The month of May brings two successive qualifying meets for Vashon High School’s track team. The first, the Nisqually League championship meet, was held here on Vashon two weeks ago. The top five finishers in each event moved along to the District championship, conducted last weekend at Bremerton High School. The top two performers in each event advance to the State tournament, which will be held in Cheney this Friday and Saturday.
The Vashon team arrived in Bremerton 25 strong, with 12 boys and 13 girls ready for competition. The girls’ team had a great meet. Three of them will travel to Cheney later this week to compete in the State championship meet. Jacquelyn Bostock got things rolling with a new personal record and second-place finish in the 100 meters, with a time of 12.71. She will be joined at State by Indigo Assink, who had a personal record at 4 feet 8 inches in the high jump, finishing in second place. The third member of the State team is Payton Venturi, who triple jumped 31 feet 10.5 inches, good for second place. It is quite an achievement to earn a trip to the State meet, and each of these girls is excited to test herself against the best in the state.
Several girls “made the podium” and earned a ribbon, by placing among the top six competitors. The 4 x 100 relay team narrowly missed a trip to State, finishing one 100th of a second behind second place Bellevue Christian. Lucy Boyle ran well in the 3,200 meters, placing fourth. Javelin throwers Jordan Bezoenik and Isabella Mediavilla placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Phoebe Wilke had a fifth-place finish in the always tough 400 meters. Sixth place finishers included Grace Christie in the long jump, Eleanor Yarkin in the 1,600 meters and Analeah Olson in the triple jump.
The boys’ team performed well, with a number of them making it to the podium. The boys 4 x 100 meter relay team (Kalen Cunningham, Sol Dehnert, Jess Leysath and Alex Lee) missed making a return trip to State, with a third-place finish. Dehnert, who claimed a spot on the podium with a fourth place in the long jump, also competed in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Beckett Reid set a personal in the discus, with a fourth-place throw. Javelin thrower, Logan Higuera, earned a ribbon by placing fourth in the javelin, as Finian Long did with fourth place in the high jump. Alex Macomber-Straight set two personal records in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, finishing fifth and sixth.
— Todd Pearson is an assistant track coach.
