William Beardsley has run mainly against the clock this school year, be it on the cross country course or on Tokyo-area tracks.

But the St. Mary’s senior had company in the 1,600-meter run during Saturday’s Kanto Plain Association of Secondary Schools championship meet at Yokota.

With American School In Japan senior Kai Liljequist on his shoulder most of the way, Beardsley ran the 1,600 in a Pacific-record time of 4 minutes, 15.12 seconds.

That beat the old Pacific record of 4:17.38, which Beardsley set last April 25 in the DODEA-Pacific Far East meet, also at Yokota.

“It was a great race,” meet marshal Dan Galvin said. Liljequist, who also beat the old Pacific mark with a time of 4:16.85, “was right with him until the end.”

Under pastel-blue skies with temperatures in the low 70s and light, variable winds, Nile C. Kinnick ran the table in the team standings, the boys and girls teams each outpointing ASIJ by comfortable margins.

Jaelin White won both the 200 and 400, Kennedy Hamilton swept the 110 and 300 hurdles and Kahlil Busscher won the shot put and discus for the Red Devils boys. On the girls side, Ja’lilah Brice took both hurdles races and Danielle Kouamo won the shot and discus.

Beardsley’s fellow Far East cross country champion, Jane Williams of Matthew C. Perry, swept the 1,600 and 3,200 races. The Samurai, Robert D. Edgren and E.J. King were invited guests at the meet.

At Humphreys, the other three Pacific Division I track powers, Kadena and Kubasaki of Okinawa and host Humphreys, competed in one of several inter-district events involving multiple sports over the weekend.

Okinawa athletes swept most of the boys events: Carlos Cadet of Kubasaki took both hurdles races, Kadena won the 400, 3,200 and sprint-medley relays, D’Kylan Woods of Kadena took the 100 and Caleb Stephan of Kubasaki the 400. Javon Foreman of Humphreys won the 200 and Humphreys’ boys captured the 1,600 relay.

Korea athletes prevailed in most of the girls events. Daegu speedster Trinity Brown won the 100 and 200, Korea International’s Irene Choi the 800 and 1,600, Anayah Reyes of Humphreys swept the hurdles and Humphreys girls won the 1,600 and 3,200 relays. Kadena took the 400 and sprint-medley relay races.

Kadena baseball sweeps on trip to mainland

At Kizuna baseball stadium near Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Kadena swept its three weekend games against Marist Brothers, E.J. King and host Matthew C. Perry – where current Panthers coach Frank Macias used to coach.

“We are starting to play like Kadena,” Macias said after his Panthers beat Perry 1-0, Marist 11-0 and King 12-1.

It was a good tune-up, Macias said, for the Far East Division I tournament April 29-May 2 at Kinnick.

“Time to make a push as Far East closes in,” he said. “Our kids love playing baseball, but we have been working on a mindset. Playing to win. We are a work in progress.”

Panthers avenge Far East boys soccer defeat

The memory of last April’s 3-2 loss to Kinnick in the Far East D-I boys soccer final hasn’t been far from the mind of Kadena coach Abe Summers, who said the Panthers had been looking forward to a rematch Friday against the Red Devils.

The Panthers prevailed 2-0 at Perry’s Samurai Field, one of 12 matches that took place there over the weekend. Tyler Smith scored his 17th goal and Allen Madlener his second, each assisted by freshman Jelani McGhee.

It was a Kadena team that was without three of his offensive starters, which gave the Panthers a chance to see other players rise to the occasion, Summers said.

“When people aren’t there, they have to step up and make it happen,” Summers said. “This (weekend) taught them that, so when Far East comes along, we’ll remember that and the next person can step up.”

Kinnick – which in a surprise lost 1-0 to host Perry on Saturday morning – also gained some takeaways from the weekend, Red Devils coach Tim Rippeth said.

“We have a baseline for one of the teams we’ll be facing at Far East,” Rippeth said of Kadena. The match helped show the Red Devils some of the Panthers’ tactics and their match speed, he said. “We know they’re a good team, so we know what we have to do.”

Kadena softball prevails in Korea softball jamboree

At Osan Air Base, Kadena’s softball team prevailed in its first game against DODEA opposition other than Kubasaki. And freshman outfielder Ava Sims enjoyed a homecoming of sorts.

Sims, who attended Daegu Middle High School up until last year, returned to Korea with the Panthers and went 3-for-4 with six RBIs in Kadena’s 19-1 romp over Osan. Nao Grove pitched two-hit ball over three innings for the win.

At Misawa Air Base, Erica Haas pitched Yokota to two victories as the defending Far East Division II champion Panthers swept a three-game weekend series over Robert D. Edgren.

And at Iwakuni’s Kizuna softball complex, Julia Hunt, Alyssa Chaney and E.J. King swept its four games over last year’s D-II runner-up Perry.

Kubasaki beats host ASIJ in penalties

Reigning Far East D-I girls soccer champion Kubasaki has been playing tight matches this season, and Saturday’s final in the ASIJ Spring Soccer Festival was no exception.

Solares Solano scored two first-half goals and the Dragons outshot the host Mustangs 4-3 in penalty kicks to capture the title. Kubasaki had tied the Mustangs 1-1 in an earlier group-stage match on Friday.

“Playing in a tournament environment was fantastic,” Dragons coach Chris Eastman said, noting that until the PK shootout, the two teams had played on even terms for 130 minutes. “ASIJ is extremely talented.”

Though they didn’t play in the final, Kadena’s girls team came away with takeaways of its own heading into the Far East tournament April 29-May 1 on Guam, coach Joey Wood said. The Panthers also tied ASIJ 1-1 in Friday’s group stage.

“Experience. Dealing with adversity. Confidence that we can compete,” Wood said. “ASIJ and Kubasaki are strong teams. We know it’s not going to be easy, but we’re improving every day. We just have to focus on that and the rest will take care of itself.”

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• Pacific Scoreboard: April 13, 2024