TACOMA — Sequim’s Riley Pyeatt was denied a chance at a state track and field championship for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pyeatt, one of the top runners in the state, took advantage of her opportunity by winning the 800-meter run at the 2A state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma Stadium this weekend. She followed that up by running the anchor leg on the Sequim girls’ 4×400 relay team that won a state championship.
Pyeatt also finished third in the 400 and fourth in the 1,600. Sequim’s Jolene Vaara was also third in the high jump and Rileagh VanDyken was eighth in the pole vault. Overall, the Sequim girls finished fifth with 38 team points. Tumwater won the girls state championship with 78 points.
Pyeatt’s state championship time in the 800 was 2 minutes, 14.23 seconds, a personal best.
“She probably could have run the 800 a little faster. She had a big lead and cruised at the end,” said Sequim track coach Bradley Moore.
The 4×400 team’s time was 4:03.82, winning over a team from Lynden by a mere .09 seconds. The other members of the 4×400 are Hi’ilei Robinson, Kaitlyn Bloomenrader and Eve Mavy.
Moore said it was an exciting finish. The Lynden anchor runner was actually catching up on Pyeatt down the stretch, he said. Then, Pyeatt turned it on.
“Riley has the heart of a lion,” Moore said. “She felt the girl on her and pulled away. She had a gear the other girl didn’t have. I lost my voice during that race.”
Moore said he had been telling the 4×400 girls all season that they were good enough to have a chance to win at state. During the season, as they won race after race, “they started to believe it,” he said. The team managed to break the Sequim 4×400 girls record twice at state, once during the prelims and the second time in the finals.
Moore also said the championships were more meaningful for the Sequim seniors who weren’t able to compete at state in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
“At the end of the race, all four girls were down on the ground. It meant a lot to them. It really did. It was a super awesome way to end their careers.”
Vaara’s high jump was 5 feet, 1 inch, while VanDyken’s pole vault was 8-6.
Sequim’s Mirek Skov finished third in the pole vault with a height of 13-0, a personal best. Adrian Brown also placed in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 300 hurdles. He finished sixth in the 300 (40.43 seconds) and seventh in the 110 (16.17). Andrew Brown was 11th in the high jump (5-8).
The Sequim boys finished 20th at state as a team with 11 points.
Port Angeles
Port Angeles had a pair of athletes who placed. Jack Gladfelter finished fifth in the 1,600 (4:17.98, a personal best) and fifth in the 3,200 (9:20.46, a personal best). Blake Peterson was 15th in the shot put (41-1¾).
For the girls, Jayde Gedelman was fifth in the javelin (108-8, a personal best). Kennedy Bruch was 12th in the shot put 32-1½.
The Port Angeles boys finished 26th at state with eight points. The Port Angeles girls were 34th. Sehome won the boys championship with 88 points.
East Jefferson at 1A meet
CHENEY — East Jefferson’s Tusker Behrenfeld placed third in the state in javelin, while teammate Sebastian Manza was fourth in the 3,200 and seventh in the 1,600.
Behrenfeld threw the javelin 163-4. Manza’s time in the 3,200 was 9:52.50 and his time in the 1,600 was 4:30.56.
Behrenfeld also finished 13th in the discus (121-2).
Anson Jones also finished 11th in the shot put (43-10¾).
The East Jefferson girls had three athletes who placed.
The highest finish was by Lia Poore in the triple jump, who finished fifth with a distance of 33-11.
Aliyah Yearian finished sixth in the 3,200 (11:35.12) and Ellise Gardner was eighth in the javelin (101-8).
Addy Asbell was 10th in the shot put (32-7½) and Camryn Hines was 14th in the 1,600 (5:32.11).
The East Jefferson boys were 19th at state with 13 points, while the girls were 24th with 11 points. Connel won the boys 1A championship with 59 points, while King’s won the girls championship with 51 points.
Forks at 2B meet
CHENEY — Forks sprinter Ashton Doyle finished third at the 2B championships in the 100-meter dash (11.68) and seventh in the 200 (24.01).
Sloan Tumaua was fourth in the discus (147-8), while Nate Dahlgren was 10th in the shot put (40-1½).
For the Forks girls, Peyton Johnson was 10th in the javelin (93-7).
The Forks boys finished 18th in the state with 13 points. Rainier won the boys championship with 67 points while St. George’s won the girls title with 113 points.
Crescent, Neah Bay at 1B meet
CHENEY — Crescent’s Conner Ferro-May had a solid 1B meet, finishing sixth in the discus (117-1) and eighth in the shot put (39-0½). Teammate Titus White was ninth in the shot put (38-3¾).
The Neah Bay boys 4×100 team of Leonardo Ruiz-Santana, Jaden Halttunen, Devon Halttunen and Mahamadou Traore was seventh (47.75).
Neah Bay’s Ryana Moss placed in the 300-meter hurdles and the 1,600 meters. She finished sixth in the 300 (52.63) and eighth in a time of 5:58.37.
The Neah Bay girls 4×400 team of Danika Perry, Wiinuk Martin, Cerise Moss and Ryana Moss was eighth (4:54.57).
Crescent’s Katelyn Dunavent was 10th in the discus (80-3).
The Crescent boys finished 25th as a team and Neah Bay 28th. Mount Vernon Christian won the state championship with 87 points. The Neah Bay girls finished 25th. Pope John Paul II won the state championship with 73 points.
Riley Pyeatt of Sequim, center, receives her first-place trophy at the state 2A track and field championships at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma this weekend. Pyeatt was later the anchor of the Sequim girls 4×400 team that also took first place. (Michael Dashiell/Peninsula Daily News)
