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Modesto Highland Games
Yeah Boy! Modesto. . . the arm pit of the Central Valley. Let me just start by saying
that these harsh words probably stem from the fact that the trip surrounding the games was less than ideal. The drive was
long, the air humid and the hotel. . . let's just say that for $50 bucks, you probably get what you pay for. And in my case
that was a musty, sweaty, crap whole in the ghetto we affectionately call the city of Cerres. There should be some kind of
city ordinance that states that if you're going to prance around town with your shirt wide open that your tummy should be
void of any liver spots or C-section scars and the outer most limit of said tummy should not exceed 6 inches over your belt
buckle (if you're even wearing a belt). YUCK!!
Well, enough said on that subject. The good news is that once Saturday morning arrived (and believe me it couldn't have
arrived soon enough), everything seemed to turn around. The air was crisp (not exactley clean but hey, beggars can't be choosers)
and the temperature was pleasantly mild. The event's started a little later than expected but that seemed fine with everyone
in attendance especially the athletes. Our A.D. (Athletic Director) Kristen James, ran into a little computer problem but
with a little help from some of the more computer savvy athletes she was able to get everything fixed and get the events back
on schedule. Now I know what you're think'n and yeah, that's right. . . "computer savvy athletes". What? Just cause we throw
heavy stuff we can't know anything about computers?
Moving on.
Although the event's were somewhat limited due to field size constraints, the great planning and coordination
between our director and judges allowed the events to go off seemingly without a hitch. In the Men's C
class we were honored with a foriegn visitor/athlete who came all the way from Denmark to see what America was like and while
he's here, participate in the local fun and give the highland games a try. Our visitor, Casper Nielson, put on quite
a show for us all and walked away with a very respectable fifth place finish. It was quite apparent from the
on slought that Casper was no stranger to track and field events and even made a few of us think that he must have done this
sort of thing in college. Either way, his performance was impressive to say the least. On the down side, Casper
had a run in with the caber and unfortunately the caber won. Now keep in mind, we all have a run in with Mr. Caber sooner
or later and so there's no shame in taking a lump or two from a caber as long as you can walk away from it and learn when
to say when. Casper's run in was rougher than most but all in all, aside from a few teeth, he's no worse for wear.
In other news, SAAA Persident and Pro, Dave Brown, walked away with another 1st place finish and showed us all why
he's one of the best respected pro's in the SAAA. Among other achievements, Dave took 1st place in WOB with an awesome
display of power with a 17' high toss! For those of you not familiar with this event, he basically took a 56#
weight and threw it up and over a 17' high bar. That's like taking a 5 year old kid and throwing it up into
a two story window (not that Dave has done that, but you get the idea). In addition to this great achievement, Dave
tossed a perfect 12 o'clock caber to take first in what may be one of the most difficult events in the highland games.
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Return of the Sasquatch
(AKA: Joe Lochridge)
Well apparently the beast is back and he's here to stay. For those of you not familiar with the beast of whom I
speak, I ask that you take a moment and allow me to explain.
Imagine if you will, a camping trip in the beautiful back country of the sierra nevada mountain range. The morning
sun shines brightly on your back and the breeze is slightly blowing from behind you. Out of nowhere you catch the wisp
of a strange odor, then sudenly you are over-shadowed by a huge man-shaped figure. You stop and stare as you realize
that the shadow now sprawling before you is atleast twice that of your own. With great hesitance you turn to look behind
you and to your horror you see. . . the dreaded Big Foot!
Now imagine that same scenario in Modesto and the strange smell is Old Spice. This time when you turn around you
still see Big Foot only slightly less hairy and instead of great horror you feel pretty darn good because you know that unlike
last week, you won't be competing against him because he's moved up a class! NOW you have and idea of who this beast
is that we call "Joe".
Now don't get me wrong, Joe is without a doubt the nicest guy I've ever met. His awesome athleticism is only over
shadowed by the size of his heart. But regardless of this fact, one can't help but be a little intimidated when competing
on the same field as him. This was evident by the looks on the other competitors faces when he walked over to meet the
rest of us. As the day went on Joe would prove to all of us (some of us for the second time) that any reservations we
had about competing with him was well warranted.
While the other B class competitors did outstanding in thier own right, Joe (without a doubt) had the most impressive showing
of all and walked away with a well deserved first place finish. A 53' open stone toss, 81' heavy hammer and 65' 7.5"
light WFD throw helped him achieve a decisive victory over the compitition. GREAT JOB JOE!
Now go back to the forest you climbed out of and give the rest of us a chance! Just kidding. . . Hey
you are from up by Tahoe, right? Hmmm. Maybe I'm that far off after all.
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