Federal Way sweeps meet with Beamer, wins league title

Neither team had lost a league meet coming into their May 7 showdown at Federal Way Memorial Field, but it was the Eagles who were victorious over the Titans. The boys won the meet 94-42 and the girls won 86-55.

A top performer on the day for the girls was Federal Way’s Karis Cameron. Cameron won the 100-meter event, the 200 and the long jump. She had a personal record in the latter event when she jumped 18-0. The distance puts her in fifth in 4A currently. She is also currently seventh in the 100.

Mariyah Vongsaveng continues her quest for a third state title in the 100-meter hurdles. She won the event with a time of 14.87 seconds. She also won the 300 hurdles with a time of 46.04. She currently sits at fourth and sixth in those events in 4A.

Julian Johnson had a strong showing for Federal Way as she won the 800 and placed second in the 1600 behind teammate Rachel Arnold.

Federal Way won the 4×100 and 4×200 relay events, while Beamer took the 4×400.

The Eagles’ Liai Taala and Taliatupu Lologo won the discus and shot put events. Taala had a distance of 101-02 in the discus and Lologo had a distance of 29-10 in shot put.

The triple jump featured two of the state’s best in Federal Way’s Jonarra Swanson and Beamer’s Reed Copeland. Both had personal records on the day as Copeland won the event with a distance of 37-3 1/2, good enough for seventh in 4A. Swanson’s distance of 36-4 1/2 places her in 10th in 4A.

Beamer’s Chante Spotser won the 400 with a time of 1:02.18. Ashley Mason also picked up a win for the Titans in the 3200 with a time of 11:50.99. Claire Hanson won the high jump with a height of 5-0.

For the boys, Federal Way’s Jared Pulu and Khristian Pickens had strong performances in the field events.

Pulu won both the shot put and discus events. He had a distance of 47-7 in the shot put event and a distance of 137-9 in the discus. He currently ranks 10th in shot put in 4A with a season-best distance of 52-2.

Pickens won the long jump with a distance of 21-9. He tied with teammate D’Jimon Jones in the high jump with a height of 6-4. He placed second behind teammate Mason Sallee in the triple jump with a distance of 44-5 1/2. Sallee, the current 4A leader in triple jump by nearly a foot, jumped 45-1 1/2.

Pickens is currently in the top 10 in 4A in all three events this season.

Federal Way’s Sergio Rojas Luna picked up the win in pole vault with a height of 11-6.

The 100 had a thrilling finish as the top three runners finished within 0.09 seconds of each other. Alex Taylor of Federal Way won the event with a time of 11.23. His teammate, Damani Thomas, finished third with a time of 11.32. Beamer’s Reeve Normandia finished second with a time of 11.30.

Thomas went on to win the 200 with a time of 22.79 and Normandia won the 300 hurdles with a time of 41.64.

Another close race was in the 4×100 as Federal Way edged Beamer by 0.34 with a time of 44.43.

Federal Way picked up wins in the three distance runs. Beniam Yonas won the 3200, Connor Low won the 1600 and Tyler Moran won the 800 for the Eagles.

Beamer picked up wins in the 400 by Ammon Auna and Malik Messiah in the 110 hurdles. Their 4×400 relay team won with a time of 3:45.27.

Decatur tops Jefferson in final track meet of the season

“I’m this close to getting that 10,” Decatur senior Isaiah Diggs yelled to his teammate. “I’m right there and I know I’m faster. I’m about to get it.”

Diggs won the 100-meter event at the meet with a time of 11.14 seconds, a new personal record for him. The rest of the event would go Diggs’s and Decatur’s way as the Gators boys topped rival Thomas Jefferson 77-68 and the girls won 90-59.

The 100-meter event was not the only event that Diggs excelled in. He also was apart of the men’s 4×100 and 4×400 winning relay teams and long jump event.

His jump of 21-7 was his second longest in the long jump this year. Currently, his jump of 22-2 against Todd Beamer on April 16 is the fifth longest in 4A.

The 4×100 relay team consisting of Diggs, Kemuel Santana, Kaos James-Blackwell and Chris McCray posted an impressive 43.55, their best time of the season. Diggs once again echoed his statements about being faster after the event.

The time is only .35 off being a top 10 time in 4A this year. Santana also won the 200 and placed second in the 100.

Jefferson had wins in the 110 and 300 hurdles by Henry Yon. Rajesh Gill and Austin Miller scored them first place finishes in the 1600 and 3200.

Anthony Nguyen took the men’s triple jump for the Raiders with a distance of 42-5 1/2.

On the girl’s side, Parris Watson had another strong performance. She won both the shot put and discus events. Her shot put distance of 38-10 was actually her worst since April 16 against Beamer. That distance would still be good enough for seventh in 4A. Her season high is currently 39-9 1/4, the third best in 4A.

In the discus event, she won with a distance of 123-9. That was also her worst distance since the Beamer meet and would still be good enough for fifth in 4A. Her best distance in the event this year is 134-6, the second best in 4A.

Samyra Waters and Janai Curtis won the 200 and 400. Yhadira Gallardo won the 100 and 300 hurdles. The Decatur relay team edged Jefferson’s by .34.

For Jefferson, Dakezhane Davis and Jenna Appleton won the 100 and the 800. Taura Vastakas won the 1600 for the Raiders. Kellie Twitchell won both the long and triple jump events.

Jefferson’s boys team finished at 1-3 in the league and in fourth place. Their girls finished at 0-4 in the league and in fifth place.

Decatur’s boys team finished at 2-2 in the league and in third place. Their girls finished at 1-3 and in fourth place in league.

The South Puget Sound League 4A Championships started on Wednesday, featuring athletes from all four schools .

The finals are scheduled to take place today, May 15, starting at 3:30 p.m. They are being held at French Field in Kent.