She thought her career was done. But Melanie Roach had a few good lifts left.
More than a few, in fact.
By the time the 2008 calendar switched from spring to summer, the former Auburn High gymnastics standout, who turned to weightlifting when her career in the world of somersaults and flyaways came to an end, already had lifted herself right into the Beijing Olympics.
Ariana Kukors was hoping to join her there, albeit in the swimming pool rather than the in the gym. But the Auburn Mountainview High graduate came up short by about a fingertip — maybe less than that — and now will set her sights on London in 2012.
So while golden dreams didn’t come true in China for Auburn-area athletes, they did come true on stages much closer to home throughout 2008.
They came true for the Auburn Riverside girls basketball team in Hec Edmundson Pavilion. For Ravens senior wrestler Michael Mangrum in the Tacoma Dome. For sophomore distance runner Micheal Paulston on the track in Pasco. And for jockey Jennifer Whitaker on the oval at Emerald Downs.
But while the year is now in the past, the athletes, their performances, and the impressions they made are still very much in the present. Here are eight from ’08 that stand out on a memory-laden highlight reel:
1. Reaching for the Olympic rings
Melanie Roach will never have to wonder “what if?” Three years ago, she decided to give her Olympic weightlifting dream one more shot, and made the most of it. After earning a spot on the team during the trials in Atlanta, Roach placed sixth in the 53-kilogram (117-pound) weight class in Beijing. Her combined lifts totaling 193 kilograms (425 pounds) broke her own 10-year-old American record of 192.5 kilos (424.4 pounds).
Ariana Kukors delivered some of the best swims of her career at the Olympic swim trials in Omaha in July. She went into the finals of the 200-meter individual medley — her best chance at Beijing — seeded second, with the top two assured a spot on the team. But by the end of the race, even with a personal-best time of 2 minutes, 10.40 seconds, Kukors was third — by a scant eight hundredths of a second.
2. Ravens rise again
They took their game to Arizona for one top-caliber tournament, and to Oregon for another. But the only tournament that really mattered was state, and that’s where the Auburn Riverside girls basketball team came through for the second straight year. And while the Ravens pulled way from Chief Sealth to win the 2007 Class 3A title, they had to hang on at the end to claim the 2008 crown in Hec Edmundson Pavilion, finally fending off a young-but-talented Kennedy team, 48-40.
That marked the final game in a Riverside uniform for Katie Grad, who headed off to Washington State University, where she is now redshirting after suffering a foot injury during the preseason. It also turned out to be the final game for Adam Barrett as AR’s head coach. He is now in charge of a club team in Utah.
3. Ladies first in the Mile
Jennifer Whitaker has won plenty of races as one of the top jockeys at Emerald Downs. But neither she nor any of the women riders before her had ever captured the Longacres Mile, the crown jewel of Northwest racing. That all changed on Aug. 17, when Whitaker rode Wasserman to a come-from-behind victory. It also was the first Mile triumph for longtime trainer Howard Belvoir.
And Wasserman? The local favorite who liked to leave his betting supporters biting their nails while he was busy coming from off the lead almost every race, went on to win four stakes, and ultimately was named Horse of the Meeting, Top Older Horse, Top Sprinter, and Top Washington-Bred.
4. Flipping the title switch
Mat Classic won’t seem quite the same without Michael Mangrum. Not only did the Auburn Riverside wrestler put on a show while he was wrestling in the Tacoma Dome, he put on a show after he was done, punctuating each state championship victory with a back flip.
Mangrum’s final high school victory (and flip) came last February when he claimed his third straight state title, this one at 145 pounds in the 3A meet with a 23-7 technical fall against Nick Gautreaux of West Valley-Yakima. Mangrum, who finished his prep career with a 130-2 overall record, now is wrestling — and, presumably, flipping — at Oregon State University.
5. Trojan sophomore goes the distance
Micheal Paulston isn’t your typical track champion. While most distance runners, such as Paulston, spend the fall on the cross country trails, she spends hers on the soccer field. Of course, there’s plenty of running in that sport, too, and Paulston put that background to work last spring, winning the 3,200-mile in the Class 3A Star Track state meet in Pasco. Paulston’s winning time of 5:04.17 was nearly two seconds faster than runner-up Courtney Zalud of Mount Spokane.
6. Family reunion
Jerome Bland left home in Chicago because of his neighborhood. He wound up at Auburn Mountainview and became an outstanding basketball player. But being so far from home, his mother had never seen him play. That changed last January, when mom Jamilla Graham and her sister Ruthie were brought to the Northwest for Mountainview’s Senior Night. Bland showed Mom what he could do with 18 points and three assists, although the Lions fell short of Bonney Lake, 61-57.
7. Go-go Gouveia
He’d run right, he’d run left, he’d run through opponents, he’d run over them — and sometimes, he’d carry two or three right along with him. By the end of the fall, Auburn senior Jeff Gouveia had run for 1,240 yards and scored 31 touchdowns. And with a talented supporting cast, the Trojans went as far as the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
8. Back in the dance
For years, Auburn was synonymous with the state girls basketball tournament, playing in seven finals and winning two titles. Last winter, the Trojans, with Ed Bender at the coaching helm, returned to state for the first time in 11 years. They split their first two games and came close to a spot in the trophy round before bowing out against Lakeside, 51-42. Auburn finished with a 19-9 record.
