Sometimes it snows, sometimes you get sunburned

With spring sports like track, you never know what you're going to get. Last Saturday at Moscow it snowed and we spent most of the meet in the car trying to avoid the cold and wet. This week at Kamiah we ended up basking in the sun and came home with the first sunburns of the season.

Ash ran well in Moscow despite the snow, winning the 100 in 12.39, the 200 in 26.2, the 400 in 59.8 and anchoring the 4x400 to an easy win.

Tuesday at Post Falls her day was cut short when her coaches decided not to take any chances with a sore hamstring. She anchored the 4x200 to a season best 1:49 and a win before icing up her leg and watching the rest of the meet.

The official title of the meet yesterday in Kamiah was the Nez Perce/Lewis and Clark Games. Turns out it's an annual event commemorating the first track meet held in the state of Idaho. In 1806 "on the way back" the Lewis and Clark expedition stopped at Kamiah and had a track meet. See, you get interesting track and field history along with the bragging about AshLee here at thatashleereygirl.

Anyway, Ash cruised to an easy prelim win in the 200 at 26.6. A bad handoff in the 4x200 slowed Lewiston's time to 1:51, but they still had an easy win. Coach Stuffle wanted Ash to try a different strategy in the 400. She went out blazing fast and ran the first 200 meters in 26.6 seconds, then held on to finish in 59.2 to match the state's fastest time so far this year. The effort left her a bit tired for the 200, where she ran a 26.2, not quite enough to beat Ellen Rouse of Orofino. Ellen ran a great race and finished in 26.1, her best time this season. In true AshLee form, she congratulated Ellen and they visited for quite a while after the race.

Unfortunately, Ash's hamstring tightened up again after the 200, so it's ice and rest today. I had to torture her with ice baths last night. I think she took it a lot better than I did. She is one tough kid.

Next up is the Outback Invitational next Saturday in Boise. It's an optional meet, so she may only do 1 or 2 events, depending on how her leg heals up this week. Again in true AshLee form, she can't wait to hit the Boise mall to go shopping at Hollister!

Run! Run! Run! Go Faster!

That was my favorite of the many cheers heard on Tuesday from 2 of AshLee's fans, little sisters Payton and Riley. With the support of her cheering squad, Ash took home 4 first place finishes, including one in the 800, pictured here.




Ash and teammate Vicky Hokenson pushed each other to personal bests in the 800, with Ash winning in 2:25.8.

AshLee won a tight race against Orofino's Ellen Rouse in the 100, winning in 12.7. The 200 wasn't quite as close, Ash ran a 26.2 to win there. And once again, her teammates gave her a big lead in the 4x400 relay, allowing her to cruise to victory to finish the day.

I've been informed by my special correspondents that I left out the most important part of the story about the meet on March 30: it ran long and it got dark before the meet ended. And there are no lights at Vollmer Bowl. So apparently the only part of the 4x400 relay that anyone could really see was when the athletes flashed by right in front of the bleachers in the home stretch. Sorta like that scene in Seabiscuit where they trained him in the dark. LOL!

AshLee was named Prep Athlete of the Week by the Lewiston tv station this week. She did an interview with them yesterday and was featured on last night's 6 o'clock news. I'm working on getting a tape. You can see the plaque they awarded her here.

The next meet is Saturday in Moscow at 10 a.m.

Well, I was planning to post a picture of AshLee at the North Idaho Sports Banquet, but Dave and I ended up at the emergency room instead. All is well, Dave had some inner ear issues caused by the leftovers from the nasty virus he caught in Vancouver, B.C....so, severe vertigo and a quick exit from the banquet.

Anyway, Ash didn't win, but her Priest River coach, Jared Hughes did so there was a bit of excitement for the gals from PR.

In other news, Idaho Statesman (the Boise paper) sportswriter Jesse Zentz has started a weekly Top 5 listing the best track and field results in the state regardless of classification. Ash is currently in the top 2 in the 100, 200 and 400. Here's the link: Track and Field Honor Roll

Lewiston results

Coach mixed things up a bit at last Thursday's meet and Ash ended up running the 100 and the 800 for the first time this year. She made a statement in the 100, taking the win in 12.58 seconds, a faster time than her 3rd place finish at state last spring. She finished second in the 800 with a very respectable time of 2:28, but I don't think she liked it much. One spectator said Coach Stuffle admitted to "getting chewed out" over it. LOL!

The relays continue to do well with the early legs giving AshLee a big lead. The 4x200 ran a 1:50 and the 4x400 ran a 4:16, both excellent early season times.

Spring break is this week so no meets until April 11 at Lewiston.

AshLee has been nominated for female track athlete of the year for North Idaho for her junior year performance (I think this is a Spokesman Review thing?). Teammate and fellow state champion Bonnie Millard was also nominated and coach Jared Hughes was nominated for coach of the year. The Priest River girls track and field team was nominated for team of the year and they sure deserve it. They won the regular season and the district meet with just 12 girls and then won the state meet by 20 points with just 7 girls. Amazing.