4/15/2023

(Puyallup, WA) The 3rd South Sound Classic took place at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup on Saturday where 62 teams competed in a great early taste of post season track. Here is our coverage with the video replay of each race plus some highlights from the field events and lots of interviews with the athletes.

There was 1 Championship Trophy awarded and that went to the combined boys and girls Champion which were the Federal Way Eagles. The Federal boys won their meet scoring 65 points and the girls finished 2nd with 42.5 points for a total of 117.5 combined points. The Eagles were the only team scoring more than 100 points.

Before we get to the coverage a special thank-you to both the Emerald Ridge and Rogers track staff’s as they were the host of this outstanding event. Special thanks to Emerald Ridge Head Coach Robert Frey for is willingness and help in bringing this event to the ESN live stream.

The top 5 combined teams were:
1st Federal Way 117.5
2nd Curtis 94
3rd Emerald Ridge 90
4th Lakes 85.5
5th Yelm 67

The top 5 boys teams:
1st Federal Way 65
2nd Gig Harbor 57.5
3rd Yelm 50
4th Emerald Ridge 48
5th Lakes 42

The top 5 girls teams:
1st Curtis 66
2nd Federal Way 52.5
3rd Lakes 43.5
4th Tahoma 43
5th Emerald Ridge 42

The Female Athlete of the Meet:
This honor went to Tahoma’s Brooke Lyons who won 3 events the 100m, 200m and 400m and set a new meet record in all 3 events. Her times and video’s of each race below. ESN got a chance to talk with Brooke after she was awarded the female Athlete of the Meet plaque.

The Male Athlete of the Meet:
Was Yelm’s Brayden Platt who won the shot put with a new meet record and just missed his own meet mark in the javelin while winning that event as well. Platt also competed in the discus where he PR’d but was just short of Jediah Darrell of Lincoln (Tac) to take 2nd place. We got a chance to talk with Brayden after he had captured his shot and javelin titles.

Below is a short re-cap of each event with the top 8 finishers in each event. The top 8 all earned team points toward the team title. If you’d like to look at all the full standings click on this link to Athletic.net.

Running Events

100m

Boys
Da’Shawn Sands of Spanaway Lake set a PR with a blazing 10.94 time and missed the meet record by 1/100th of a second at 10.93 to win the 100m. Bonney Lake’ Cooper Wilson was also right there with Sands taking 2nd just a 100th of a second back at 10.95. The meet record hold Micah Bach of Puyallup was 3rd running a time of 11-flat. Ben Stevens from Gig Harbor was 4th followed by Nicholas Altheimer of Emerald Ridge in 5th, 6th went to Berry Crosby from Kentridge, 7th was Andre Jordan from Federal Way and Dominick Dirton was 8th from Silas.

Girls
Tahoma’s Brooke Lyons smashed her own meet record she set last year by 3/10ths of a second with an 11.81 time the only sub 12-second time on the day. Jana Willems from Glacier Peak was 2nd also breaking the meet record with a 12.13 time. Federal Way’s Soukhanya Waters finished 3rd and all top 3 finishers set PR’s. In 4th place was South Kitsap’s Cheyanne Baker, Lenice Walston of Curtis was 5th followed by Parker Halgren from Mt Vernon, 7th went to Manuela Kouloun of Puyallup and Central Kitsap’s Jada Kopp took 8th.

200m

Boys
Titus Morris from Curtis set a new meet record stopping the clock in a time of 22.03, shattering the former time of 22.67. In fact the top 3 finishers all beat the old record with Cooper Wilson of Bonney Lake clocking in at 22.15 and 3rd place from Federal Way Andre Jordan at 22.55. All 3 times were also PR’s. Taking 4th was Ayden Fink from Gig Harbor, 5th went to Connor Wayman of Sumner, Puyallup’s Kyson Douglas was 6th with 7th going to Carter Rhooms of Auburn Riverside and Nicholas Altheimer from Emerald Ridge was 8th.

Girls
Tahoma’s Brooke Lyons sets yet another meet record with a blazing 24.95 time beating the old record by a half second and recorded the only sub 25-second time. Jana Willems from Glacier Peak was 2nd followed by Federal Way’s Soukhanya Waters in 3rd, 4th went to Alyce Chappelle from Rogers (Puy), 5th to Baella Stich from Snohomish. In 6th place was Jada Kopp from Central Kitsap, Mt Vernon’s Parker Halgren was 7th and taking 8th was Jaylah Winston from Decatur.

400m

Boys
Keith Avery from Snohomish got the win in the flat 400 with a clear win over Gig Harbor’s Ben Stevens in a time of 50.57. Sam Foust was 3rd from Franklin Pierce, taking 4th was Eddie Bruner of Lincoln (Tac), Capital’s Braxton Claridy was 5th, Andy Glaze from Steilacoom took 6th, the Tides of Gig Harbor placed a second runner in the top 8 with Nick Glover locking down the 7th position and wrapping up the top 8 was Lakes’ Sentoa Leapai. 

Girls
Brooke Lyons swept the 100-200 and 400 all in meet record times finishing the one lap in time of 56.49 snapping the old mark which was hers from last year of 58.44. Although finishing a second and a half behind, Ava Simms of Curtis took 2nd and also beat the meet record. Anya DeBoer, a freshman from Rogers (Puy) was 3rd followed by Lucy Heminway from Capital in 4th, 5th went to Coryn Shepherd from Franklin Pierce and 6th place was Graham-Kapowsin’s Ruby Stoehsler. Taking 7th was Gig Harbor’s Danica Olsen and in 8th was Noelle Lordahl from Curtis.

800m

Boys
The top 4 finishers all beat the meet record of 1:58.28 with the winner Ryan Lewis of Tahoma shattering it in a time of 1:55.12 and was 8/10ths of a second in front of runner-up Jonathan Miles of Gig Harbor. Lakes’ Cruize Corvin was a clear 3rd with a PR of his own while Kai Yoder from Snohomish took 4th. In 5th place was Joachim Jakuc of Glacier Peak, right behind in 6th was Jefferson Smith from South Kitsap. 7th place was Owen Windrope from Olympia and Mt Vernon’s Nicholas Hoyer placed 8th scoring a team point for the Bulldogs.

Girls
Julia Stuard of Tahoma just missed the meet record with a solid time of 2:17.84 giving the Bears a sweep of the 100 thru 800 running events. Stuard missed the meet record b y .24 of a second. Running 2nd was Lauren Laws from South Kitsap, Iris Rogel from Bonney Lake crossed the finish line 3rd followed by Alexis Meyer from North Thurston in 4th place. Running 5th went to Central Kitsap’s Taylor Palmer then came Reese Morkert from Gig Harbor, in 7th was Ifechi Okoye from Puyallup and in 8th from Jackson was Olivia Friedrich.

1600m

Boys
Cruize Corvin from Lakes drew away to win easily for the Lancers in a time of 4:14.81 about a second behind the meet record. Taking 2nd was Isaac Briggs from Rogers (Puy) then came Zachary Walsh of Yelm in 3rd place and rounding out the top 4 was Conner Wirth from Emerald Ridge. 5th place went to Micah Galeana of Gig Harbor who had a good lead over 6th place Jack Gladfelter from Port Angeles. Then came Caleb Wilcox of Steilacoom in 7th and in 8th place was Mt Vernon’s Nicholas Hoyer.

Girls
Julia Couch from Auburn Riverside pulled away down the stretch to win comfortably in a time of 4:57.88 blasting the meet record of 5:08.92. In fact the top 6 finishers all broke the old meet mark but Couch was the only sub 5-minute time. Taking 2nd from Emerald Ridge was Emme Bates followed by 3rd place finisher Latham West of Bonney Lake. In 4th place was Reese Morkert from Gig Harbor followed by Taylor Sletner also from Gig Harbor in 5th, next in 6th Olympia’s Sydney Kosa then came Joseph Stevenson of Bellarmine Prep and capped off with 8th place finisher Cara Sanders of Tahoma.

3200m

Boys
This race many times is called a boat race as one runner after another follow each other across the finish line but in this one it was on down the stretch and Lakes’ Zander Trevino held off Emerald Ridge’s Conner Wirth to win it in a time of 9:23.46 just 2/10’s of a second faster than Wirth. Finishing 3rd was Blake Reynolds of Central Kitsap then came Tyler Campbell of Gig Harbor in 4th place. Finishing 5th Alonso Fernandez from Bremerton, taking 6th was Michael Vlach also from Central Kitsap, Caleb Wilcox from Steilacoom was 7th and wrapping up the team scoring was 8th place finisher Isaac Benjamin from South Kitsap.

Girls
Curtis’ Eliza White found her best stride late and pulled away to win the longest race of the day with good energy in a time of 10:53.98. White did not allow Latham West from Bonney Lake to get by and West settled for 2nd. In 3rd came Aliyah Yearian from Port Townsend followed by Jackson’s Selena Bangerter in 4th, in 5th Julia Couch of Auburn-Riverside then came Madeline McKenna from Stadium in 6th place, 7th place was Nicole Yanasak from Puyallup and in 8th place it was Audra Palmer from Central Kitsap.

Hurdles

110 Hurdles

Boys
Lincoln’s Jonathan Frazier exploded down the stretch and pulled away for a convincing win and setting a new meet record of 14.50, 8/100’s of a second faster. Frazier was well in front of 2nd place Jonah Tongco from Kentridge. Taking 3rd was Spanaway Lake’s Andrew Bell then came Rainier Beach’s Eyoub Endris in 4th place. In 5th place was Yelm’s Jordan Lasher, in 6th from Emerald Ridge was Nicholas Altheimer followed by Mike Roberson of Graham-Kapowsin and in 8th place was Peyton Willard from Timberline.

100 Hurdles

Girls
Vai Green of Kentwood  blew past everyone with a meet record time of 15.70, a 10th of a second off the record. Green held off Trista Turgeon from White River who also broke the meet mark at 15.78 in her 2nd place run. Taking 3rd was Lavender Bel of Graham-Kapowsin then in 4th from Puyallup Ellie Fraumeni. In 5th place Candace Nhye of Todd Beamer, in 6th place Orting’s Myquela Pride then came Jalayla Williams of Rogers (Puy) in 7th and in 8th was Adrienn Fletcher of Evergreen (Sea).

300m Hurdles

Boys
Emerald Ridge’s Nicholas Altheimer pulled away for a clear win in the 300 hurdles to win for the host team. Running 2nd was Rainier Beach’s Eyoub Endris who was clearly 2nd best with a lead over 3rd place Keith Rogers from Todd Beamer. In 4th place it was Destiny Bello also from Emerald Ridge then it was Andrew Bell from Spanaway Lake for 5th. In 6th place was Noah Balzarini of Puyallup, 7th place went to Tenichi Gordon from North Kitsap and from Thomas Jefferson Artur Davidencko took 8th.

Girls
Mikayla Gardly from Emerald Ridge outfinished a pair of Tornados from Yelm for the victory in a time of 46.54 with a clear lead over Yelm’s Bethany Venuto who grabbed 2nd from her team mate Breanna Hurija]t who settled for 3rd place. Taking 4th from Kentwood was the 100 hurdles champ Vai Green. Then it was Delaney Bliss in 5th from Sumner while Orting’s Myquela Pride took 6th. In 7th place was Bethel’s Olivia Davis and in 8th it was Monique Carter of Emerald Ridge.

Relays

4×200

Girls
This girls only event started off the running events placing heats and it was the team from Graham-Kapowsin who pulled away for the win and improved about a second and a half on their seed time. But the 1:46.78 was not enough to set a new meet mark. The Eagles 4-some had Grace Peterson lead off followed by Lavender Bel, the 3rd leg was Kamisha Hurse and the anchor leg was Yuna Daniels. The Rogers (Puy) team was 2nd followed by Federal Way, Capital took 4th, then in 5th place was Orting. Taking 6th was Glacier Peak, the team from Fife ran 7th and capping the top 8 was the team from Mt Tahoma.

4x100m

Boys
In the boys 4×100 it was Kentridge’s fab 4 who set a new meet record time of 42.75 snapping the old one of 43.14. The Chargers were also the 1st and still only team to go sub 43-seconds. They got a fast start with lead-off runner James Caribo who handed the baton flawlessly to Alex Conner. Taking the 3rd spot was Berry Crosby and running in the important final leg was Jonah Tongco who finished with a clear win. Running 2nd came the team from Gig Harbor, Lincoln (Tac) was 3rd followed by Graham-Kapowsin in 4th. Lakes took 5th place then came Puyallup in 6th and Spanaway Lake in 7th and wrapping up the top 8 was Timberline.

Girls
The meet record for the girls 4×100 was 50.16 set last year by Capital and that time was topped again by the Cougars breaking their own record, however their 50.12 time was only good enough for 3rd place as Federal Way blazed their way to the win with a time and new meet mark of 49.66. The Eagles Championship team was led off with Kira Angel Marshall followed by Soukkhanya Waters in the 2nd leg. Running 3rd was Marina Velasco Bono and the final leg went to Cassandra Atkins. The Eagles held off a fast Graham-Kapowsin team for a battle of the Eagles by 1/10th of a second as G-K stopped the clock in 49.76. Then came Capital followed by Glacier Park in 4th, 5th went to Curtis, 6th place was Spanaway Lake, Central Kitsap was 7th and Yelm took 8th.

4x400m

Boys
The traditional finale was an impressive performance by the Snohomish Panthers (even though in the video below it took our crew a while to figure out it was indeed Snohomish with the run-away win, our apologies for the mix up.) Snohomish set a new meet record shaving 6/100’s of a second off the previous mark with a time of 3:29.82. Leading off for the Panthers was Kai Yoder followed in the 2 spot by Brendan Cross. Parker Johnson was the 3rd leg and running a strong anchor leg was Avery Keith. Lakes tried to make a run of it but settled for 2nd, Gig Harbor was 3rd then came Lincoln (Tac) in 4th. 5th place went to Auburn Riverside, Kentwood was 6th then came the Olympia Bears in 7th and finishing 8th was the team from Rogers (Puy).

Girls
The final event of the meet was the girls 4×400 and it was Curtis pulling away for a convincing win. Their final time was slower than their seed and well off the meet record of 4:08.53 with a final winning time of 4:13.55. But the effort was more than enough to win on this day by nearly 2 seconds. Noelle Lordahl led it off followed by Eliza White in the 2nd spot, running 3rd was Azariah Miller with Ava Simms running the final leg. Running 2nd was the Emerald Ridge team followed by Olympia in 3rd, Gig Harbor was 4th then came Bonney Lake taking 5th. In 6th place was Puyallup, Tahoma was 7th and wrapping up the South Sound Classic was 8th place Graham-Kapowsin.

Field Events/Throws

Shot Put

Boys
Yelm’s Brayden Platt tossed one that the shot pit couldn’t contain as the shot hit the cement border and was 61-feet. Platt set a new meet record breaking his own mark from last year of 55′-10.5″ or by a little more than 5 feet. Quincy Nixon of Capital was 2nd and the only other competitor to go over the 50-foot mark at 50′-02.5″. Taking 3rd was Thomas Drenkel from Bonney Lake, 4th went to Jacob Lane of Emerald Ridge, 5th Kyle Cox of Eatonville, 6th went to Ivan Picazo of Bremerton,  7th was Jericho Alatasi from Thomas Jefferson and 8th, earning 1 team point was  Logan Lisherness from Emerald Ridge.

Girls
Pray’Cesslily Kamuta won the girls shot put by a half inch just edging out Grace Deagarimore from South Kitsap with a throw of 41-6 to 41-5.5. Naveah Wilson from Spanaway Lake took 3rd just 4 inches behind, in 4th was Faith Taula from Emerald Ridge, 5th and 6th places went to the Lake Lancers with Melila Pelalasi in 5th and Isabella Oliver 6th by a 4 inch difference. Taking 7th was Nashayla Fellows from Kent-Meridian and in 8th Dariuon Clinkscales from Spanaway Lake.

Discus

Boys
It was going to be tough to come close to the meet record of 195-07 set last year by Jeremiah Nubbe from Rainier and that was the case but Jediah Darrell from Lincoln (Tac) did hand the male athlete of the meet, Yelm’s Brayden Platt his only defeat. Darrell flung the disc 156-01 topping Platt’s 153-06. The pair were the only 2 over 150-feet. Darrell also threw 13-feet more than his seed throw for the Championship. Platt’s seed throw was just 126-04 and actually did not get to throw head to head with Darrell but was down in the 2nd flight where he added 27-feet to his best throw. Taking 3rd from South Kitsap was Brendan Bourke, 4th went to Gage Pedro and 5th place was Bremerton’s Ivan Picazo. Taking 6th was Thomas Drenkel from Bonney Lake, 7th was Quincy Nixon of Capital and Emerald Ridge’s Daniel Meade Jr was 8th.

Girls
Like in the boys the meet record may be there for quite some time with the mark of 150-03 set in 2019 by Olympia’s Beatrice Asomaining. South Kitsap’s Grace Degarimore did not come close to that mark but she was the convincing winner on Saturday with the only toss plus 120-feet at 122-04. That was nearly 8 feet longer than 2nd place Melila Pulalasi of Lakes who grabbed 2nd by 6 inches. Adriannah Galvan from Snohomish was 3rd then came Mashayla Fellows from Kent-Meridian in 4th place. 5th went to Naveah Wilson from Spanaway Lake, 6th place was Lesieli Fifita from Glacier Peak, 7th place went to Sonya Faamalele of Federal Way and 8th was Taja Ward from Rainier Beach.

Javelin

Boys
Brayden Platt from Yelm got his day off with a win in the javelin with a throw of 189-07 which was his best of the year so far but not his personal best nor did he break the meet record which he set last year at 192-01. Taking 2nd was Central Kitsap’s Roderick Schenk with a 183-11. In 3rd was Alex Suk from Curtis, 4th went to Reece Jennings of Gig Harbor, Curtis’ Jayden Becles 5th, 6th Jimmy Buie of Central Kitsap, 7th goes to Domonik Smith of Auburn and Glacier Peak’s Angus Van Valey was 8th.

Brayden Platt’s winning Jav throw

Girls
No big surprises in the girls javelin as the top 8 finishers were all in the top flight of competitors however, Lakes’ Laniyah Knox did stun the field with her toss of 116-07 to win it. Knox was seeded 8th and came in with a qualifying throw of 103-07, 11 feet behind the top thrower. South Kitsap’s Grace Degarimore took 2nd 8 inches behind Knox. Dy’Naizh Silvera of Lakes was the top qualifier and settled for 3rd then came Ellie Wetmore of Snohomish in 4th, 5th place went to Chase Anderson of Emerald Ridge. In 6th was Brooke Blocker from Eatonville, Lianna Saucedo from Thomas Jefferson was 7th and in 8th was Jenna Rigg of Olympia.

Field Events/Jumps & Vault

High Jump

Boys
Federal Way swept the top 2 spots in the boys High Jump and both broke the old meet record of 6-02. Jaylon Jenkins flew over the bar at 6-06 topping his qualifying leap of 6-04. His team mate Julian Gene Fortin also topped his qualifier of 6-02 with a jump of 6-04. Both were well clear of 3rd place Andrew Brown from Sequim at 6-feet and those 3 were the only ones over 6-feet. There was a 3-way tie for 4th between Eyoub Endris of Rainier Beach and a pair from Mt Tahoma, Josiah Johnson and Zane Cordero. Then a 2-way tie for 7th between Brodie Grossman of Federal Way and Daveon Superales of Graham-Kapowsin to round out the top 8 finishers.

ESN talks with Federal Way’s Jaylon Jenkins

Girls
Central Kitsap’s Savannah Fourier came in as the top qualifier and did not disappoint winning the competition with a 5-02 jump. Even though it was not her best as she came in with a qualifier of 5-05 it was more than enough for the win. Elizabeth Velychko from Curtis was the only other jumper to get 5-feet for 2nd. In 3rd place was Fife’s Audrey Hospenthal, 4th went to Grace Wesenberg and 5th place came from North Thurston’s Kalisha Walker. Gabriella Loewy from Auburn-Riverside was 6th and then a 3-way tie for 7th went to Holly Faivre of Fife and Bonney Lakes’ Callie Wilson and from Emerald Ridge Mikayla Gardley.

ESN talks with girls Champ Savannah Fourier of Central Kitsap

Long Jump

Boys
Federal Way won the overall team title and you can point to the field events carrying the load for the Eagles as they swept the top 2 spots in the Long Jump as well and again both beat the old meet record. Roman Hutchinson beat his team mate Jaylon Jenkins by nearly 7-inches with a jump of 22-08 beating the old meet record of 22-01. Jenkins also beat that mark with a leap of 22-1.25 and the FW pair were the only 2 over 22 feet. Olympia’s Jonathan Holcombe had a solid jump of 21-10 for 3rd, then came Titus Morris of Curtis in 4th. Placing 5th was Treyvon Silva of Franklin Pierce, a 3rd Federal Way eagle hit the scoreboard in 6th was Andre Jordan. In 7th Jonah Tongco from Kentridge and in 8th place was Tristan Hall from Central Kitsap.

ESN talks with Federal Way’s Roman Hutchinson

Girls
Cassandra Atkins from Federal Way won the long jump with a new meet record of 19-5.5 beating the former mark of 17-11.5 and was clear of 2nd place Ava Simms by more than 2 feet. Natalie Weathers of Lakes was 3rd followed by 4th place Vai Green of Kentwood. In 5th from Sumner was Shai Gray with Snohomish’s Baella Stich taking 6th, Yelm’s Ayla Danner-Bunn 7th and in 8th was Jasmyn Dupree of Spanaway Lake.

Triple Jump

Boys
Federal Way finished 1-2 in the triple jump with Roman Hutchinson edging out his team mate Julian Fortin while setting a new meet record of 46-5. In fact the top 5 finishers all beat the old meet mark of 43-05.25. Fortin was just 3 inches behind Hutchinson. 3A defending state champion Trevontay Smith of Yelm was 3rd, finishing 4th was Jasper Estrellado from Kentridge, in 5th from Olympia Jonathan Holcombe, Zion Thompson from Lakes took 6th, in 7th was Josiah Johnson of Mt Tahoma and Puyallup’s Justin Temple Jr was 8th.

Girls
The Eagles swept the triple jump with Cassandra Atkins taking the girls event by destroying the meet record of 35-07 and in fact the top 4 placers all beat that mark from 2019. Atkins picked up her second jump win setting meet records now in both the long and triple jumps when she flew to a distance of 39-9.5 shattering the old mark by more than 4 feet. Curtis’s Azariah Miller was a solid 2nd with a 37-02 jump. In 3rd place was Kentwood’s Vai Green and Silas’s Addison Kelly was 4th and also broke the old meet mark. Natalie Weathers of Lakes took 5th followed by Kiara Scheidt of Rogers (Puy) in 6th, 7th went to Paityn Gagnon of Timberline and in 8th was Samantha Engelken from Olympia.

ESN talks with Cassandra Atkins

Pole Vault

Boys
Curtis pole vaulter Andrew Shirley was the clear favorite to win this event with a qualifying vault of 15-01 and he waited for the height to get to 14-feet before he made his 1st attempt and sailed over it with ease. That in itself blistered the old meet record of 13-feet. He then jumped to 15-feet and sailed easily over the top for an even bigger new meet record. Shirley then attempted 15-06 and on his 1st try looked to have cleared it but just nudged the bar enough for it to fall down after bouncing on top of the standards. The old meet record was not going to last as 7 of the top 8 all broke the mark. In 2nd was Mirek Skov of Sequim at 14-feet. Then the next 4 vaulters all cleared 13-06 and the tie-breakers came down to the jump they made it with 3rd place going to Yelm’s Jordan Lasher, 4th place to Jeremy Gutierrez of Emerald Ridge, Tenichi Gordon of North Kitsap 5th, in 6th place Lucas Hoff of WF West and in 7th was Chris Sather from Sumner. Taking 8th place was Hunter Kleindl from Rogers (Puy).

ESN talks with Andrew Shirley

Girls
The 2 top qualifiers battled it out for 1st and 2nd. Both Lucy Markow of Bishop Blanchet and Olympia’s Claire Lee had qualifying vaults of 11-feet. Markow won it with a winning height of 11-06. Lee hit her qualifying mark of 11-feet for 2nd place. The girls had the disadvantage of going 2nd and the boys got to vault for the most part without any rain. The entire girls event was in the rain and makes it a little trickier for pole vaulters. Finishing 3rd was Snohomish’s Isabella Martuch followed by Amelia Baylor from Curtis in 4th place. 5th place went to Ana Johnson also of Snohomish while there was a tie for 6th between Federal Way’s Jazlyn Jones and Abigial Bailey from Lakes and rounding out the top 8 was Sumner’s Elizabeth Knowent.

ESN talks with Lucy Markow on her win

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