TACOMA — Saturday morning the patrons of Portland Avenue Park in Tacoma were treated to an unusual sight.
There, in the middle of fields used primarily for traditional recreational purposes, was a high-school girl flinging a spear long distances across the park’s grassy expanses.
Casa
cade’s Natasha Caldwell certainly managed to cause a stir.
“There were some soccer players out there who looked a little puzzled,” Cascade track coach Chris Crockett said with a chuckle.
“We decided to get out in the grass and get a few throws in, get her arm stretched out because a lot of times sitting around takes something from you.”
The extra work seems to have paid off.
Caldwell, spurred by her early-morning warm-up, went on to win the javelin Saturday afternoon at the class 4A state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School.
Caldwell, a senior, unleashed a personal-best throw of 138 feet, 6 inches to cap off her prep career with a first-place medal at state.
“This feels great, it feels amazing, I’m very happy,” Caldwell said. “I was expecting to place, maybe in the top three, but I wasn’t expecting first, so I’m super excited about it.”
Caldwell, who came into the event seeded sixth based on district results, eclipsed the 130-foot barrier on each of her first three throws. That was proof positive that the morning work-out went to good use.
“All my throws were really good,” Caldwell said. “I was measuring out my steps right and making sure I didn’t stutter-step.”
While Caldwell was earning the top spot on the podium, three other local athletes were busy piling up their medal counts.
Edmonds-Woodway senior Amia Nash took home three medals Saturday. Her best performance came in the 400, where she finished third in a time of 57.53 seconds. Nash found herself back in the pack coming off the final turn, but she powered her way forward and nearly pulled herself all the way into second.
“It was a little frustrating because I did have the state championship as a goal,” said Nash, who was nevertheless all smiles. “But I did finish third, which was an improvement from last year when I got fifth. So that I’m really excited about. I may have peaked a little early, about a week-and-a-half-ago. But I ran the race like I would all my other races, I tried coming out hard in my first 200 and let the competition pull me down the home stretch.”
In her other individual event Nash was just happy to make the finals, taking eighth in the 200 in 26.02. She also earned a medal in the 800 relay, anchoring Edmonds-Woodway to a fifth-place finish in 1:43.87. She was joined in that race by senior Victoria Felton, junior Awa Marenah and freshman Djenne Dickens.
The other local athlete who earned three medals Saturday was Lake Stevens sophomore Brooke Pahukoa. Pahukoa placed fourth in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.50, tied for fifth in the high jump with a leap of 5-4, and was part of the Vikings 1,600 relay team that took eighth in 4:10.56.
Pahukoa’s three medals Saturday gave her the maximum-possible four for the meet. She also took sixth in Friday’s long jump.
Marysville Pilchuck junior Summer Cull took home two medals in the span of about 20 minutes. Shortly after Cull finished in a tie for fourth in the pole vault with a height of 10-6, she anchored the Tomahawks to a seventh-place finish in the 1,600 relay in 4:06.46.
Other local medalists included:
n Stanwood junior Kaci Jones (128-2) and Monroe sophomore Ashley Alexander (126-6), who took sixth and eighth, respectively in the javelin.
n Stanwood senior Corinne Teichgrab (59.27) and Snohomish junior Leiran Cornish (1:00.01), who placed seventh and eighth, respectively in the 400.
n Jackson senior Denae Fitz, who placed eighth in the high jump with a height of 5-2.
n Stanwood senior Madison Davis, who placed eighth in the 800 with a time of 2:22.11.
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
Girls
100–1. Holly DeHart (Kentwood) 11.97.
400 relay–1. Kentwood (Mykala Benjamin, DeHart, Quincie Proctor-Guyton, Madelayne Varela) 47.61.
300 hurdles–Rachel McQuivey (Skyview) 43.34; 4. Brooke Pahukoa (Lake Stevens) 45.5.
800–1. Baylee Mires (Mead) 2:10.28; 8. Madison Davis (Stanwood) 2:22.11.
800 relay–1. Kentwood (Benjamin, DeHart, Proctor-Guyton, Varela) 1:41.09; 5. Edmonds-Woodway (Awa Marenah, Victoria Felton, Djenne Dickens, Amia Nash) 1:43.87.
High jump–1. Audrey Ketcham (Wenatchee) 5-6; 5. Brooke Pahukoa (Lake Stevens) 5-4; 8. Denae Fitz (Jackson) 5-2.
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