The conditions weren’t the best Wednesday afternoon at French Field in Kent during the first day of the South Puget Sound League sub-district track and field meet.
The rain, cold temperatures and wind didn’t seem to bother Federal Way senior Andru Pulu or Beamer senior Duran Ward. Pulu easily won the boys discus with a throw of 146 feet, three inches. Pulu, who has already signed a national letter of intent to play football in the fall at the University of Washington, outdistanced second-place Derek Eager from Tahoma by nearly 5 feet.
Ward raced to the best time in the 100-meter dash Wednesday. Ward’s blazing 10.86 was the only time under 11 seconds. Federal Way’s Trenton Pinson ran the fourth-best time in 11.18.
Other notable performances Wednesday came from Federal Way senior Jeffrey Forbes, who finished second in the 400 in 50.73, Jefferson’s Chase Braxmeyer was third in the 3,200 (9:41.01), Beamer’s Anthony Hogan had the fourth-best time in the 110 hurdles (14.97) and Federal Way’s Andre Barrington was fourth in the long jump (21-2 1/2). The Beamer 4×100 relay team (Hogan, Travis Koch, Dominique Maxie and Josh Seals) ran a 42.97, which was third-fastest at the meet.
On the girls’ side, the Federal Way 4×100 relay team ran the fastest time in the event at 49.55. The team consists of Chantel Dixon, Tiara Fuller, Laneisha Robinson and Jaleecia Roland.
Jefferson’s Kayla Adams finished second in the shot put with a throw of 38-10 1/2. Adams entered the meet with the best throw in the state during the regular season at 42-1 3/4. Roland also finished third in the high jump (5-2), TJ’s Kendra Ansotigue was third in the javelin (98-6), Federal Way’s Jacqie Evenson was third in the 100 hurdles (15.41), Decatur’s Shlonda Baker was third in the 100 (12.85), Beamer’s Taylor Kartes was third in the 400 (59.88) and TJ’s Monica Jaenicke was fourth in the 3,200 (11:38.68).
The two-day SPSL Sub-district Meet concluded yesterday (after press time) with berths to the West Central District Meet on the line.
The top-10 performers from the field events and the 1,600 and 3,200 advanced to the West Central District meet, which will be held at Mount Tahoma Stadium on May 22-23. In all races run in lanes, the 800 and all relays, the top-three in each heat and the next four fastest times advanced to the district meet.
Girls tennis
Decatur High School sophomore Meghan Cassens earned a berth into the SPSL singles championship match Tuesday with a pair of wins at Auburn High School. Cassens, who finished second at last year’s Class 4A state championships, beat Bethel’s Kjelby Seawright in the semifinals, 6-1, 6-0.
Cassens was scheduled to take on Auburn’s Sandy Dennett in the SPSL championship match Thursday at Kent-Meridian High School (weather permitting). The winner will earn the league’s No. 1 seed into the West Central District Tournament and the loser will be the second seed.
Cassens’ Decatur teammate, Sarah Lin, also qualified for the West Central District Tournament with a win Tuesday over Jefferson’s Averi Kitsch in the consolation round. Lin was scheduled to play Thursday in a fourth-sixth match (after press time). Lin lost to Seawright in the quarterfinals.
Kitsch also earned one of the SPSL’s berths in the district tournament. She was scheduled to play Thursday for either the league’s seventh or eighth seeds.
Two Federal Way school district doubles’ teams will also play at the West Central District Tournament. Jefferson’s Caroline Min and Mackenzie Qualls and Beamer’s Jessika Sutcliff and Melissa Canfield were scheduled to play Thursday at Kent-Meridian. The winner will earn the league’s third seed to districts and the loser will be the fifth.
Min and Qualls lost to an Auburn pair in the semifinals Tuesday, 6-2, 6-3, and Sutcliff and Canfield lost to a Curtis pair Tuesday, 5-7 6-2, 6-4.
The West Central District Tournament is scheduled for May 20-23 at the Sprinker Recreation Center in Tacoma. The top-six finishers advance to the state tournament.
Baseball
The Thomas Jefferson Raiders will take on the Emerald Ridge Jaguars, the fourth-place team in the SPSL, at 2 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Park in Puyallup in a loser-out game at the West Central District Tournament.
The winner will then play the loser of a game between Puyallup (SPSL No. 2) and South Kitsap (Narrows League No. 2) in another loser-out game at 5 p.m. The winner will advance into the state tournament.
Jefferson (12-9 overall) earned the SPSL’s seventh seed into the district tournament by beating Beamer last week.
