2007 Washington combine a success

BELLEVUE, Wash. - The turnout was solid and the competition was there, as roughly 30 participants went through their paces during the inaugural 2007 SPARQ Washington combine, held Saturday afternoon at Newport High School.

Top 2010 prospect Jake Heaps from Skyline and Cub Jansen from Kamiak were the top quarterbacks in attendance, while 2009 prospect Alex Ferguson from Kentridge and Tight End Austin Olson from Franklin Pierce distinguished themselves as the camp's top receivers. Kentridge's Aaron Beck just furthered his reputation as one of the area's premier shut-down corners, and Skyline's Brandon Barron stood out as the top lineman on the day.

But the MVP award went to a player that distinguished himself on both sides of the ball - primarily on defense - and that was Skyline's Cameron Lusuegro. Lusuegro (pronounced Loo-SWAY-grow) locked down receivers all day long, and showed a real knack for precise route-running and sure hands when asked to catch the ball. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Lusuegro isn't receiving any attention from colleges right now, but we expect that to change this fall, as he should break out as one of the Spartans' defensive stalwarts.

The event was the brainchild of a recent Seattle-area transplant - SPARQ Master Trainer Travelle Gaines. Gaines, as one of the top speed trainers in the entire country, was looking for a venue to attract some of the region's top football talent for a day of competition and education about speed and quickness, and he was able to combine both with Saturday's combine.

Not only were the prospects able to test out and see where they stand as they head into their seasons (Beck had the best 40 time @ 4.86 on a slow Newport HS field turf surface), but they also received hands-on SPARQ training from one of the best in Gaines. The prospects started with a dynamic workout, then went into the testing (40, 20-yard shuttle, medicine ball toss, standing broad jump and bench press of reps at 185 pounds), and then worked for roughly an hour on ladders, hurdles, parachutes, resistance bands and other equipment to give them an idea of what they can work on to drop that all-important tenth or two off their speed numbers.

To cap off the day, the skill players went one-on-one, while the linemen did some fun events, like tire push and tug of war. All told, the combine was a success and promises to become a fixture event in the years to come when people in the northwest think of top high school football combine events.