TACOMA — The WIAA State Track and Field Meet resulted in big wins for the Marysville area, as local athletes took home nine medals from the three-day event on May 24-27 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Marysville-Pilchuck junior Amanda Klep came away with three medals herself. Klep took seventh place in the 3A girls 100-meter dash, with a final time of 12.72. She also took eighth place in the girls 200-meter race, with a final time of 26.58. The M-P girls 4×100-meter relay team of Bianca Acuario, Klep, Mackenzie Nolte and Charlee Pilon took sixth place with a final time of 49.44.
“I think this year was a little more exciting because, with the 4×100, we were going in with high expectations,” said Pilon, of her third state appearance. “There was a little more pressure but it made it more exciting too.”
Pilon noted that M-P’s 4×400 relay team couldn’t compete due to an athlete injury, but she hopes to make it to the state podium again in 2014 for both relays, as well as high jump and long jump.
“All of us have grown up playing sports together,” she said. “I’ve played soccer with Mackenzie since I was little and played basketball with Amanda as well, so I think that wanting to help each other pushes us each a little more.”
All four of the relay athletes are underclassmen, which means they all get a shot at a state medal next year as well.
Lacey McLean took home a medal in the 3A girls 300-meter hurdles, with a final time of 46.44. She also placed ninth in the pole vault, clearing a height of 10-06.00.
Senior Angelica Cleveland took ninth place in the discus finals with a throw of 103-00. She also placed 13th in the shot put finals with a throw of 31-8.25.
M-P sophomore Corbin Ferry took eighth place in the boys discus with a throw of 138-03. Sophomore Austin Joyner suffered a hamstring injury during the 100-meter dash prelims and did not advance to finals in that event or the 4×100-meter relay with Dante Fields, Chris Jones and Deion Stell, who finished 10th in prelims with a time of 43.93. Stell took 12th in the 200-meter prelims with a time of 22.90.
The second year of Marysville Getchell’s varsity track and field program proved to be an improvement on its inaugural year, with 11 athletes qualifying for state and bringing home one medal for the Chargers.
“The meet went really well. We had our high jumper, Kaitlyn McCormick, who placed seventh and medaled,” said head coach Kim Edens. “Our boy high jumper, Alexzander Seymer, placed ninth, so he just missed winning a medal.”
Sophomore Kaitlyn McCormick finished her final high jump with a height of 5-00. Seymer, a senior, finished with a leap of 6-00.
Senior Alfredo Diaz-Rodriguez placed ninth in the discus finals with a throw of 135-05 and 15th in the shot put finals with a throw of 45-11.75.
Other Charger state qualifiers include sophomore Eugene Marcus, who took 14th place in the 3A boys 400-meter prelims with a time of 51.84. The boys 4×400-meter relay team of Jesse Pavilando Jr., Marcus, Codey Voss and Garrett Westover finished in 15th place in the prelims with a time of 3:35.49.
The girls 4×200-meter relay team of Kyrin Jarvis, Makenzie Terrell, Kelsee Crenshaw and Sasha Bean took 12th place in the prelims with a 1:49.35.
“For us, it was exciting to have qualified so many people compared to last year,” said Edens. “Everyone performed so well. It was a huge improvement from last year and a great experience that leaves these kids hungry for more. It shows the younger athletes what we can achieve and sets the standard that state is where we want to be every year.”
