Logjam in Class 4A boys produces 4-way tie 

Mwaura, Maton, Cunliffe, Ellis among the stars in Washington

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

A zany finish to the Class 4A boys 4x400 relay left four teams tied for the team championship with 37 points and a fifth team half a point behind.

PHOTOS - by Phil Yearian

The math that resulted in the state’s first ever four-way tie came out of a 4x400 relay where everything lined up perfectly to make the improbable result happen.

Going into the 4x400, Issaquah had 36 points, Camas had 32, Walla Walla had 30.5, Bothell had 29 and Chiawana had 27. All of them had teams in the final event of the meet.

Chiawana won it for 10 points. Bothell was second to grab eight points. Walla Walla was third and got six points to finish with 36.5 points. Camas took fourth to gain five points. And Issaquah got a single point for eighth place.

The best performance of the meet at Mount Tahoma High came from Lincoln (Tacoma) senior James Mwaura, who pushed himself to a state meet record time of 8:46.87 in the 3,200 meters, a US#1 performance.

After running 4:08.52 for a new PR in the 1,600 meters on Thursday, Mwaura had time to confer with his coach about the how to approach the Class 3A 3,200 final on Saturday.

“I knew I was ready to run something fast,” Mwaura said. “The game plan was to go out in 4:24, so run 66s (per lap). It felt comfortable for me.”

Mwaura ran laps of 65, 64, 66 and 67 seconds to come through 1,600 meters in 4:22.

In April at the Arcadia Invitational, Mwaura pushed the pace in a star-studded field but finished third in 8:51.62.

“For Arcadia, it was basically all strength,” Mwaura said. “I hadn’t done a lot of speed stuff. Lately I have been focusing on speed, gear changing and it has helped me.”

Mwaura closed in 63 and was cheered by a hometown crowd.

“It was really helpful,” he said. “Without the crowd, I don’t think I could have run that fast.”

Technically, Rick Riley’s legendary 1966 2-mile time of 8:48.3 is slightly better than Mwaura’s 3,200 meters conversion. But it smashed Joe Hardy’s state meet record and it’s superior to the fastest 3,200 in state history, which was Carl Moe’s 8:48.03 from 2003.

Chloe Cunliffe of West Seattle, a younger sister of Hannah Cunliffe, broke the all-time state record in the pole vault with her clearance at 13-8.50.

Daniel Maton, who helped Camas earn a share of the team title, successfully defended his Class 4A titles in the 1,600 (4:07.50) and 800 (1:51.02).

Ridgefield sophomore Trey Knight won Class 2A titles in the shot put (61-11.50) and discus (176-10). Then on Sunday at the Washington state hammer championships, he launched a U.S. leading mark of 233-7. It’s a sophomore class national record.

Senior Lexi Ellis of Curtis jumped a personal best 43-6 to win the 4A triple jump, good for US#2. Her teammates were second (Saudia Heard, 40-9.50), third (freshman Rieko Wilford, 38-6.75) and fifth (Olivia Emanuel, 37-2).    

A strong junior class of girls dominated the action on the track.

Tahoma junior Aliya Wilson won Class 4A titles in the 100 (11.96) and 200 (24.43). Her sister, Alisha, won the long jump with 19-2. Tahoma defended its 4x100 title with 46.77 seconds.

Gig Harbor junior Hannah Carroll paired 25.00 and 55.38 to win Class 3A titles in the 200 and 400.

Christal Johnson of Puyallup, a junior, ran 55.24 to win the Class 4A 400 meters. She ran even faster, 55.06, in the prelims.

Junior Dorien Simon of Lakes won the Class 3A boys 100 meters in 10.56 seconds (10.53 prelim). He also ran 21.50 to win the 200. He also anchored the winning 4x100 relay (41.68).

Junior Johan Correa of Kennewick edged out senior Peter Smith of Gig Harbor to win the 3A 800 meters, 1:51.51 to 1:51.65. Correa also placed second behind Mwaura in the 1,600, running 4:12.48.

Luke George of Issaquah was stuck behind Maton in Class 4A but turned in an impressive 1:51.99/4:08.93 double for a pair of second-place finishes.

Junior Joe Waskom of Mt. Si ran 8:57.66 to win the Class 4A 3,200 meters.

Junior Jurrian Hering of Gig Harbor won he 3A 110 hurdles in 14.21. West Seattle senior Cass Elliott won the 3A 300-meter hurdles in 37.68 (37.13 prelim).

Chiawana senior Germain Barnes swept the 4A hurdle finals with 14.38w and 37.79.

Joey Jensen of Issaquah won the 4A boys discus with 190-5. Connery McLaughlin of Enumclaw won the 4A boys javelin with 199-11.

Tyler Cronk of Kentridge won the 4A high jump at 6-9. He has a season-best clearance of 7-3.

Da’Vicious Wilson from Bothell won the 4A long jump with 23-7.75. Shamrock Campbell of Ferris went 48-3 to win the 4A triple jump.

Kim Kramers of Inglemoor jumped 12-7.50 to win the Class 4A girls pole vault.

Emily DuFour of Eastmont claimed the 4A girls high jump with a 5-8 clearance.

Junior Tanya Simora of Puyallup threw 154-6 to win the 4A javelin.

Hadassah Ward of Gig Harbor won the 3A girls shot put with 45-5.50.

Karlee Stueckle of Emerald Ridge, currently ranked US#6, won the 4A 300-meter hurdles in 42.20. Alaina Brady of Tahoma edged out Stueckle in the 100 hurdles, 14.16w to 14.26w.

Katie Thronson of Lewis and Clark pulled out a close finish in the 4A girls 3,200 meters, winning in 10:35.39. Erica Simison of Eisenhower was second in 10:35.65 and freshman Julia David-Smith of Issaquah was third in 10:35.83.

Sami Corman of Issaquah won the 1,600 meters in 4:50.76 with Thronson second in 4:51.56 and David-Smith third in 4:52.57. Corman also won the 800 in 2:09.24. Brooke Manson of Eastlake was second in 2:09.47.

North Central freshman Allie Janke won the 3A girls 1,600 in 4:55.48.

Faith Richardson swept the 2A sprint titles for Renton, running 11.95 and 24.81.

Class 1A/2B/1B at Cheney

Karlee Freeman of Raymond was one of the standouts at the small-school state meet in Cheney. She won three throwing events in the Class 2B meet, including 167-2 in the discus. She also won the shot put with 48-6 and javelin with 130-11.

Sophomore Brandon Montoya of Lyle/Wishram won 2B titles in the 100 (11.09), 200 (22.30) and long jump (23-7.50). Strong headwinds slowed the sprint times.

Kaylee Sowle of Mary M. Knight won the 1B titles in the high jump (5-8), 100 meters and triple jump.

Harlowe Brumett-Dunn of Seattle Academy won 1A sprint titles in 12.59 and 25.48.

Ashley Sande of St. George’s had three wins in Class 2B, capturing the 100, 200 and 400.

Liam Bracken of Republic took 1B titles in the 100, 200 and 400.

Austen Apperson was a three-event winner in 2B, taking the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.

Tucker Wetmore of Kalama won the 2B boys pole vault title with 15-5.

Peterson Bohannon of LaSalle won the Class 1A boys 400 48.83 (48.71 prelim).

Ben Shaw of Riverside won Class 1A titles in the boys 1,600 (4:16.89) and 3,200 (9:27.94).

Summer Welch of Naches Valley claimed the Class 1A girls triple jump crown with 38-10.25 and she was also second in the long jump (17-10).

Freshman Hana Hill was part of a 1-2 finish for Lakeside (Nine Mile) in the 1A girls pole vault, clearing 12-6.  

RESULTS - CLASS 4A/3A/2A | CLASS 1A/1B/2B

Team Champions

Class 4A – Issaquah, Camas, Chiawana and Bothell boys 37 points (4-way tie), Tahoma girls 93 points

Class 3A – Gig Harbor boys 72 points, Gig Harbor girls 55.5 points

Class 2A – Cheney boys 55 points, Fife girls 45 points

Class 1A – King’s boys 58 points, Lakeside (Nine Mile) girls 68 points

Class 2B – Kalama boys 63 points, NW Christian (Lacey) girls 70 points

Class 1B – Mt. Vernon Christian boys 95 points, Trout Lake girls 96 points