Mercer Island prepares for state meet | Track and field

After strong personal showings at the SeaKing district track meet on Friday afternoon, several members of the Mercer Island team will head to Tacoma this weekend for the 3A state competition.

"The kids did really well and gave amazing effort all around," said head coach Lezley Smith. "I think at this point in the season, the focus is the same. Continue to fine tune technique, hone race strategy, trust their training and execute training and technique."

The girls team, which finished with 28 points, had a first place winner in Carly Andersen. She took the top spot in the javelin competition with a throw of 118 feet and one inch. Andersen will also compete in the discus event at state. She finish third in the district meet with a throw of 101'08. Cora Miller also qualified in the 100 meter hurdles race with a fifth place finish in 15.86. She will also compete in the 300 hurdles event, after a fourth place finish at districts.

The boys team earned 43 points overall last week. Both Nick Ford and Aaron Elefson qualified for state in the 3,200 meter race. Elefson took second overall, while Ford was fifth, which was 11 seconds faster than Ford's previous best time. Elefson will also compete in the 1,600 event after a second place finish at districts.

Tyler Gooslby will compete in the 800 meter race after finishing with a 1:59.06 time for fourth place at districts. Will Clausen just missed the state meet after finishing in sixth place in the 800 meter race. He began the meet as an alternate, and earned a spot in the finals.

In the boys 300 meter hurdle event, John Hammerstrom finished in sixth place, just .02 seconds behind the fifth place finisher.

Senior Reid Jackson will compete in the boys long jump at state. He was second with a jump of 20'11. He will also compete in the javelin after finishing fifth.

The 3A state meet begins Thursday, May 26  and runs through Saturday, May 28 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

 

Contact Mercer Island Reporter Reporter Megan Managan at mmanagan@mi-reporter.com or (206) 232-1215 ext. 5054.

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