Tracksters vault into district meet

By CASEY OLSON

The Mirror

The four Federal Way high schools will be well-represented at this weekend’s Class 4A West Central/Southwest District Track and Field Championships.

Several district athletes qualified for Friday and Saturday’s meet at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma after finishing in the top-eight at the South Puget Sound League championships, which were held Wednesday and Friday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.

The district meet kicks off at 2 p.m. Friday with field event finals. Running preliminary races start at 3 p.m. Field events start at 10 a.m. Saturday with running finals beginning at 11 a.m.

The Thomas Jefferson Raiders got a 1-2 finish in the boys triple jump. Senior Tim Satterwhite won the event with a leap of 44 feet, 8 3/4 inches, followed by teammate Abraham Kinlow (44-6 3/4).

Other top-three finishers on the boys’ side included Decatur’s Desmond Vaeao in the discus (second, 148-10), Federal Way’s Earnest “Pooh” Williams in the high jump (third, 6-3) and Decatur’s Ezra John Griffey in the 200 (second, 22.24).

On the girls’ side, Princess Joy Griffey and Erika Hughes led the Gators to a second-place team finish behind Tahoma. The Gators tallied 75 team points, while Tahoma turned in 76.

Griffey, a three-time individual state champion, won her heat in the 200 meters in a time of 25.71. Griffey also anchored Decatur’s 4x200 relay team to a fifth-place finish.

Hughes won the triple jump with a leap of 37-7 1/2 to outdistance Kentridge’s Lindsey Fleishman.

Other top-three finishers during Friday’s SPSL meet included TJ’s Kelsey Racicot in the javelin (third, 108-4), Federal Way’s Gillian Griffin in the 300 hurdles (third, 46.71) and TJ’s Kenna Patrick in the 1,600 (second, 5:07.36).

The top eight from the distance events and field events advance to next weekend’s Class 4A West Central District meet at Mount Tahoma. The two-day SPSL meet started on Wednesday and concluded on Friday. The top three from each heat, plus the next two best times in the sprints, 800, hurdles and relays also advance.

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com

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