SUMNER — Sequim’s Frank Catelli and Port Angeles’ Troy Martin have taken their head-to-head rivalry to a new level.
The two throwers were in a league of their own at the Class 2A bi-district track and field championships as they went 1-2 in shot put and discus Friday and Saturday at Sunset Chev Stadium.
Catelli broke a school and 2A district meet record to capture a district title in shot put with a heave of 58 feet, 1.5 inches. Martin was runner-up with a distance of 53-05.0.
Catelli, a junior, broke Shawn Kendal’s school record of 56-2¾ set in 1987.
“He’s the guy to beat now [at state],” Sequim coach Brad Moore said about Catelli in the shot put. “It’s not even close. He’s got five feet with that mark ahead of the nearest competitor.”
The added distance came from a change in Catelli’s throwing technique, Moore said.
“Something definitely clicked,” he said. “[Sequim throws coach B.J.] Shade changed his technique from a rotation to a glide, and he’s just been able to get behind it a lot better.
“Since he’s made this switch, it’s just really started to click with him, and I think he can throw farther, especially after looking at the video clip.”
Catelli and Martin were part of a contingent of 35 North Olympic Peninsula athletes who qualified for various state meets next week.
Catelli also was runner-up to Martin in discus (154-3) and third in javelin (162-4) to qualify for state in all three events.
Martin, meanwhile, continued to dominate in his top event, winning discus with a throw of 164-07, a little less than 10 feet off the Port Angeles track record he set the week before.
That was despite competing on a bad ankle.
“He just performed well, even under distress,” Port Angeles coach Pat Durr said.
“I hate to use the word rivalry [to describe the competition between Martin and Catelli]. They are pretty good friends.
“All the Olympic League kids were just kind of hanging together at the meet. They know the competition brings out their best.”
Not to be overshadowed by the Peninsula’s top two throwers, Cameron Braithwaite submitted yet another fantastic all-around performance for the Riders.
The junior qualified in four individual events, the most of anyone from the area, earning second in the javelin (165-02), third in the long jump (21-0.25) and fifth in the high jump (6-02) and triple jump (39-06.5).
“I congratulated him after the meet,” Durr said. “I said, ‘Boy if you’re not the MVP of West Central District 2A, I don’t know who is.
“To go in four individual events, not relays or anything, that’s quite a feat. What an athlete. He really stepped it up. It’s amazing to see a kid like that perform.”
The top six at the 2A bi-district advanced.
Sequim will be sending 14 and the Roughriders nine to the 2A state meet, which will be Thursday through Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
The Sequim boys were second at districts with 61 points while the girls took seventh with 39.
Sequim’s boys 4-by-100 meter relay broke the school record in preliminaries at 43.84 seconds and took second in finals (43.95) with Taylor Bonneau, Jayson Brocklesby, Stephan Stilts and Emanuel Herrera.
Among the other individual Sequim boys qualifiers: Mack Grinnell, fourth in boys pole vault (13-0); Brocklesby, sixth in high jump (5-10); Herrera, fifth in 300 hurdles (40.97); Stilts, sixth in 300 hurdles (41.15); Jenkins, fifth in 1,600 (4:32.55); and Bonneau, fourth in 200 (23.03).
“I’m very happy with the boys,” Moore said. “To break two school records and everybody you bring advances and there was a bunch of personal records set as well, I was very happy.”
Other Port Angeles boys qualifiers were Jordan Norberg (sixth in javelin), Rickie Porter (sixth in 200) and the sixth-place 4-by-100 relay team of Porter, Colton Fields, Easton Temres and Rylan Spencer.
“I took over the program from [former coach] Dwayne Johnson,” Durr said. “He’s been working with these athletes so hard for so long. To see them get [to state] was pretty special.”
Haleigh Harrison and Audrey Lichten both took second for the Wolves, Harrison in high jump (5-2) and Lichten in 1,600 (5:11.83). Lichten also qualified in the 800 (fourth, 2:21.03).
Sarah Hutchison placed fifth in 300 hurdles (49.39) to move on to state for Sequim and was part of the second-place 4-by-400 that included Lichten, Harrison and Hanna Hudson.
Tarah Erickson and Kathryn Moseley were the only two Rider girls to qualify for state, with Erickson taking fourth in the pole vault (9-6) and Moseley fourth in the 400 (1:00.61)
1B tri-district
SEATTLE — Crescent is sending 12 athletes to the 1B state finals while Neah Bay is advancing seven and Clallam Bay two after Saturday’s 1A tri-district meet.
The Loggers also took second at the 1B tri-district championships in both the boys and girls meets at King’s High School on Saturday.
Neah Bay’s boys were fourth and girls eighth, while Clallam Bay’s girls were fourth and boys sixth.
“We have a good group of athletes,” Crescent coach Darrell Yount said. “Our boys will be in the hunt for a trophy [at state].
“We’re hoping for a top-two finish but at least a top-four finish.”
The Loggers had two tri-district winners for boys in Eric Larson in the 200 (24.40) and Dylan Christie in the triple jump (38-03¾).
Neah Bay had two individual winners and a relay winner as Titus Pascua was first in the long jump (19-02.5) while Courtney Winck claimed gold in the girls long jump (15-00.5).
The boys 4-by-100 relay won in 46.06 seconds with DeShawn Halttunen, Joey Monje, Izaak Manuel and Pascua.
Clallam Bay’s lone winner was Kirsten Erickson in the shot put (30-09.5).
Erickson also qualified in the discus with a second place mark (89-07) and she just missed qualifying in the javelin with a fourth-place finish.
Only the top two at tri-districts advanced to the state meet.
Also advancing for the Bruins was Ryan Willis with second place in the high jump (5-06.0).
Former Clallam Bay coach Steve Erickson noted that the only two schools at tri-districts with eighth graders were the Bruins and Red Devils.
“That’s a good sign for the future for both schools,” Erickson said.
The 1B state meet is Friday and Saturday at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.
1A tri-district
SEATTLE — Port Townsend and Forks are sending two athletes each to state while Chimacum is sending one-man wrecking crew Derek Toepper, who qualified in three events for state.
Toepper captured second in long jump (21-5.75), triple jump (42-5) and 200 (23.02 seconds) to score himself a state hat trick.
The Redskins, meanwhile, will send long-distance standouts Habtamu Rubio and Bereket Piatt to state.
Piatt was second in the 3,200 (9:29.47) and third in 1,600 (4:25.78) while Rubio was third in 3,200 (9:43.40) and fifth in 1,600 (4:27.05).
The Spartans, meanwhile, are sending Kristen Larsen, who was runner-up in the 1,600, and Sebastian Ramos, who took third in javelin (166-2).