Seven Pirates set sights on Track Field championships in Yakima

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Vashon’s track and field season is headed east with momentum. After a strong showing at the 1A District 3 championships, the Pirates will send seven athletes — four boys and three girls — to the WIAA 1B/2B/1A State Track and Field Championships in Yakima May 28-30.

Behind a boys runner-up finish and fifth-place showing by the girls, the Pirates earned spots in distance races, hurdles, and field events.

“We’ve built our program so that our athletes peak this time of year,” said Vashon track and field coach Brandi Greenidge. “Now they have to just lay it all out there and see what happens.”

Junior Josh Healey enters state after sweeping the distance races at districts, winning both the 1,600 meters in 4:21.01 and the 3,200 in 9:41.88. Healey already owns the school record in the 1,600 and sits second all-time in the 3,200.

Senior Emily Harrington also doubled up, winning district titles in both the 800 and 1,600 meters. Her times of 2:21.26 in the 800 and 5:20.25 in the 1,600 rank among the fastest performances in school history, trailing only her own school records.

As she has all year, senior Lena Puz will arrive in Yakima as one of Vashon’s most versatile threats.

The Cornell-bound standout qualified in four events — the 100-meter hurdles, 300-meter hurdles, shot put and discus — continuing a senior season that has rewritten portions of the school record book. Puz finished second in both hurdle races and captured district championships in shot put and discus.

Her discus throw of 119 feet set a new school record and beat the previous mark by 10 inches. The district-winning performance came a little more than a year after she first picked up the event.

Puz, who is also a two-time state wrestling champion for the Pirates, won’t be alone in the throwing events. Senior Mahala Regis qualified with a third-place finish in shot put, while Tehya Fiala-Garel earned state berths in both shot put and discus for the boys after placing second and third.

Junior Ben Williams is headed to state for javelin after a runner-up finish at districts. Williams’ season carries extra meaning after assistant coach Foss Miller, who coached him in the event over the past few seasons, passed away in April. Greenidge said Williams has since helped teach younger throwers using lessons Miller passed on to him.

Sophomore Callum Babb rounded out Vashon’s qualifiers with a second-place finish in pole vault.

Now the focus shifts to Yakima.

“We just have to go out there and race our race,” Greenidge said. “The goal is for them to run their best and throw their best and that’s all I can ask for.”

Pirates boys soccer advances to state semifinals

The Vashon boys soccer team is headed to the 1A state semifinals for the second time in the last three years.

The No. 2-seeded Pirates (15-1-3) hosted two rounds of the tournament, beating Tonasket 7-0 in the second round on May 22 before shutting out Royal 4-0 in the quarterfinals a day later.

Vashon, the highest remaining seed in the tournament, now faces No. 6 Cedar Park Christian (10-2-2) on Fri., May 29 at 5 p.m. in the first of two semifinal matches at Federal Way Memorial Stadium. The opposite semifinal features a pair of surprise teams. No. 16 Wahluke stunned top-seeded Cascade in the second round, while No. 12 Meridian knocked off multiple top five teams to reach the final four.

The winners advance to the state championship match on Sat., May 30 at 5 p.m. in Federal Way.

The Pirates are now two wins away from their first state title since 2019.

Eddie Macsalka is a contributing journalist to The Beachcomber.