Sports The Olympian | Monday, September 7, 2009 | SECTION B

FROM RETIREMENT KAHNE WINS AT ATLANTA,

TO QUARTERFINALS BOOSTS CHASE CHANCES

After two years in retirement, Kim Enumclaw’s Kasey Kahne won for the second time
C H AT A B O U T Clijsters, right, returns with a bang, this year on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup circuit, giving
T H E S E A H AW K S upsetting third-seeded Venus Williams, himself a huge boost toward the Chase for the
6-0, 0-6, 6-4, to become the first female Championship, the season ending playoffs.
News Tribune Seahawks reporter wild-card entry to reach the U.S. Open Kahne beat Kevin Harvick by 1.766 seconds at
Eric D. Williams will have an online quarterfinals. Eighteen months after Atlanta Motor Speedway to win the Pep Boys
chat about the team. Log in at 9 a.m. giving birth, she hopes to join Margaret Auto 500. The 12-driver field for the Chase will be
today to ask Eric a question about Court and Evonne Goolagong as the only set after next weekend’s race in Richmond, Va.
the Seahawks. Williams mothers to win Grand Slam tennis singles. Kahne also won on the road at Sonoma, Calif.

[Link] STORY, B2 STORY, B2

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? A SUMMER SERIES CATCHING UP WITH AREA ATHLETES

LEGEN D • • • • •
fathom how she won a state 1A team title
Thirty-two years later, it is still BY MEG WOCHNICK
The Olympian for Yelm all by herself.

hard to believe that Yelm’s What Patsy Walker did in her four years
at Yelm High School sounds unbelievable,
“She was a great athlete in an era when
women were pushed aside and not taken
Patsy Walker won a 1A track something exaggerated by time. But it’s all
true.
seriously in athletics,” said Mike Strong,
who currently is Yelm’s cross country and
state team title – all by herself From 1973-77 – the infancy of high track and field coach. “There were few
school sports for girls thanks to the coming others who were gifted in this state at that
of Title IX in 1972 – she won seven time.”
Clockwise from top right, Patsy Walker leaps out in front of
the competition at Chehalis High School at a Nisqually League individual track and field titles, a national In college, she continued to succeed,
meet to win the 80-yard low hurdles; now lives in Nevada, pentathlon championship and set state and winning national tiles in the pentathlon
where she is retired from the Reno police force; defeats Jackie national records. and heptathlon and was an alternate on
Joyner (left) in the heptathlon 800-meter run at the 1984
Olympic Trials; competes in the high jump portion of the
Her legendary moment came in 1977 at the 1984 Olympic team.
pentathlon at UCLA; and runs the 440-yard dash as a Yelm the state track and field meet in Yakima.
freshman in 1974. Associated Press and Olympian file photos Thirty-two years later, it is still hard to Please see WALKER, page B5

Ichiro Suzuki belts a

double in the first inning
to record his 2,000th
Optimism abounds in wake of loss to LSU
major league hit. Ichiro
reached the milestone UW FOOTBALL: Their HUSKIES INSIDER
The News Tribune’s Todd Milles
However, they were willing to
say that if LSU is the nation’s No.
in 1,402 games, making
him the second-fastest
losing streak reaches 15, grades the Huskies’ season-opening 11 team, then the Huskies might be
player to register but Huskies sense that a performance against LSU:
[Link]/
close to a breakthrough.
“I think it somewhat validates
2,000 hits in big-league
history.
breakthrough is close uwsports the level of play that we can play at,”
Sarkisian said in his first postgame
BY DON RUIZ press conference. “We’re a team
BEN MARGOT/ The News Tribune Under those circumstances, UW that can play as physical as one of
The Associated Press The Washington Huskies lost coaches and players stressed that the most physical teams in the
their 15th straight football game there was no moral victory in their country, we can play as fast as one
Saturday, while Steve Sarkisian fell season-opening 31-23 loss to Loui-

2,000 man can’t save Mariners to 0-1 as a head coach. siana State. Please see HUSKIES, page B6

QUICK HITTERS
MILESTONE: Ichiro
collects his 2,000th
to get his 2,000th major league
hit when he doubled in the first
inning, but the Mariners were
Major league hitters to reach
2,000 hits in the fewest games:
PCL season down to one game for Tacoma
major league hit in ahead 2-1 in the seventh inning
before blowing a win they bad- Player Team(s) Games RAINIERS: Colorado Colorado Springs used a 5-2 vic- will attempt to win his fifth game in
5-2 loss to Oakland ly wanted. Al Simmons A’s, White Sox 1,390
Springs wins, 5-2;
tory over Tacoma to stay in Pacific a row. He is 6-0 in his past seven
Rookie Shawn Kelley loaded Ichiro Suzuki Mariners 1,402 Coast League playoff contention starts.
BY LARRY LARUE
The News Tribune
the bases in the seventh – two
singles and a walk – with no
George Sisler Browns
Ty Cobb Tigers
1,414
1,448
teams will play today for Sunday at Cheney Stadium.
The teams meet at 1:30 p.m. to-
“Gabby’s really been pitching
well. So we’re confident having him
OAKLAND – Ichiro Suzuki one out, then allowed a grand Lloyd Waner Pirates 1,453 Pacific North pennant day in the regular-season finale with on the mound,” Tacoma manager
made history on the second slam to Scott Hairston, the shot the winner capturing the Pacific Daren Brown said. “I think the
pitch of the game Sunday. Los- that led Oakland to a 5-2 vic- game, and we’ve given up eight BY GRANT CLARK North Division crown and advanc- team will respond tomorrow and
ing a winnable game took the tory and a split of this four- of those runs in the last two For The News Tribune ing to the PCL playoffs. swing the bats well.”
Seattle Mariners longer. game series. games,” manager Don Waka- It all comes down to one game Tacoma (73-70) will have the ball Should Tacoma win, it will quali-
Ichiro took the suspense out “You don’t often see this for the Tacoma Rainiers and the in good hands today in starter Gab-
of how long it would take him bullpen give up a lead late in the Please see MARINERS, page B4 Colorado Springs Sky Sox. by Hernandez (9-9, 5.39 ERA), who Please see RAINIERS, page B4