SHORELINE — While Shane Hoffman’s takeoffs can be smoother than a 747, his landing gear sometimes gets jammed up.

But even his crashes are spectacular.

The Shorecrest senior didn’t let a bit of turbulence cut short his winning leap at last weekend’s Pasco Invitational. Hoffman began to lose his balance as he splashed down into the sandpit on his fifth and final long jump attempt.

It was anything but a textbook landing, but he still recorded a season-best measurement of 21 feet, 9 inches to clinch first place at the 42nd annual meet April 19 in Eastern Washington.

“I wasn’t doing good on my extending,” Hoffman said. “On my last jump I fell, but my feet were furthest back.”

The mark left Hoffman a half-inch shy of a school record.

“I really want to break 22 (feet),” Hoffman said. “I hope to get it in the next few meets. If I don’t, I’ll just have to work harder.”

To add distance to his leaps, Hoffman has been working on proper leg extension and better landings.

“When I jump, I land with my legs spread out,” he said. “I need to extend them and bring one forward.”

In Shorecrest’s first league meet of the season last month, Hoffman jumped 21-8.

“He’s been consistent all year,” Shorecrest coach Don Dalziel said. “He’s been jumping over 21 feet every meet.”

Senior transfer Lars Tiegen also turned in his best jump of the season at Pasco, clearing a career-best 6-4 in the high jump to finish fifth. Tiegen cleared 5-10 and 6-feet on his first attempt, 6-2 on his second try and 6-4 on his third attempt.

“There was a lot of competition, which helps out,” Tiegen said.

A slightly longer approach also made a difference. Tiegen increased his eight-step approach to 10 steps at the meet and the extra bit of running room paid off.

“It gives me more speed as long as I get the turn right,” he said.

Shorecrest’s relay teams — particularly on the girls side — also took advantage of the warm, Pasco weather.

In the 1,600 relay, the team of Haley Martin, Chelsie Harrison, Mickey Pelland and Whitney Michiels placed second to Eastmont in a time of 4:05.77.

Jessica Jakubiak, Rachel Moore, Michiels and Harrison teamed for a fourth-place time of 50.55 in the 400 relay. Martin, Harrison, Michiels and Moore took seventh in the 800 relay in 1:46.69.

All three of the times were season bests.

“We’ve never run this fast, this early,” Dalziel said.

Pelland placed third in the 800-meter run in 2:18 to help the Scots tie Heritage and Mead for eighth in the team standings with 21 points. The highest Western Conference finisher was fourth-place Snohomish.

“It’s the best Shorecrest has ever done at Pasco, so we were all pretty happy,” Pelland said. “We took a good balanced group of people from different events.”

“It was our best experience ever at Pasco. The kids came ready to compete,” added Dalziel. “They’ve been to that meet enough times and other big meets, they know how to deal to deal with those situations. Everybody came ready to perform.”

The meet also provided the Scots their first glimpse at some of the state’s top-tier programs. Two of the teams that finished ahead of Shorecrest in the 400 relay and four of the top six finishers in the 800 relay were from 4A schools.

“It’s a mix and match,” Dalziel said. “There’s teams from all different classifications. But it’s usually the best of the best. Historically it’s been the strongest caliber meet of the year. I can’t over-emphasize enough how pleased I was with their effort.”