The track and field team began the postseason with the KingCo championship, springboarding contenders into the SeaKing district meet this week, the qualifying event for the state meet.
The girls team finished the league meet in second place while the boys team earned a third-place finish. The top four finishers in the finals of each event earned places at the SeaKing district meet today and tomorrow.
One of Mercer Island’s brother-sister pairs on the team each finished first in the same event on Friday. Senior Tyler Benster posted a 9-minute, 42-second finish in the 3,200-meter race, while his sister Lindsay, a freshman, finished first in the 3,200 with a time of 11:20. Tyler Benster also finished third in the 1,600-meter race for a spot at the district meet.
Benster’s first-place finish was one of two top spots earned by the boys team during the meet. Senior Evan Dawson leapt 20 feet, 10 inches in the long jump for the second first-place finish.
Other qualifiers for the district meet from the boys team include: Tyler Benster in the 1,600-meter event, Jordan Turner in the triple jump, Bryce Borer in the pole vault, and the 4×100 relay team of Borer, Dawson, Jordan Turner and Nicholas Sinclair. The boys 4×400 relay of Dawson, Evan Sadler, Christopher Gelon and Quinn Chasan also qualified. Brad Idzik will compete at the district meet in the 300-meter hurdles while Borer will also compete in the 110-meter hurdles. Evan Sadler will also compete in the 800-meter race along with Quinn Chasan, and Dawson earned a place in the 200-meter race at districts. Eddy Page qualified in the boys pole vault.
Qualifiers from the girls team to the district meet include Phoebe Merritt and Lindsay Benster, in the 1,600-meter race. The duo finished in first and second place at the KingCo meet. Merritt and Haley Piper also swept the 800-meter finals with first and second place finishes to qualify for this week’s event. Senior Janelle Chow will compete in the 100-meter race, and the triple jump after taking first with a jump of 35.06. Along with Jordan Esfeld, Cora Miller and Maddison Crothamel, Chow will also compete in the 4×100 meter relay. Esfeld also had a fourth-place finish to grab the final qualifying spot in the girls long jump. The girls 4×400 relay team of Haley Piper, Cora Miller, Lauren Sadler and Phoebe Merritt qualified while Caryl Andersen, a freshman at MIHS, had a second-place javelin finish with a throw of 97 feet and 9 inches. Miller also grabbed the final spot in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. Senior Caroline Stephens will compete in the high jump, and Laura Vogel will take on the long jump at districts after a third-place finish. Monica Lee will compete in the discus event at the league meet.
