Austin Joyner | Marysville Pilchuck
The senior won the 3A state championship in the long jump last spring, edging Bellevue’s Budda Baker on the final jump of the event. Moments after winning the long jump championship, Joyner injured his hamstring in the 100-meter prelims — an event he was considered a favorite to win.
Joyner, who will attend the University of Washington in the fall on a football scholarship, will be a favorite in both events again this season.
“What I have come to appreciate the most about Austin in the three-plus years in our program is how he has grown into such an intense competitor,” Marysville Pilchuck track coach Randy Davis said. “It is one thing to have amazing athletic ability — his is extraordinary — but he combines the talent with a deep desire to succeed. He will do whatever is necessary to compete at the highest level.”
Miler Haller | Edmonds-Woodway
The senior holds the Edmonds-Woodway school record in the 3,200 with a time of 9:12.05. He is the defending Wesco champion in that event and placed eighth at last year’s 4A state meet.
Haller is also a standout in cross country. He placed fifth at the 3A state meet this past spring.
Edmonds-Woodway track coach Rick Fillman said Haller has a chance to place in the top three in the 3,200 and top six in the 1,600 at the 3A state meet in May.
“Miler is an incredibly hard-working athlete — sometimes almost too hard working,” Fillman said. “He pushes himself to his limits every day.”
Chase Reid | Lake Stevens
The senior finished tied for sixth in the pole vault at the 4A state meet last spring, vaulting an even 13 feet. Reid, who will be one of the favorites to win a state championship this season, bested that vault by one foot in the first competition of this season, winning at the Roy Cockrum Relays in Wenatchee this past weekend with a vault of 14 feet.
Reid’s athleticism was on display earlier this year when he won the state championship in diving at the 4A state meet.
“Chase is a very intelligent, analytical young man with great athleticism and body awareness,” Lake Stevens head coach Jeff Page said. “He also works hard and is willing to put in the extra time and effort to be successful.”
Kristi Bartz | Archbishop Murphy
The senior placed second in the 800 at last year’s 2A state track meet. She finished with a time of 2:17.60, fractions of a second behind Lake Washington’s Katia Matora, who finished in 2:17.00.
She can run anything from the from the 400 to the 1,600 and is the school-record holder in the high jump.
Archbishop Murphy head coach Paul Turner called Bartz an “amazing athlete” and added he and Bartz are hoping for a state championship this season.
“Kristi is a hard worker, a driven athlete and as competitive as they come,” Turner said.
Katherine Gustafson | Mountlake Terrace
The sophomore placed eighth in the 3,200 and 10th in the 1,600 at last year’s 3A state meet. She has found just as much success in cross country, finishing sixth in state as a freshman and ninth this past fall as a sophomore.
Mountlake Terrace head coach Russ Vincent said he believes Gustafson will score well in both the 3,200 and 1,600 again this season when the state meet takes place in May.
“She is driven from within and gifted by her parents,” Vincent said of Gustafson. “She leads by great example with her work ethic.”
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