The Federal Way High School and Todd Beamer High School boys track and field teams had strong showings at last week’s district meet, as Federal Way took first place with 117, while the Titan boys finished second at the district meet with 55 points.
Both teams and their coaches are primed for the state meet this weekend at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
“At this level, everyone is so good, it takes a really special performance to win,” said Federal Way head coach Curtis Williams. “Our kids stepped up in a huge way this weekend and can hopefully carry those performances over to the state meet.”
Josh Dawson and Jason Palmer made it to state for the 400 meter dash, recording times of 49.91 and 49.42, respectively. Mitch Stewart, a tennis prodigy who focused on track this spring for his senior year, will represent the Eagles in two distance events, the 800 meter run and 1,600 meter run. His time of 1:54.95 in the 800 was good enough for the district title, while his 1,600 meter time of 4:13.19 was one of the strongest among those who qualified for state and also broke a school record in the process.
Keenan Curran will have a go at the 300 meter hurdles, his time of 40.27 putting him on solid footing with the rest of the field. Curran also qualified in the long jump with a distance of 22-05.00.
The Eagles racked up a number of district championships in the field events, with Chico McClatcher, Jared Pulu and Tyler Penn all finding their way to the top of the podium.
McClatcher took first in long jump with a distance of 23-05.75, the longest qualifying distance of any competitor that will be in Tacoma this weekend and also a new school record. Pulu brought home a district title in the shot put with a throw of 54-05.50, the second-longest distance of any state qualifier, while teammate Eric Ah Fua also qualified for state with a throw of 50-02.00.
Sophomore Tyson Penn brought home two gold wins in the high jump and triple jump. His high jump of 6-08.00 and his triple jump of 48-08.50 means he’s the top seed in both events heading into this weekend. His teammates Curran and Mason Salle will also be among the state field for the triple jump, with distances of 47-06.50 and 44-07.00, respectively.
Finally, the Eagles rounded out their district championships with the 4×400 team of Jason Palmer, Marcus Tate, Curran, Stewart, Devan Williams and Dawson. The team’s time of 3:22.35 was the third fastest of all qualifiers. The Eagles 4×100 team of McClatcher, Palmer, Damani Thomas, Dawson, Alex Tayor and Tate also made it to this weekend’s competition with a time of 42.87, putting them among the fastest of all qualifying teams.
Beamer coach Jay Cardwell said he was happy with his team’s result at the district meet.
“We’re very pleased with our boys group, they’ve been strong on the track all season long. They’ve worked really hard this season, and they’ve been a great group of kids this year. We hope they can podium,” he said.
Terill Parnell qualified for state in the high jump with a height of 6-02.00, joining Federal Way’s Penn in Tacoma this weekend. Adrian Shocks recorded the second-longest distance among all long jump qualifiers with his effort of 23-02.50, behind only McClatcher.
Senior Kerson Lubin is the lone representative from any Federal Way 4A school in the 100 meter dash, with his time of 11.21 good enough to get him to Tacoma. Lubin will be joined by teammate Ammon Auna in the 200 meter dash, with the two recording times of 22.81 and 23.02, respectively. Auna also secured a spot at state in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.87 at the district meet.
Sophomore Reeve Normandia will represent the Titans in the 300 meter hurdles, recording one of the strongest times of any state qualifier with his 40.24 in the event at the district meet.
Cardwell said the two relay teams are hopeful they can earn some hardware this weekend as well. The 4×100 relay team of Lubin, Terry McCray, Auna, Normandia, Shocks and Terrence Jones recorded the second-fastest qualifying time of any team heading into state with their time of 42.78. The 4×400 team of Auna, Jones, McCray, Lubin, Blake Hansen and Ed Priymak positioned themselves comfortably in the middle of the pack with 3:25.12.
The state meet begins Thursday afternoon and runs through Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School (4634 S. 74th St., Tacoma). For more information, visit www.wiaa.com.
