TACOMA — The East Jefferson girls track and field team, powered by the performance of Aliyah Yearian, finished sixth as a team in the 1A state championships while the Sequim girls, powered by Jolene Vaara and Ivy Barrett, finished 10th.
There were no Olympic Peninsula state track champions this spring, but there was a flurry of second- and third-place finishes.
The Rivals’ Yearian and the Wolves’ Vaara had the best overall meets. Yearian pulled off the distance trifecta of finishing second in the 800 meters (2 minutes, 16.63 seconds, a personal record), second in the 1,600 (5:02.33, a personal record) and second in the 3,200 (11:10.38). Yearian, who will return next year as a senior, single-handedly totaled 24 points for the Rivals, who finished with 35 team points. The King’s girls won the 1A state championship with 52 points, so the Rivals were not that far behind.
Ellise Gardner for East Jefferson also finished second in the javelin with a personal-record throw of 119 feet, 1 inch.
Fiona Fraser also collected points for the Rivals by finishing seventh in the 3,200 (11:38.47). Camryn Hines was eighth in the 800 (2:27.95) to round out the Rivals’ scoring. Hines also finished 14th in the 1,600 (5:34.49), while East Jefferson’s Addy Asbell was 11th in the shot put (33-7¼).
For the East Jefferson boys, Sebastian Manza was 17th in the 3,200 (10:40.50) and 20th in the 1,600 (4:44.37).
For Sequim, Vaara was second in the long jump with a distance of 16-3¼ and second in the high jump with a leap of 5-2. Ivy Barrett was second in the 400-meter run with a time of 59.43.
Barrett and Vaara were also part of Sequim’s 4×200 relay team, along with Katie Morris and Kaitlyn Bloomenrader, that finished sixth in the state (1:47.92), rounding out the Wolves’ scoring. All four of those relay runners will return next year for Sequim.
The Sequim girls finished with 26 points. State champion Tumwater finished with 51.
Also for the Wolves, Mirek Skov was second in the pole vault at 14-0, just three inches off the state championship vault, while Andrew Brown was seventh in the high jump at 6-0. Ahrya Klinger for the Sequim’s girls’ team was 15th in the pole vault at 8-0.
Port Angeles’ best showing was by Parker Nickerson. He used his jumping ability Roughriders basketball fans got used to watching the 6-foot-2 player dunk several times this season to take seventh in the long jump at 20-3¾ and seventh in the 300-meter hurdles (41.07). Nickerson was also 13th in the triple jump (39-11).
Distance runner Jack Gladfelter picked up a pair of high finishes, coming in eighth in the 1,600 (4:22.28, a season best) and eighth in the 3,200 (9:24.61).
Dallas Dunning was 16th in the high jump (5-8), while Leia Larson was 16th in the 3,200 (12:37.11) for the Roughrider girls.
The Sequim boys were 17th in the state with 10 points while Port Angeles was 28th with six. Sehome won the state championship with 73 points.
Small schools meet
YAKIMA — Nate Dahlgren had a good 2B state meet for Forks, taking third in the shot put with a distance of 46-3. He also was 11th in the discus (121-6) and 14th in the javelin (119-10).
Camryn Kennedy was eighth in the 400 meters (53.83) and Grady Earls ninth in the long jump (18-9). Walker Rondeau was 15th in the javelin (109-4).
The Forks girls relay teams both placed. The 4×200 team of Miley Blanton, Erika Williams, Emery Damron and Lesley Hernandez-Beltran was seventh (1:54.17), while the 4×400 team of Moli Luong, Blanton, Damron and Hernandez-Beltran was eighth (4:36.29).
Keana Rowley was ninth in the javelin (97-7) and Peyton Johnson 10th (96-3) for Forks.
Neah Bay’s Angel Halttunen and Ryana Moss, both part of the Red Devils’ state championship girls basketball team, had great 1B meets.
Moss was fifth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:46.27 and fifth in the 300 hurdles (51.58). Halttunen was sixth in the 100 meters (13.81) and sixth in the 200 (27.71).
The Neah Bay girls 4×400 team (Brianna McGimpsey, Alexa Greene, Cerise Moss, Ryana Moss) was eighth in a time of 4:35.09. Cerise Moss was ninth in the javelin (96-11) and Mariella Wakole was 10th (94-0).
For the Neah Bay boys, Matthew Veliz had a solid meet with a sixth-place finish in the shot put (40-3) and a sixth place in the discus (111-2).
Crescent’s Titus White had a great 1B meet, coming in third in the discus (124-9) and fifth in the shot put (40-9½). He also picked up a 13th place in the javelin (121-11).
The Loggers’ Conner Bauers was seventh in the triple jump (38-5¾) and 12th in the long jump (17-10¾).
For the Crescent girls, freshmen Naomii Sprague was ninth in the long jump (14-6¼) and Katelyn Dunavant was 10th in the discus (88-3).
Clallam Bay got a medal at the state 1B meet in the boys 4×100 relay. The Bruins squad of Mauricio Cruz, Jose Jimmicum, Coletyn Hull and Eli Richardson was eighth in a time of 48.52.
Clallam Bay’s William Hull was 16th in the triple jump with a distance of 35.3.