Kentwood girls lead the Kent and Tahoma track and field teams after taking third at the 4A WIAA State Championship meet last week at Mt. Tahoma High in Tacoma.
The Conks girls, who were last year’s state champs, scored 45 points, the highest of any Kent and Tahoma team, losing only to Auburn Riverisde and Curtis, who scored 55 and 62 points respectively.
Coach Steve Roche stated in a telephone interview that although they had hoped to win state again, he was pleased with how they performed.
“If you look at how they did across the board, you can’t help but be happy for them,” Roche said. “That’s pretty exciting. Any team in the state would love to have that.”
Roche added the level of competition was significantly increased from last year’s state meet. Conks girls senior Madelayne Varela, for example, placed second in the long jump at 19 feet, when last year the winner jumped only 17 feet, nine inches.
“This is just a banner year for track and field in the state,” he said. “If you were to compare the time to other years, it would blow you away.”
The Kent-Meridian girls placed 22nd with 12.5 points, tying with Monroe. Kentridge ranked 28th with eight points, while Tahoma placed 33rd with five points.
Although the boys teams struggled due to an unusually high level of competition, particularly in long distance running events, Kentridge was able to place the highest at 16th with 13 points, tying with Eisenhower.
Kent-Meridian, last year’s boys state champs, placed 23rd with 10 points, while Kentlake ranked 45th with 2.5 points. Tahoma placed 48th with one point, tying with Rogers-Spokane, A.C. Davis and Edmons-Woodway.
Senior Aaron Davis for Tahoma, placed eighth in the shotput, throwing it a distance of 51-06.
Bears girls junior Olivia Ranft placed sixth in the 400 meters, crossing the finish line at 58.84. Freshman Delaney Tiernan placed eighth in the 800 meters and the mile, running times of 2:17.25 and 5:10.21 respectively.
Conks girls Varela placed second in the long jump and fourth in the 100 meters, jumping 19-00.25 and running a time of 12.41, breaking her personal record in both events.
Senior Mykala Benjamin took seventh in the 200 meters with a time of 26.27. Her preliminary time in that event, 25.65, broke her previous personal record.
Junior Carly Horn placed seventh in the high jump with a vertical leap of 5-02. Junior Beth Parrish placed third in the pole vault after vaulting a height of 11 feet. Senior Alyx Toeaina took second in both the shotput and the discus after throwing them 43-03.5 inches and 130-09 respectively. Senior Kacie Seims placed third in the javelin with a throw of 136-09, breaking her previous personal record.
Falcons boys sophomore Matt Dispenza finished sixth in the high jump, making a vertical leap of 6-04, tying with Senior Tyrone Sanderlin from Olympia.
Chargers boys senior Kaid Tipton took second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.87. He also placed fifth in the 300 hurdles, crossing the finish line at 38.60, a new personal record. Senior Reggie Collins placed eighth in the 300 hurdles, finishing at 39.86.
Chargers girls sophomore Lexi Klinkenberg took seventh in the 100 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles, running times of 15.84 and 45.21 respectively. Her 300 hurdles time is a new personal record.
Royals boys junior Abu Kamara took fourth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.87. Junior Josh Smith placed fourth in the pole vault, vaulting a height of 14-00.
The Royals girls 400 meter relay team, comprised of junior Deedra Patterson, sophomore Kariona Micks, junior Stephanie O’Hara and sophomore Jenica Rogers, took fifth with a time of 49.66. Juliana Adams took fifth in the pole vault after vaulting 10-06.
