Dozens of 2A Track Athletes Advance to State After Districts in River

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Led by 16 athletes advancing to the state championships next week in Tacoma, the Tumwater boys and girls track and field teams dominated once again Friday afternoon at Columbia River in the 2A District 4 championships. 

Starting with the boys, Christian Schlecht had a strong day in sprints, advancing to state with two fourth-place finishes in the 100m (11.24) and the 200m (23.07). Blake Kirkpatrick also advanced in the 200m, taking second in 22.92. 

Josh Schlecht took third in the 400m to advance in 52.74 and Reis Howell finished third in the 800m (2:01.68). 

John Hoffer was the first district champ for the T-Birds, winning the 3200m in 9:39.61, and taking second in the 1600m in 4:23.92. Jayden Thomas took third in the 110m hurdles (15.46) before winning the high jump with a 6 foot, 6 inch clearance. 

On the field, Aaron Paul advanced in both the long jump, finishing first (21 feet, 2 inches), and the triple jump, finishing fourth (39 feet, 4 inches). Makhi Odoms also advanced in both horizontal jumps, taking third in both the long jump (20 feet, 6.5 inches) and triple jump (39 feet, 8 inches). 

Finally, both the boys relay teams advanced, with Payton LaGuerre, Kirkpatrick, David Malroy, and Christian Schlecht taking third in the 4x100 and Christian Schlecht, Kirkpatrick, Josh Schlecht, and Howell taking first in the 4x400. 



On the girls side, Ava Jones took third in the 100m in 12.53, but came back to win the 200m in 25.67. Annabelle Clapp took first in the 400m in 59.65 and second in the 800m in 2:22.18, and Reese Heryford took third in the 400m in 1:01.32. 

Rizalina Johnson was the last individual qualifier, taking fourth in the pole vault with an 8 foot, 6 inch clearance. 

The Thunderbird girls also took two of out three relays, and advanced all to state. The 4x100 with Mariah Jett, Rhylee Beebe, Heryford, and Cassidy Hedin took fourth in 52.52. The 4x200 with Clapp, Hedin, Heryford, and Jones won in 1:46.36, and the 4x400 with Selly Beyene, Hedin, Heryford, and Jones won in 4:08.62. 

Elsewhere, the W.F. West boys had two state qualifiers, with Lucas Hoff taking third in the javelin (153 feet, 6 inches) and Brian Anouma taking third in the high jump, clearing six feet. 

For the girls, Emily Mallonee took third in the 300-meter hurdles in 50.22, and the Bearcats had three girls finish in the top-4 of the javelin: Amanda Bennett (115 feet, 6 inches), Morgan Rogerson (107 feet, 7 inches), and Grace Simpson (105 feet, 9 inches). The Bearcats’ 4x200-meter relay also advanced, finishing fourth with a time of 1:51.92 with a team of Lauren Kelley, Kaija Economou, Mallonee, and Bennett. 

Rochester finished with one lone qualifier in sprinter Ashton Rodriguez, who finished second in the 100-meter dash in 11.03, and Black Hills had three qualifiers: Liam Wall in the boys shot put, finishing fourth (49 feet, 10 inches), and discus, finishing second (154 feet, 1 inch), while Ashley Harris finished third in the girls shot put (37 feet, 10.5 inches).