After a two-week hiatus in their schedule, the Pirate track and field team returned to action last Thursday outfitted in their new gold uniforms at a meet hosted by Charles Wright Academy.

Senior Landon Summers started off the cool, damp afternoon meet by setting a personal best in the boys 110-meeter high hurdles event. Summers ran away from the rest of the field right from the gun for a time of 16.23.

“I want to build off this performance,” said Summers after his race. The senior also set a personal best in the 100-meter sprint in 11.83 and placed second.

It turns out Summers was just getting warmed up, because he came back and won the 300-meter hurdles in 44.39 and the 200-meter race in 24.40.

Junior Garret Starr helped the Pirates score team points for the boys by placing first in the triple jump with a distance of 38 feet, 1.25 inches. In the long jump he placed second with a leap of 19 feet, 3.25 inches.

Giacomo Paganoni, an exchange student from Italy, took first in the 400 meters with a time of 58.34, and Kanit Jungsalkulrujj from Thailand took third in the 3,200 meters in 12:17.

A good chunk of the team points for the girls came from freshman Annika Hille. Hille set a personal best and won the long jump event with a leap of 15 feet, 2.25 inches. Hille also won the 100-meter sprint in 13.4 and took first in the 200 meters in 28.11. She also placed second in the triple jump with a distance of 29 feet, 5.75 inches. Hille is currently one of the top 1A sprinters in the state.

Junior Maddi Groen set a season’s best mark in the 3,200-meter race with a time of 13:18, placing her fifth.

Vashon’s boys team, which earned 52 points, placed third overall of four schools at the meet, following Charles Wright, which had 69 points. Eatonville earned 117 points to win the meet.

The girls team, with 36 points, placed fourth of five schools, closely following Annie Wright, which had 39 points. The Eatonville girls also won the day with 166 points.

The next track meet will take place at Charles Wright on Thursday, when the Pirates will honor their senior participants just prior to the action, which will start at 3:15 p.m.

— Kevin Ross is a VHS track and field coach.