POULSBO — The Panthers and the Cavaliers opened the 2006 junior high track and field season in great form April 26 as the North End rivalry all but diminished and support embraced the nearly 200 athletes at Vikings Stadium.

The goal of the first meet of the season is for athletes to get their first marks and create a foundation on which to build, coaches agree. At Wednesday’s meet, those marks were met, now it is time for the athletes to compete against themselves.

“Track is an individual sport because you are racing for yourself, but there is also a team aspect to it,” said Kingston Junior High sprinter Doug Vogel.

“It’s great to cheer on your teammates and to be cheered on,” said Poulsbo Junior High athlete Darcy Hughes “We all just love each other. It’s like a big family.”

“Kingston and Poulsbo — got love for both,” added PJH sprinter Alex Flores.

That team aspect also comes into play in the final combined scores.

Poulsbo ran away with the overall scores April 26 as the Lady Panthers ended 78.5 to 53.5 over Kingston and the boys ended 74-58 in blue favor. But in the heat of the meet, scores didn’t seem to matter to PJH girls head coach Lee Hodin.

“I don’t even pay attention to those, I’m just having fun,” Hodin said as he ran off to encourage the Panthers’ relay teams.

Hodin’s boost combined with the Lady Panthers’ performance paid off as the PJH girls teams blazed to the front of the 4x100M and 4x200M relays. But KJH eighth-grader Ruby Roberts led the Lady Cavaliers to the victory in the 4x400M as Kingston finished in 4:53.75.

The blue 4x100M relay clocked in at just over 54 seconds and the 4x200M finished in just over 2:00 to rally support for Poulsbo late in the meet.

That support led the Poulsbo boys to pick up the 4x200M and 4x400M relays easily. But the 4x100M was a different story as the Kingston boys took one of the most competitive races of the day.

“It was crazy. The whole crowd was so loud, I just really wanted to win,” PJH last leg Flores said of the final stretch in the relay.

After the teams battled neck and neck throughout the first three legs of the track, it all came down to a dead sprint between Flores and Kingston’s Taylor Chisholm.

Fans in the stands and on the field erupted as the two athletes poured their hearts into the final leg. In a picture perfect finish, Chisholm picked up the win for Kingston by mere inches.

“You know those kids’ hearts are beating a million miles a minute,” said PJH coach Steve Harris, noting that despite the pressures of the first meet of the season, the Panthers’ relay handoffs were solid. “But the technique is there.”

That technically sound base is a foundation to build on, Harris added.

Poulsbo also has a solid base in the 800M race as Tyler Spear (2:24.46), Lars Blazina (2:25.7) and Max Tomlinson (2:25.8) put together the 1, 2, 3 Panther sweep.

PJH put tabbed another sweep in the 200M dash as Blake Mackie (26.08), Graham Peach (26.46) and Sam Weldin (27.10 finished as the top-three.

Kingston dominated the girls long jump pit as Roberts and Jamie Shultz each leaped to 13-2, tying for first place. PJH’s Hughes came in third with a jump of 13-0 and KJH’s Kayla Campbell landed in fourth at 12-8.

The Kingston boys ruled the jumps and throws as Vogel won the high jump with a leap of 5-03, Chisholm took the long jump by two feet with a leap of 17-4 and Alex Van Deen took first place in both the shot and discus with throws of 41-9.5 and 119-9.5, respectively.

Now, both teams return to their practice fields looking for improvement on the next meet’s score sheets.

Next up, the Cavaliers will host Oak Bay beginning at 3 p.m. May 4 while Poulsbo will be at John Sedgwick at 3 p.m. May 4.