State track notebook: Arlington boys take 2nd; local individuals win titles

TACOMA — The Arlington High School boys track and field team entered the final day of the state championship meet with an outside shot of a winning a team title.

But the 20-point lead Walla Walla took into Saturday proved to be too much for the Eagles to overcome.

Still, Arlington had plenty to be proud of after delivering the best team finish in program history.

The Eagles posted an overall team score of 57 points, led by individual titles from Washington State University-bound seniors Aiden Emerson and Parker Duskin, on their way to a second-place finish in the Class 3A portion of the state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School.

“It’s awesome,” Arlington head coach Judd Hunter said. “I’m so proud of these kids. They worked their butts off all season long, during the preseason and through COVID just to have this opportunity to be able to compete again at the state meet. We out performed what I thought we would score. It was fun to watch.”

Emerson delivered another strong start when he took the early advantage in his 3A boys 800 meters final. But unlike his 1600 race Thursday, when Emerson fell by a mere .02 seconds in a photo finish, the Arlington senior continued to distance himself from the pack and came away with a first-place medal to kickstart a strong showing from the Eagles on the final day.

“Aiden really wanted that one in the 1600 and he just missed it,” Hunter said. “It left a bitter taste in his mouth. He came out in the 800 today and just ran his race and dominated from start to finish.”

Emerson led by about 10 meters after the race’s first lap and never gave up ground on his way to a winning time of 1 minute, 52.78 seconds. Emerson’s nearest competitor finished a full 1.5 seconds behind his pace.

“It was awesome,” Emerson said after the race. “I really wanted to go out there and take a shot at the state record, but I got out a little too slow. But it’s OK. I just really wanted to win. It definitely hasn’t soaked in yet.”

Arlington teammate Parker Duskin claimed a first-place medal less than an hour later when he blazed his way to a personal-best time of 38.61 seconds in the 300 hurdles.

“It’s a massive win,” Duskin said. “Our whole team is very, very special, and we’re all close together. We encourage each other through everything.”

Duskin, a senior who took second in the 100 hurdles Friday, delivered a dominant performance, finishing 1.4 seconds in front of his nearest competitor.

“He’s been grinding,” Hunter said. “All through COVID we were allowed our winter training and we would meet at the track three days a week. … He kept coming out and grinding and I think that really led to the success he had today.”

The Eagles also got key points from unexpected places.

First-year discus thrower Kayode Aribibola delivered a third-place finish in the discus with a personal-best throw of 150 feet, 4 inches. And senior Elisha Jackson, seeded ninth, took sixth in the long jump with a mark of 21 feet, 5.5 inches.

“It was just a complete team effort,” Hunter said. “If someone didn’t (do as well as we expected), somebody else stepped up. That’s a great team.”

Meadowdale’s Love claims 3A girls 400

The race was over in the first 150 meters.

Tresley Love wasn’t messing around when the gun went off for the start of the 3A girls 400. The Meadowdale junior, running in lane four, went hard from the opening gun, and by the time she reached the middle of the back straight she had already made up the stagger on the rest of the field.

Love came off the final turn with a substantial lead and cruised to victory in a time of 57.00. She finished more than a second-and-a-half ahead of the rest of the field.

“It feels really good,” Love said about being a state champ.

“My goal is just to run to win, so I kind of got out and was aiming to catch everybody,” Love added. “I knew I had to get out fast because I knew the pace had to be fast for me to run a good time — and to maybe tire out the rest of the runners.”

E-W’s Rust wins 3A boys pole vault

Edmonds-Woodway senior Alec Rust capped his decorated prep career in style.

The multi-sport standout posted a personal-best vault of 14 feet, 6 inches to a claim the state title in the 3A boys pole vault.

Rust entered the meet seeded 10th.

Cedarcrest pole vaulter claims 2A state title

Avril Wilson came into the state meet as the top seed in the 2A girls pole vault and didn’t disappoint.

Wilson delivered a vault of 12 feet, 6 inches that none of her competitors could even come close to, winning by a whopping 2 feet, 3 inches.

Grace Academy athletes win titles in Cheney

Grace Academy sophomores Pearce Hess and Zia Fackenthall each earned state titles in the state track and field championships held at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Hess ran a winning time of 51.97 seconds in the 1B boys 400.

Fackenthall leapt her way to a title in the 1B girls triple jump with a mark of 35 feet, 3.5 inches.

Other top locals

Stanwood senior Leia Jones ran the 3A girls 800 meters in 2:14.49 for a second-place medal.

Lake Stevens senior Chloe Pattison earned her second second-place finish of the meet with a time of 44.12 seconds the 300 hurdles. Pattison and Vikings 4×100 relay teammates Perla Ruiz, Jada Sarrys and Giselle Llamas ran their race in 49.55 seconds for a third-place finish.

Shorewood senior Gilana Wollman took second in the 3A girls 100 with a time of 12.18 seconds and third in the long jump (17 feet, 1.25 inches) and 200 (25.59).

Marysville Pilchuck senior Jamaari Jefferson took third in the 3A boys triple jump with a distance of 43 feet, 11 inches. Jefferson and Tomahawks 4×100 relay teammates Dylan Carson, Jordan Velasquez and Nicholas Robinson took third with a time of 42.91 seconds.

Granite Falls senior Elie Bassett took third place in the 1A girls 800 with a time of 2:19.54.