awards stand — a familiar place for Seaside High School grad Ginny Soller Meadway. Submitted Photos Carroll supports Bennett while saying Seahawks should stand Associated Press RENTON, Wash. — Seattle Sea- hawks coach Pete Carroll said Tues- day that he supported Michael Ben- nett’s decision to sit during the national anthem while also saying he believes players should stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Bennett’s actions were a primary topic of conversation for Carroll two days after Bennett sat on the bench during the anthem before the presea- son opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Bennett didn’t inform Car- roll or his teammates of his decision to sit while the rest of the Seahawks stood locked arm-in-arm on the side- line Sunday. “It’s easy for me to support him in his issues. But I think we should all be standing up when we’re playing the national anthem,” Carroll said. Bennett said after Michael the game that the Bennett violence in Char- lottesville, Virginia, including the death of a woman who was struck by a car deliberately driven into a group of counter-protesters, solidifi ed his decision. “I can appreciate a man that no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what people are going to think, no matter what people are going to say, his morals and what he thinks is right to him, he’s going to stand up for it,” teammate Cliff Avril said. Carroll said he’s met with Bennett on a couple of occasions since Sun- day to talk about his actions. “We’ve talked a lot about all that is going to come to him and listened very carefully to people’s perspective and stay very true and stay very much in the middle so he doesn’t get cap- tured one way or the other by some- body else’s concerns, somebody else’s issues,” Carroll said. “I’ll con- tinue to support him and help in every way. We’ll visit regularly and hope- fully all make sense of the things that come his way.” Bennett was at least the third prom- inent NFL player to protest during the anthem in the fi rst full week of pre- season games. Albers earns fi rst win in four years Associated Press SEATTLE — Andrew Albers’ perseverance paid off for himself and the Seattle Mariners. The left-hander earned his fi rst major league win in four years, pitching fi ve effective innings as the Mariners beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-1 on Tuesday night to snap a fi ve- game losing streak. “You come up that fi rst time and you think this probably isn’t going to be the last,” said Albers, called up from the minors earlier in the day. “All of a sudden you go a cou- ple, three years without it happen- ing, and you certainly appreciate the opportunities more as they become fewer and fewer.” The 31-year-old Albers (1-0) set- tled down after giving up Jonathan Schoop’s 26th home run in the fi rst inning. He allowed six hits for his fi rst victory since Aug. 12, 2013, when he went 2-5 in 10 starts with Minnesota. Acquired in a trade with Atlanta last Friday after going 12-3 at Tri- ple-A Gwinnett, Albers made one relief appearance for Toronto in 2015 and did not get a decision in six appearances last season with the Twins. He retired the fi nal eight hitters he faced Tuesday, and four Mariners relievers set down 12 straight over four scoreless innings. Edwin Diaz pitched a perfect ninth for his 26th save in 30 opportunities. “It means a lot, but at the same time, it’s more important right now just winning ballgames,” said Albers, also aided by a fi rst-inning double play. “Whether I get the W or somebody else gets the W, it really doesn’t matter. Coming in here and getting to be part of a pen- nant race or wild-card race, that’s pretty awesome.”
