Not all the top Highland Games athletes and officials were in Scotland this weekend.


Enumclaw Seattle Highland Games by Francis Brebner

A strong field of athletes competed at the 2008 Enumclaw Seattle Highland Games, under the watchful eye of head judge Steve Conway.

All distance events were thrown from an AstroTurf platform, and the weight for height and caber events were hindered by rain from the previous night, but that did not stop the record-breaking action that followed.

In the opening event, the 28-lb. Braemar stone, Daniel McKim won with a throw of 39' 7", which also established a new field record; in second was Canadian Matthew Doherty at 37' 8.75" and in third, Kerry Overfelt at 37' 7.5".

Going into the 17-lb. open stone, Doherty went ahead of McKim with a throw of 53' 9.5" for the win, which should also be a new Canadian national record. McKim was second with 52' 2.25" and Mike Pockoski third with 49' 5.5".

In the 28-lb. weight for distance, it was a very close competition between Ryan Vierra and Overfelt, with Vierra taking the win with a distance of 80' 3" and Overfelt in second with 80' 1.5"; Eric Frasure was third with 79' 10".

In the 56-lb. weight for distance, Frasure showed great form with a 49' 0" throw for a new field record; Harrison Bailey was second with 42' 7.25" and Overfelt third with 42' 2.5".

In the 20-lb. sheaf toss, Frasure won with a height of 26'; Vierra was second with 23' and Overfelt third with 20'.

In the 16-lb. hammer, Overfelt took the win with 122' 8"; Canada's Doherty came in second with 121' 3" and Mike Pockoski was third with 121' 1.5".

But in the 22-lb. hammer, Overfelt won with 102' 6", which also set a new field record; McKim was just behind with 100' 10.75" and Vierra in third with 99' 4.5".

The 56-lb. weight-over-the-bar was hard-fought, with the outcome going to Overfelt for the win with a height of 16' 9"; Doherty and McKim tied for second place at 16'.

In the open caber, which was 130 lb. and 18 ft., Overfelt snatched yet another win with a toss of 11:55; McKim took second with a toss of 11:45 and Vierra was third with 12:30.

Overall aggregate points for the top three were: Kerry Overfelt, 27.5 points; Daniel McKim 33.5; and Ryan Vierra 38.5.