Federal Way resident and standout sprinter Kelly Jacka has signed a letter of intent to run for the University of Idaho women’s track and field team, co-head coach Yogi Teevens announced Wednesday.
“I’m very excited about signing Kelly Jacka,” Teevens said. “The sprints are obviously a place where we’re not very deep as a team, so we set out this year to find someone who was really going to help us in that area and we felt like Kelly was a great fit for our program.”
Jacka will come to Idaho from Bellarmine Prep High School in Tacoma after attending Sacajawea Middle School. While at Bellarmine, Jacka was a 10-time, top-three finisher at the Class 4A State Track and Field Meet through her junior season. She led Bellarmine to the 2008 state title when she scored a meet-high 24.5 points. Bellarmine finished in third place in 2006 and ’07.
Jacka holds individual school records in the 100 meters, 200m and 400m, and also ran on the school-record 4x100m, 4x200m and 4x400m relays. She holds personal bests of 11.91 in the 100m, 24.36 in the 200m and 56.58 in the 400m, as well as indoor personal bests of 7.81 in the 60m and 24.95 in the 200m.
“She is by far one of the best sprinters in the Northwest and she’ll be able to come in here and score in the 100, 200, 400, 4×100 and 4×400 relays,” Teevens said. “We’ll just have to decide year-by-year where she can score the best for us.”
She is a three-time state placer in the 400m, with a second-place finish in 2006 as a freshman, followed by a fourth-place finish as a sophomore and a third-place finish as a junior. In the 200m, she finished third both as a freshman and sophomore, and finished second last season as a junior. She added a second-place finish in the 100m as a junior. In the relays, she helped Bellarmine Prep earn a 2008 state title in the 4x100m after leading the team to a second-place finish in the event in 2007. As a freshman, she helped the school’s 4x400m relay take a second-place state finish and as a sophomore, helped the team’s 4x200m relay take second.
“She’s a great kid and she comes from a great family,” Teevens said. “When she was looking for schools, she wasn’t just looking for the most prestigious place to go. She wanted to go to a place where she knew she would improve and I think she saw that, traditionally, we do a great job as a staff of helping kids improve and make them better. She recognized that and felt like we were a great fit for her because she knew she would improve here.”
Miller inks with Oregon State
Todd Beamer High School senior soccer player Megan Miller will play in the fall at Oregon State University. Miller inked with the Beavers Wednesday on national letter of intent day.
Miller was a big-time playmaker for the Titans during her high school career. The forward was second on Beamer in points with 13 goals and eight assists, behind junior Holland Crook, who has already committed to play at Arizona State.
Miller had two or more goals in five games, including a hat trick against Bethel and was a first-team, All-South Puget Sound League selection and a first-team, All-State selection following her senior season. The team was chosen by a panel of 12 sportswriters from across the state.
The Oregon State women’s soccer team finished the 2008 season with a 6-11-2 record and were 1-7-1 in Pac-10 Conference play. On the season, the Beavers played 15 one-goal matches and finished just 6-9-0 in those games.
Oregon State had an extremely young squad during the 2008 season, featuring only one senior on their entire roster, which includes former Puyallup High School midfielder Courtney Wetzel.
