Monroe freshman shines at 30th Eason Invitational (video)

SNOHOMISH — Highlighted by one marvelous jump, Hannah Ganashamoorthy certainly left her mark on one of the state’s biggest annual prep track and field meets.

The Monroe freshman phenom won a pair of events and added a fourth-place finish in an exceptional performance Saturday during the 30th annual Larry Eason Invitational at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“It was pretty awesome,” said the 15-year-old Ganashamoorthy, who qualified for the USA Track and Field National Junior Olympic Championships each of the past five years.

“I had never been to something that important for a high school meet, so it was cool to compete and see how well I would do with (that) competition.”

Ganashamoorthy’s most impressive feat of the day came in the long jump, where she needed only one attempt to soar an astounding 19 feet, 6 inches — nearly two feet more than her nearest competitor.

“I didn’t think I would jump that far on my first attempt, but I came in with a lot of speed and I just had a really good pop today when I jumped,” she said.

“Once I got that pop off the jump, it just soared me into the air. And I was able to use that hang time to adjust myself and prepare for my landing, rather than rush and force myself to land.”

Not only did Ganashamoorthy’s winning jump set a meet record, but it placed her among the nation’s elite.

As of Saturday evening, Ganashamoorthy’s jump was tied for 13th in the nation this season among high school girls. It also was the top girls mark in the state this season — regardless of classification — by more than seven inches.

“It was magical,” Monroe track and field coach Brittany Kitts said. “She’s up there with elite kids. And she’s doing it at (age) 15. That is incredible.”

Later in the meet, Ganashamoorthy won the 100-meter hurdles in a blistering time of 14.94 seconds, beating second-place Ingraham senior Phoebe Salowey by 0.14 seconds. As of Saturday evening, Ganashamoorthy’s winning time ranked eighth in the state regardless of classification.

“She’s incredibly fast in between the hurdles,” Kitts said. “She’s got such a great drive (and) tenacity to pull herself through as fast as she can.”

Ganashamoorthy also took fourth place in the 100 meters, which was held just 10 minutes after her victory in the hurdles.

The Monroe star was one of several local winners in the prestigious meet, which featured 83 teams and nearly 1,300 athletes.

“So many new top-25 marks in the state came from the meet today,” said Snohomish coach Dave Weller, one of the meet’s organizers. “That’s just a testament to the competition level.”

E-W’s Parle wins 3,200

Edmonds-Woodway senior Yukino Parle, a Boise State University signee, used one of her trademark closing kicks to win the girls 3,200 meters in a scorching time of 10:29.77.

After trailing Julia David-Smith by a few steps for most of the race, Parle surged past the Issaquah freshman with about 150 meters to go and won by more than 5.5 seconds. Both runners beat the previous meet record.

“I was feeling pretty tired,” Parle said. “We kept speeding up slowly throughout the race, so my legs were having a little bit of a hard time keeping up with the increasing tempo. But I tried to stay strong and I somehow found it in me.”

Parle’s winning time broke Edmonds-Woodway’s school record by 15 seconds, distance coach Al Bonney said. It was yet another instance of Parle’s devastating closing kick, which has been on display throughout her accomplished track and cross country career.

“If (Yukino) is close with a lap to go, she’s going to take just about everybody out,” Bonney said. “She’s shown it over and over again. … I’d put my money on her any time in the last quarter.”

Edmonds-Woodway’s girls distance medley relay team of Jillian Beam, Presley Denkinger, Sofia Gard and Alyssa Hershey also took first place, crossing the line in 13:04.33.

“They were outstanding,” Bonney said. “Just absolutely outstanding.”

Two wins for Everett

Everett seniors Elijah Ross-Rutter and Ben Howard each won an individual boys title for the Seagulls.

Ross-Rutter, after clearing 6-2 for second place in the high jump, won the triple jump with a personal-best mark of 45-7. Everett coach Rachel Zupke said Ross-Rutter’s high-jump mark helped fuel his triple-jump title.

“It wasn’t the mark he wanted, but I think it set him up well,” she said. “That smidge of disappointment kind of (lit) a fire under him when he did his triple.”

Howard continued his success-filled season by winning the shot put with a throw of 51 feet, 7.5 inches. Prior to this season, he had never reached 50 feet. But after an offseason of hard work — including powerlifting success at the national level — Howard has exceeded 50 feet in all seven meets he’s competed in this year.

“Putting in that work out of season is what set him up for being successful,” Zupke said.

E-W boys finish second

The Edmonds-Woodway boys took second place in the team standings with 35 points. The Warriors finished tied with first-place Issaquah, but lost the tiebreaker based on the teams’ performances in the 4×400 relay.

Edmonds-Woodway was led by two boys who narrowly missed winning individual titles.

Chinedu Acholonu, a sophomore, took second place in the 100 meters with a time of 10.88 seconds, finishing just 0.01 seconds behind Eastside Catholic’s David Pritchard.

Aaron Richardson, a senior, placed second in the 110-meter hurdles. He crossed the line in 14.90 seconds, just 0.04 seconds behind Franklin Pierce’s Tyrell Edge.

Other notable local finishers

Mountlake Terrace junior Brandon Bach, the defending Class 2A state champion, claimed the javelin title with a winning throw of 187 feet, 8 inches.

Mariner senior Suzy Pace, a Washington State University signee, earned three top-four finishes. She placed second in the 300 hurdles (46.55 seconds), third in the 100 hurdles (15.41 seconds) and tied for fourth in the high jump (5-2).

Glacier Peak senior Elena Willems and sophomore Aviry Stratton highlighted a strong showing by the Grizzlies’ distance teams. Willems placed second in the talent-laden girls Elite 800 race (2:13.66) and Stratton took second in the girls 1600 meters (5:04.07).

Issaquah won the girls team title with 56 points. Kamiak placed second (37 points), Snohomish took third (36.5 points) and Glacier Peak was fourth (36 points).