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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2019)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAy, JuLy 17, 2019 HeraldSports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports Mabbott, Smith place in top 100 By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER H ermiston’s Thomas Mab- bott hit 99 out of a pos- sible 100 targets Sunday during the finals of the individual portion of the USA High School Clay Target League National Championship in Mason, Mich., helping him to a 73rd-place finish at the event. Mabbott, who hit 94 targets in Saturday’s prelims, finished with a final score of 193. Teammate Kaden Smith was right behind him, hitting 94 in the prelims and 98 in the finals for a two-round total of 192. He was 98th overall. Mabbott and Kaden Smith were the only two Hermiston shooters to place in the top 400 in prelims and advance to the finals. “It’s an accomplishment, for sure,” Hermiston coach Slade Smith said. “There were 1,800 entries out of 12,000 shooters in the country. Of those 1,800, 400 make the finals. To be in the top 100 in the country is pretty good. They placed better than our top two last year.” Though Mabbott and Smith HH file photos Left: Smith; Right: Mabbott were one target apart, when there is a tiebreaker, the competi- tion uses a reverse run to the last missed target. The larger the num- ber, the higher you will be in the standings. Woodrow Glazer of New Prague High School in Minnesota won the individual title for the sec- ond year in a row, hitting 200 out of 200 targets. He also had a per- fect score last year. “Both of our guys have run 200 straight in their careers,” coach Smith said. “They knew what it would take. They shot well Sun- day, they moved up, and that was impressive. They have been our most consistent shooters the past couple of years. It’s nice to see them get in the finals and compete against each other.” Tyson Stocker (91 in prelims), Trevor Wilson (86), Mitchell Pimentel (68) and Haylee Hamil- ton (68) also competed in the indi- vidual competition, but did not make the finals. Hermiston did not fare as well as it would have liked Friday in the team qualifying event. The Bulldogs finished with a combined score score of 437 in the qualifying round to place 129th out of 206 teams. The top 80 teams advanced to Sunday’s finals. Hermiston had scores of 93 and two at 92, but when added to an 86 and a 74, the Bulldogs slid down in the standings. The Bulldogs are finished with high school competitions until next spring, but that doesn’t mean they are shelving their shotguns. “Some will compete in other sanctioned events,” coach Smith said, “but they tend to take some time off and play a bit in the summer.” Hermiston’s renovated weight room is top notch Track coach Emilee Strot was a driving force behind the renovation By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER You could see it in her eyes. Paige Palzinski is in her happy place in the weight room, and now that Hermiston High School has renovated its facility from the ground up, the Herm- iston junior is in seventh heaven. “I love lifting weights,” Palzinski said. “It makes my day. The people I work out with, I feel I can accomplish anything.” Hermiston track coach Emilee Strot was the driv- ing force behind getting the weight room redone. At first, she was hoping to get the floors fixed for safety reasons, and maybe a few new benches. “I brought Larry (Usher, athletic director) and Tom (Spoo, principal) in here, and our original idea was to replace the floor,” Strot said. “I showed them the benches that were breaking down and a few other things.” It wasn’t long before Strot got the OK to put together a proposal for an entirely new weight room in the same space. “Tom and Larry were big supporters of this,” Strot said. “They saw the poten- tial, and what it could do for our student athletes and classes. This would not have happened without their support.” Strot and Hermiston football coach David Faae- teete worked together with Columbia Fitness in Kenne- wick to design a layout and choose the equipment. “We had the same goal in mind,” Strot said “We went from five platforms and seven squat racks, to 14 sta- tions that you can do almost everything on. We doubled the amount of equipment in here that we had before. We will be able to have a lot more kids in here at one time, with everyone doing something.” Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Hermiston High School’s newly renovated weight room offers an expanded variety of equipment and 14 stations, an increase from the five previously available. Worth the wait Once Strot had her pro- posal together, it didn’t take long to get the approval from the school district. “It had been 17 years since the weight room had updates,” said Tricia Mooney, the superintendent of the Hermiston School District. “It was a safety Staff photo by Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian Kaylee Young, left, spots Jazlyn Romero as she bench presses in Hermiston High School’s newly renovated weight room. issue. I have been through there; they did a great job. It is much appreciated by our kids.” The renovation cost right about $98,000, according to Mooney. The money came from the general fund. “Over the course of the past year, there has been some belt tightening,” Mooney said. “Some posi- tions were not filled. We got a good deal and it worked out well.” Strot waited until she got the green light from the school district before telling her students and athletes. “I didn’t want to jinx anything,” Strot said. “This is every coach’s dream. We want it to last a long time. We have some rules. I’m trying to create a culture in here.” The revamped weight room has a new rubberized surface on the floor, there is a rack of free weights on the far end of the room, and there are 14 purple and black multi-use stations in the middle of the room. There also are plenty of bars and plates to go around. There are even 15-pound bars (the regular ones are 45 pounds) for those just starting out. “It’s important that they learn proper form,” Strot said. “Technique and safety are important.” Senior Jazlyn Romero, a point guard on the bas- ketball team, and a state champion in the javelin, was impressed by the new facility. “It’s one of the best high school weight rooms in the state,” she said. “Coach Strot has brought a new cul- ture to female athletics. We like it. We can have fun and get our business done.” Garrett Walchli, who plays football and runs track, has put in some time in the new room. “Strot and Faaeteete said if you want to bet the best, you have to have the best,” the senior said. “In the old room, we didn’t have as many plates and you would have to wait. Now, we can really kick it into high gear.” The future is now The Hermiston football team has two hours worth of time in the room in the morning during the summer, followed by the girls. There were about 50 girls Tuesday morning tak- ing part in Strot’s summer weight program. “Strot started the pro- gram about five years ago, and three or so girls would show up,” Palzinski said. “Now, the girls (lifting) classes have grown from one to two. She has instilled the belief that girls can be strong and beautiful. You need to build physical and mental strength.”
