The bar has been raised, both literally and metaphorically.
Just over two weeks after setting the school record for the pole vault at Thomas Jefferson, Jenna Appleton once again put together a marvelous performance at the West Central/Southwest bi-district track and field meet on Thursday at French Field.
The competition featured a number of the state’s best pole vaulters, most coming from the Greater St. Helen’s League. Camas’ Caleigh Lofstead has cleared a 4A-best 13-03 this season, while Battle Ground’s Laura Shannon has cleared 11-03.
But Appleton rose to the top of the competition on Thursday, clearing 11-00, the only vaulter to do so. The win puts her in the state competition with the third-best-seeded mark.
She wasn’t the only Federal Way athlete earning top marks at the meet. Twenty-five other competitors from the district’s four schools will also move on to the state tournament, not including the alternates.
Appleton’s teammate, Taylor Sterling, will be one of the favorites to win the girls high jump event at the state meet. She cleared a 5-03 to win the competition and give herself the top-seeded mark to state. Mountain View’s Hailey Hartney, who has tied Sterling for the top height in the state at 5-05, was unable to qualify for the state event, leaving Sterling as the top jumper left in 4A from this season.
Federal Way’s Mason Sallee will once again be a favorite at the state meet just a year after winning the state triple jump crown. He took both the long and triple jump events, posting distances of 22-08 3/4 and 46-03 1/4 and giving him the top-seeded mark in both events.
Sallee will face stiff competition. South Kitsap’s Albert MacArthur was right on his heels with a triple jump of 46-02. Both jumpers are the only two to leap over 47 feet this season, though Sallee’s best, 47-11 3/4, at the Oregon Relays in April was over 10 inches better than MacArthur’s best.
Another state champion hopeful, Federal Way’s Alex Taylor, finished in the top three in the 100-meter dash. It wasn’t his best race of the season at 11.03 seconds, but it was just 0.06 off the mark of the event’s winner, Graham-Kapowsin’s Chukwudi Onwumere, and 0.03 behind Union’s Jilven Refil. The three runners currently hold the three best marks in 4A.
Taylor will also will be competing in the 200, the long jump, and as a member of the Eagles’ 4×100 relay team that posted the second-best time at the bi-district meet.
D’Jimon Jones and Samuel Strok are two more Eagles to watch during the boys state meet. They both cleared 6-02 in the high jump, but each has recorded greater heights this season. Jones finished second at the state meet last year.
As a team, the boys won the event with 82 total points.
Josephine Akinlosotu will be competing both the triple and long jump for Federal Way. She had a mark of 36-01 3/4 at the bi-district championships and will be in the second flight of jumpers at the state meet for the triple jump.
Decatur’s Parris Watson will again attempt to win the state title that has eluded her during her track career. She posted the best mark in the girls discus event with a distance of 130-02. She also finished fourth in the shot put event with a distance of 39-o2, just ahead of her teammate, Gabrielle Boyd, who had a mark of 38-08 3/4, her career best.
Last year, Watson finished third in both events at the state meet.
Kemuel Santana will be the lone representative for the Gators on the boys’ side. He qualified for the 400 at state with a time of 50.43.
Todd Beamer will try to leap its way into a state championship this year – their only qualifiers are in events that require jumping.
Malik Messiah was able to qualify in both the boys 110 and 300 hurdles, nearly beating out Kentridge’s star hurdler Tanner Conner in the 300 hurdles at the bi-district meet with a time of 38.48. Messiah has been near the top marks in both events all season.
Claire Hansen, one of 4A’s best hurdlers, didn’t put together her best race at the bi-district meet, but she was still able to qualify in the 100 hurdles event with a time of 15.43. Hansen has run a sub-15.00 time in the event this season.
Jalen Williams will be the final Titan competing in the state championships. Williams, who has steadily improved all season, finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 44-05 1/2.
The 2A, 3A, and 4A state track and field championships will begin at 3:20 p.m. on Thursday, May 26, at Mount Tahoma High School, and they will run through Saturday, May 28.
Other qualifying athletes:
Federal Way
Jason Palmer – Boys 200, 400, 4×100
Marcus Tate – Boys 300 hurdles, triple jump
Sergio Rojas-Luna – Boys pole vault
KJ Ridders – Boys 4×100
Ariya Kendrick – Girls 100 hurdles, 4×100
Veronica Black – Girls 4×100, 4×200
Kemi Akinlosotu – Girls 4×100, 4×200, 4×400
Makiya Worthy – Girls 4×100, 4×200, 4×400
Rebecca Tetu – Girls 4×200
Julian Johnson – Girls 4×400
Esther Brutus – Girls 4×400
Zayani Duncan-Graves – Girls Triple jump
Thomas Jefferson
Nathan Perri – Boys pole vault
