The Evergreen Storm Track Club of Vancouver had a big day on Saturday at the Junior Olympics cross country championships for western Washington.
Miguel De La Mena and Cassie McKinney won their races, and the Evergreen Storm won the team title in the midget division for girls born in 2000 and 2001.
The Pacific Northwest Track and Field Association Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships took place at Woodland Park in Seattle.
Overall, 27 of the 28 Evergreen Storm runners who entered the meet qualified for the USA Track and Field Region 13 Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships. The regionals will take place this coming Saturday in Spokane.
Emily Wilson took second place in the midget girls 3,000-meter race, and five of the top 10 finishers were Storm runners as the team easily won the meet for girls in grades 6-7. Wilson finished in 11 minutes and 41 seconds, which was 11 seconds behind winner Taylor Roe.
Four Evergreen Storm runners finished in a five-second span to clinch the team title. Serena Smith was seventh (12:13), Ashlin O’Neill eighth (12:14), Jenna Efraimson ninth (12:15) and Emma Jenkins 10th (12:17).
The midget girls team is coached by Chantel Efraimson. The team had 11 runners in the race.
De La Mena, an eighth-grader at Frontier Middle School, won the youth boys 4,000-meter race with a time of 14:11. It was his first competitive cross country race.
Cassie McKinney won the intermediate girls race by 15 seconds, completing the 5,000 meters in 19:29. She will not participate in the regional meet because she will be joining other area high school runners — and former Storm athletes — at the Nike Border Clash race in Portland.
In the youth division for girls born in 1998-99, the Evergreen Storm finished second in team scoring. Marley Lafore led the team with a second-place effort. Her time over the 4,000-meter course was 15:33, 27 seconds behind Sophia Cantine of the Speed Unlimited team.
Savanna Craig finished sixth with a time of 15:51. Mike McKinney coaches the Storm youth division runners.
Around Clark County
Turkey Trot — The Clark County Running Club will hold its annual Turkey Trot 5K at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The 3.1-mile run starts and ends at Marine Park in Vancouver.
In addition to the run, organizers will hold a drawing to give away free turkeys.
CCRC runs are free to club members and cost $2 for non-members. Arrive 30 minutes before the start of the run to sign up.
Marine Park is at the intersection of S.E. Columbia Way and Marine Park Way. There are two parking areas, one on Columbia Way and the other on Marine Park Way. For run details, visit www.ccrunning.org.
Howington joins Extra Innings — Ty Howington, a former first-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds out of Hudson’s Bay High School, has joined Extra Innings Vancouver as a baseball pitching instructor.
Howington was drafted No. 14 overall by the Reds in 1999 and was the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2001. More recently, Howington has worked as the pitching coach for Centralia College and with the Vancouver Cardinals.
Extra Innings indoor baseball and softball facility (www.extrainnings-vancouver.com) is at 16303 N.E. 15th St.
Youth baseball tryout — The Vancouver Sluggers will hold a tryout from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday for their 2013 12-and-under baseball team. The team will play in tournaments between March and September that do not conflict with Little League schedules.
The tryouts will be held at King’s Way Christian School’s turf field, 3300 N.E. 78th Street in Vancouver. For more information, send email to vancouversluggers@gmail.com or call 360-573-0339.
Shamrock Run — Registration is open for the March 17, 2013, Shamrock Run in Portland. For the 35th edition of the popular footrace, the field has been expanded to 35,000 runners and walkers. The event offers several races to choose from ranging from 5 kilometers to 15 kilometers.
To learn more, visit www.shamrockrunportland.com.
COMMUNITY SPORTS NEWS is published each Tuesday. Submit items for consideration by sending email to paul.danzer@columbian.com, or call 360-735-4521.
