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.”