Spring Sports:
Monday, March 1, is the first day of practice for Columbia High School's spring sports teams.
Athletes must have a current physical exam and an insurance waiver on file with the CHS office before they can start practicing.
For spectators, spring sports schedules are now available. For information, contact Nina Clark at 493-1970.
Gymnastics:
Jessica Strain became the first gymnast to represent Columbia High School in the state gymnastics championships.
The CHS sophomore placed 50th overall in the two-day WIAA 3A/2A competition last weekend in the Tacoma Dome.
She competed on the balance beam and the uneven bars. Her best finish was a tie for 26th on the beam during Friday's preliminaries, with a score of 8.625.
Strain's regular-season teammates, Brianna Nielsen and Kaitlyn Richards of Stevenson, finished 15th and 41st, respectively, in the all-around.
Nielsen, a senior competing in her fourth state championships, took fifth in the floor exercise finals on Saturday with a 9.6 score after qualifying in ninth place (9.35) during Friday's prelims. (The top 10 in each of four events advanced to event finals.)
Also on Friday, Nielsen finished 16th in qualifying for the beam prelims, 19th on the bars and tied for 24th in the vault.
Richards shared 32nd place after the floor prelims and ended up in a three-way tie for 33rd in vault qualifying.
Track and Field:
Adam Neff of Western Washington University was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's co-Freshman of the Year.
The 2003 Columbia High School graduate shared the honor with Tris Obluck of St. Martin's College.
During last weekend's inaugural GNAC indoor championships in Nampa, Idaho, Neff placed second in the 400-meter run (49.99 seconds, .23 behind the winner), fourth in the 200 (22.78), eighth in the 60 (8.25 vs. 7.19 in winning his heat) and ran a leg for WWU's third-place 4x400 relay team.
Neff was one of two Western team members to score points in four events.
The Vikings' men's team finished with 126 points, a total second only to Western Oregon's 164.
On Feb. 14, at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, University of Oregon sophomore Teddy Davis tied for 17th in the men's high jump competition. His best jump of 6 feet, 5.5 inches was a half-inch shy of the Mountain Pacific qualifying mark.
Davis, a 2002 Columbia High graduate, opened his Duck career indoors in 2003 with a 7-0.25 clearance -- a 1.25-inch personal best -- and was 10th outdoors in his league debut.
More Track and Field:
University of Idaho junior MaryAnn Graves set a personal record in the 60-meter hurdles Feb. 20, finishing second in 9.16 seconds at the Vandal Indoor in Moscow, Idaho.
A 2001 CHS graduate, Graves placed fifth in the long jump (17 feet, 5.25 inches) and eight in the 60-meter dash (8.33 seconds) during the Feb. 21 McDonald's Open in UI's Kibbie Dome.
Jordan Graeme, an Eastern Washington University freshman from Klickitat, cleared 4-9 and finished 15th in the meet's women's high jump competition.
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