Brandon Hansen / For The Chronicle Pe Ell's Josh Schulz long jumps at the State 2B championships on Friday.
W.F. West High School runner Erika Brumfield, center in gray, takes off at the start of the women's 2A 800-meter prelims Friday during the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
W.F. West High School runner Erika Brumfield, facing camera at center, bonds with a competitor following the women's 2A 800-meter preliminary heat Friday during the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
W.F. West High School pole vaulter Beau Stidham clears his first vault at the 2A pole vault finals Friday during the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
W.F. West High School javelin athlete Kendra Bottenberg unleashes a throw during the 2A women's javelin preliminary round Friday at the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Centralia High School discus athlete Kaitlynn Johns unleashes a throw at the start of the women's 2A discus preliminary heat Friday during the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Centralia High School triple jumper Anastasia Ulrigg takes off at the start of the women's 2A triple jump preliminary round Friday during the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Centralia High School triple jumper Anastasia Ulrigg chats with fans following the women's 2A triple jump preliminary round Friday during the WIAA 2A State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
CHENEY — Steak and fettuccine go great with gold medals.
At least, according to Josh Schulz, who is quickly becoming an authority on all three during his stay in Cheney.
The Pe Ell senior won the long jump by over a foot here Friday on Day 2 of the State 2B Track and Field Championships, along with qualifying for the finals in the 100 and the 200.
His long jump mark, while admittedly aided by strong winds blowing through Eastern Washington University’s Roos Field, was a whopping 23 feet, 8 inches.
“We had prelims and finals, and I PR’d every jump,” he said. “I would have won with my first jump (22-06), and my second-to-last jump, 23-8, that broke it — but it was wind illegal.”
On an unwindy day, a 23-8 mark would have (legally) set a new record, eclipsing the state 2B tournament mark set in 1989 by Seattle Lutheran’s Kelly Coleman. As it was, Schulz settled for a state title and a podium packed with familiar faces.
Morton-White Pass’ Zack Elswick took second at 22-04.5, Mossyrock’s Levi Munoz was third with a school-record 22-00.25, and Andrew Schulz — a freshman and Josh’s younger brother — finished fifth at 21-05.
“It’s crazy. He PR’d by a foot and a half,” Schulz said. “He wasn’t even seeded to medal, and he got fifth.”
The wind, he added, helped seven long jumpers top the 21-foot mark. Only the older Schulz and Elswick had topped 21 feet in the 2B ranks this season prior to state.
The secret, he said, has been the blackened steak fettuccini at the Rusty Moose Bar and Grill in Spokane, where he planned to dine once Friday’s action was complete.
“It’ll be the same thing,” he said. “That’s the key to success right there, the Rusty Moose.”
He’ll be locked and loaded for today’s action, with the triple jump — he’s got the second-best seeding mark, but expects a boost from fixing part of his second phase — and the 100 finals (11:15 a.m.) and the 200 finals (3:05 p.m.).
Olson Wins Triple Jump
Napavine’s Mollie Olson won in a big way here Friday, taking first in the triple jump by nearly a foot at the State 2B Track and Field Championships.
Olson, a sophomore, leapt 35 feet, 6.5 inches on the last of her six attempts to win the state title. She edged out Northwest Christian’s (Lacey) Heidi Sowers, a junior, by 11 inches for the championship.
Napavine’s Chase Van Wyck finished third in the shot put on Friday, with a best toss of an even 52 feet. The senior, and former state champion, was edged by North Beach’s Tim Poplin (53-05) and fellow Hyak Jonny Law (52-11.50) in the finals.
Napavine’s Karlee Bornstein was 10th in the discus, at 109-02. Raymond’s Karlee Freeman won the event at 159 feet, 8 inches, a mark over 12 feet past the previous meet record of 146-10 — set by Bickleton’s Annie Hess in 2005. Freeman also won the event last year, as a freshman.
Schulz, Hamre Post Top 100 Qualifying Times
CHENEY — Napavine’s Grace Hamre and Pe Ell’s Josh Schulz moved out of the preliminary rounds in style here Friday.
On Day 2 of the State 2B Track and Field Championships, Hamre and Schulz posted the best qualifying times in the 100 meters in their respective fields.
Schulz’s 11.37 was the best boys qualifying time, while Napavine’s Conner Locke (11.68) also qualified for the finals. Schulz also qualified in the 200, taking fifth in the preliminaries.
Hamre’s 13.03 mark was actually tied, exactly, with Colfax’s Scout Cai, though Hamre’s time came with less wind assistance to give the Napavine senior the top seeding into today’s finals. Hamre also qualified with the best time in the 400 (58.60) by nearly three seconds, and qualified in the 200 with, again, the best time, edging Cai 26.18 to 26.81 for top billing.
Napavine’s 4x400 girls relay team — Mollie Olson, Grace Hamre, Alex Pope and Xylee Pope — qualified for today’s finals, running 1:48.08 in the preliminaries for the second-best qualifying time (behind La Conner’s 1:47.70). Napavine’s 4x400 team — made up of sisters Alex, Xylee, Lexee and Xoee Pope — posted the seventh-best preliminary time to advance.
Toledo’s girls 4x100 team (Ally Bacon, Abigail Rowe, Davinagrace Ramon and Courtney Moore) also qualified for the finals, taking sixth in the prelims.
Olson also qualified for the finals in the 100 hurdles with a 16.19 qualifying time, the fourth-best mark on Friday. Adna’s Emma Manning (17.24) qualified in the same race.
Morton-White Pass’ Kenzie Anderson, a senior, qualified in the 800 at 2:25.47 for sixth in the preliminaries.
Pe Ell’s Tyler Justice also moved on to Saturday’s finals in the 110 hurdles (7th, 16.78), as did Mossyrock’s 4x100 relay team (Levi Munoz, Jess White, James Cheney and Lucas Johnson). White added a seventh-place finish in the 400 preliminaries to qualify for today’s finals. Johnson, Munoz, White and Sean Johnson also qualified in the 4x400 with the fifth-best time.
2A Track
Bottenberg Seventh in Javelin
TACOMA — W.F. West’s Kendra Bottenberg finished seventh in the javelin here Friday in the State 2A Track and Field Championships at Mount Tahoma High School.
Bottenberg, a sophomore, posted a top throw of an even 116 feet. Woodland’s McKenna Flanagan won the event at 122 feet, 3 inches.
Centralia’s Kaitlynn Johns took ninth in the discus, at 107-06.
On the track side of the event, W.F. West’s Erika Brumfield ran a 2 minute, 28.57-second preliminary race, but came up short of qualifying for today’s final rounds.
Action continues today at Mount Tahoma High School.
