It has been 34 years since the inaugural Chehalis Activators Classic, one of the top meets in the Lewis County area. Since then, most of the core of the track and field meet has remained intact.
There will be one change to this year’s gathering at W.F. West High School.
For the first time in the history of the Activators Classic, there will be sponsors for the two-day meet that kicks off on Friday that will help benefit the Chehalis Activators, a nonprofit organization.
“Source of revenue, so why don’t we do it?” Co-race director Ryan Robertson said.
The main avenue of the organization is to help fund the athletic programs for Chehalis Middle School. The sponsors are as Robertson put it, “A direct benefit for the middle school.”
It will have the same local flavor amongst the competing teams.
Black Hills, Centralia, Napavine, Onalaska, Pe Ell, Rainier, Rochester, Tumwater and Winlock all will gather at the high school track along with the host Bearcats. There are 24 teams scheduled to be in the field.
Friday will be an invitational where all competitors for every team will be able to compete in events starting at 4 p.m. It is the hallmark of what makes the Activators Classic different from any other weekend track meet.
“That really is our strength,” Robertson said. “We take care of them all; we want them to have an amazing experience.”
On Saturday, it will be the top-18 athletes and relays in every event based on season best marks.
Field events start at noon on Saturday and running will kick off an hour later. Live results will be available at athletic.net.
“It has kind of felt like an area championships,” Robertson stated. “It is fun for our smaller schools to come up and compete with the bigger schools. It is a good Lewis County connection.”
