3 from Track & Field compete at State

The trio came home with top-15 finishes

Three Vashon High School girls, Indigo Assink, Jacquelyn Bostock and Payton Venturi, traveled last week to Cheney to compete in the Washington State Track and Field Championship.

The meet, hosted by Eastern Washington University, is a huge event that includes 161 schools across three divisions: tiny 1B schools, slightly bigger 2B schools and Vashon-sized 1A schools. The stadium was packed with kids, all of them focused on their moment of glory.

The high jump, Assink’s event, was held on Thursday, the first day of competition. Assink, a freshman, only began high jumping this March and now faced mostly older, more experienced girls. The opening height was 4 inches higher than she is used to, but she cleared it easily. She went on to match her personal record, then exceeded it by 2 inches, at 4 feet 10 inches. She very nearly jumped 5 feet, barely brushing the bar on her way down, for a 12th place finish.

Jacquelyn Bostock competed later that day in the 100-meter dash. A total of 18 girls from around the state competed in the 100, which meant athletes would have to get through two qualifying races to reach the final. Bostock, a junior, ran very well, not far off her record of 12.71, but narrowly missed advancing to the next round, placing 15th.

Payton Venturi’s event, the triple jump, began on Saturday after a day’s hiatus. Venturi, a sophomore, also jumped very near her personal best, at 31 feet 10 inches. It was not without some controversy, however. The judges attributed two foul jumps to Vashon’s Payton when they unintentionally confused her with Lakeside’s Peyton, who jumped off a different board. They realized their error and awarded Vashon’s Payton two extra jumps. Venturi, incidentally, won the Payton/Peyton war, finishing in 14th place against Peyton’s 19th place.

— Written by Todd Pearson, an assistant VHS track coach.