MARYSVILLE — It could be said that Arlington High School runner Teresa Wadey doesn’t mind lying in the weeds.
That way, her kick is all the more surprising.
Wadey came seemingly out of nowhere Friday night to win the 800-meter run at the 4A Bi-District girls track and field meet. Her time of 2:18.36 was more than five seconds faster than the mark she put up while finishing third in her heat at Wednesday’s preliminaries.
“I definitely was the underdog,” Wadey said after shocking the field in Friday’s 800 final. “My coaches believed in me all the way. It was just about believing and looking at the times, seeing what all the girls did. I knew I could run with anyone.”
Using a finishing kick that she said she perfected on the playground of her grade school, Wadey was one of the few surprises at Friday’s girls meet.
Most of the other races when pretty much as expected, although there were several great finishes.
Edmonds-Woodway helped kick off the running events in dramatic fashion, pushing favorite Issaquah right to the wire in the 4×200 relay. Edmonds-Woodway anchor Amia Nash made a late push against Issaquah’s Haley Jacobson, the 100- and 200-meter champ, but couldn’t catch her as the Warriors came up short by .12 seconds in a time of 1:43.55.
Edmonds-Woodway’s Djenne Dickens pulled out to a lead during the third leg of that race before Jacobson got a good jump in the final leg and barely held off Nash at the end.
Nash also was involved in the closest race of the night, barely getting edged by friend and rival Leiran Cornish of Snohomish in the 400.
Cornish won the event in 56.92 seconds, .01 second ahead of Nash in a near photo finish.
“I love Amia,” said Cornish, a junior who will be without her biggest rival next season. “She’s just a very relaxing runner to run with. You feel pressure, but it’s the right amount of pressure. We’re more friends in competition than competitors.”
That wasn’t the only long-standing rivalry that added another chapter Friday night. In the girls’ shot put, Kamiak’s Marisa Gonzalez edged out rival Kaci Jones of Stanwood, with a mark of 37 feet, 11.5 inches — six inches better than that of Jones.
“She’s really sweet,” Gonzalez said of Jones, who came back to win the discus in a final that included seven Western Conference foes. “She’s really good, and we push each other.”
The evening ended with one of the most dominant performances of the meet, with the Marysville-Pilchuck 4×400 relay team maintaining a comfortable lead throughout the race before winning in 3:57.67.
Brooke Pahukoa of Lake Stevens won the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 1.75 inches and took second in the 300-meter hurdles and the high jump. Nash was a runner-up in three events: the 4×200, the 200 and the 400.
Other girls winners included Monroe’s Alecia Longsine in the pole vault (11 feet, 6 inches) and Cascade’s Natasha Caldwell in the javelin (128-6).
But the most unlikely winner may well have been Arlington’s Wadey, a junior who shaved five seconds off her personal record while moving up to seventh among the state’s 4A competitors in the 800. She passed Stanwood’s Madison Davis and held off Skyline’s Alisa Poplawski down the stretch to win the event.
“I just know that last year I won the league championship, and I had my eyes on something bigger,” Wadey said. “So it really means a lot.”
Wadey said she didn’t use her kick in any of the preliminary races in hopes of saving herself for Friday night’s final.
“I’ve been holding off,” she said, “knowing this could happen for me.”
The girls’ team standings included two King County Conference teams at the top in first-place Inglemoor (82 points) and Issaquah (60 1/4). Stanwood finished third, with 56.25 points, while Arlington (55) and Lake Stevens (54) rounded out the top five.
At Marysville Pilchuck H.S.
Team scores–Inglemoor 82, Issaquah 60.2, Stanwood 56.2, Arlington 55, Lake Stevens 54, Redmond 50, Skyline 40.2, Edmonds-Woodway 39, Garfield 38, Marysville Pilchuck 29, Monroe 24.2, Snohomish 24, Cascade 24, Eastlake 22, Woodinville 22, Jackson 17, Roosevelt 16, Newport 13.2, Bothell 11, Kamiak 10, Ballard 9, Mariner 5
Wesco state qualifiers
100 hurdles–3. Kristin Goff (Mon) 15.50, 4. Brittney Pahukoa (LS) 15.62; 100–4. Madison Lichter (Sno) 12.59; 1,600–4. Jordin Stephenson (Stan) 5:10.63, 5. Jessica Rawlins (J) 5:10.89; 400 relay–4. Arlington 49.90; 400–1. Leiran Cornish (Sno) 56.92, 2. Amia Nash (EW) 56.93, 4. Corinne Teichgrab (Stan) 58.54; 300 hurdles–2. Brooke Pahukoa (LS) 45.38, 5. Brittney Pahukoa (LS) 46.09; 800–1. Teresa Wadey (A) 2:18.36, 4. Madison Davis (Stan) 2:19.44; 200–2. Amia Nash (EW) 25.86, 4. Leiran Cornish (Sno) 26.14; 3,200–3. Minna Fields (Stan) 11:17.20; 800 relay–2. Edmonds-Woodway 1:43.55; 5. Everett 1:46.36; 1,600 relay–1. Marysville Pilchuck 3:57.67, 5. Lake Stevens 4:03.20; High jump–2. Brooke Pahukoa (LS) 5-4, 3. Denae Fitz (J) 5-3, 5. Alexis Sarver (A) 5-2; Long jump–1. Brooke Pahukoa (LS) 17-1.75, 4. Awa Marenah (EW) 16-7.75; Triple jump–3. Melissa Webb (A) 35-4.75, 5. Adama Marenah (EW) 34-5.25; Shot put–1. Marisa Gonzalez (K) 37-11.5, 2. Kaci Jones (Stan) 37-5.5, 3. Marissa Swegle (A) 37-3, 4. Corrine Burke (LS) 36-7.25, 5. Emily Wayland (Stan) 35-10.75; Discus–1. Kaci Jones (Stan) 132-5, 2. Alexis Sarver (A) 129-7, 3. Emily Wayland (Stan) 120-8, 4. Corrine Burke (LS) 110-8, 5. Marissa Swegle (A) 107-10; Javelin–1. Natasha Caldwell (C) 128-6, 2. Ashley Alexander (Mon) 127-7, 5. Kaci Jones (Stan) 119-0; Pole vault–1. Alecia Longsine (Mon) 11-6, 2. Summer Cull (MP) 11-3, 5. Lacey McLean (MP) 9-9.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
