Owen Powell Enters Washington State Meet Record Book With 800/1,600 Double

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Ethan Buck photos

TACOMA, Wash. — Owen Powell cemented his legacy at the WIAA Outdoor State Championships with two meet record performances at Mount Tahoma High this weekend.

The Mercer Island senior broke the Class 3A records in the 1,600 meters and 800 meters, running 4:03.68 in the former and 1:49.28 in the latter. He quickly gained sizable leads in each race, deciding early to not leave anything for a kick.

PHOTOS | INTERVIEWS

Powell said he wasn’t aiming to break either of those records, but facing stiff competition allowed him to do so (despite the fact that the competition was several seconds back).

“That wasn’t really the goal… it was just to go out and win,” Powell said, “but I think the fields are so good this year, that’s what it took to win.”

Powell will have a few more chances to add accolades to his high school career as his season transitions to the national stage. He’ll be competing at the HOKA Festival of Miles and the Brooks PR Invitational next week. This weekend, however, was his last chance to wear a Mercer Island jersey.

“It’s really bittersweet,” Powell said. “I brought it up to my coach at one point. When she realized that, she got a little teary as well… but I think that’s a good last couple of races to end on in this singlet.”

Powell said after every race, good or bad, he writes his takeaways in a journal. His first words for this entry: “Beyond happy.”

On the girls’ side, two of Powell’s Mercer Island teammates, Sophia Rodriguez and Aaliyah Khan, enjoyed similarly stellar weekends. Rodriguez swept the long distance events, winning the 1,600 meters in 4:47.64 and the 3,200 meters in 10:16.33. Like Powell, she went out hard in both races and won big; she won the 1,600 by five seconds and the 3,200 by 20.

Rodriguez will also be competing in some national events in June — she’ll be running at Brooks with Powell and at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She said she wants to make a few adjustments for those races; most notably, she needs to be more confident in running her own race.

Khan, meanwhile, broke the 3A meet record in the long jump with a mark of 19-4.50. She struggled in her first few jumps, fouling twice and only managing 18-3.25 before the finals, but she broke through on her last attempt, setting a personal best by over a foot.

Rodriguez and Khan’s performances helped Mercer Island take the 3A girls team title with 70 points.

The most dominant performance of the weekend on the girls’ side, though, was that of Lane McKenzie from Cedarcrest. She took home four gold medals in the 2A division, winning the triple jump (39-11), 100 meters (12.10), 200 meters (24.32) and long jump (19-7.75). Her marks in the latter two were both meet records.

“I’ve worked a lot this season, and (winning four events) was definitely one of my goals going into it,” McKenzie said. “Being able to accomplish that and make it here and be able to perform again… it’s really exciting for me. All the work feels like it’s paid off.”

As she crossed the line in the 200 and clinched her fourth gold, she felt a mix of emotions, but she said excitement was not the most prominent one — it was relaxation. She had finally done it, and her work for the weekend was over.

Karina Cooper (Camas) was the only other field athlete on the girls’ side to break a meet record. She cleared 13-2 in the pole vault to break the old record by half an inch. After that, she set the bar at 13-3.50 in hopes of breaking Camas’ school record, but none of her attempts at that height were particularly close. 

On the track, Iren Derricks of Emerald Ridge echoed McKenzie in pulling off a sprint double, winning the 4A girls 100 meters and 200 meters. She ran 11.68 in the 100 and broke the meet record in the 200 with a 24.10 performance.

On the distance side, Kjirsten Ludeman (Sehome) and Ciana Johnson (Ballard) broke meet records in their respective 800 meters races; Ludeman ran 2:11.08 to win the 2A division, while Johnson ran 2:08.61 to win 3A.

Alexa Matora (Lake Washington) and Sloan Dickson (Lynden) picked up two gold medals each in their distance events. Matora won the 4A 800 meters and 1,600 meters, while Dickson won the 1,600 and 3,200 in 2A.

Rochelle Jeffries (Foster), meanwhile, dominated the 2A hurdle races, winning the 100-and 3000meter hurdles. She ran 14.47 in the 100 and then came within 0.08 seconds of breaking the meet record in the 300 with a 43.28 performance.

Mt. Spokane capped the meet with a meet record in the 4x400 meter relay, running 3:50.27. The Sehome girls, who finished second, also broke the previous record with their time of 3:54.82.

Sehome won the 2A girls team title thanks to a plethora of podium finishes in the distance events; between the 800, 1,600, and 3,200 alone, they scored 46 points. 

Mt. Si won the 4A division with 58 points, putting a 19-point gap on runner-up Eastlake.

Nicholas Altheimer solidifies domination of Washington sprinting

Curtis’ Nicholas Altheimer knows he owns the sprints in Washington, and he considered this weekend a chance to prove that. Altheimer competed in three events in the 4A division on Saturday and won all of them.

He started his day with a win in the 100 meters, running 10.59 to beat runner-up Jordan Miller (Kentridge) by two tenths of a second. Less than an hour later, he came back in the 4x100 relay and helped Curtis take the win with a time of 40.93. That performance was actually slower than what Curtis ran in the preliminary round, where the group ran 40.84 to break the meet record in the heats on Friday.

Altheimer’s last event was the 200 meters, and he finished his weekend with another gold medal and another meet record performance, crossing the line in 21.07 seconds.

Altheimer said this weekend was all about meeting or exceeding expectations.

“They’re very high, they’re set for me,” Altheimer said. “I know I can meet them. I know what kind of an athlete I am, and I always exceed the expectations.”

Altheimer’s season’s bests of 10.35 and 21.02 are both top-ranked in Washington. Next weekend, he’ll be competing at Brooks PR alongside some of the nation’s top-ranked athletes in the 100 meters. He said he’s hoping to put his state on the map with his performance there.

“Everyone acts like Washington doesn’t have fast individuals,” Altheimer said. “It’s really just because of our weather. Other than that, we have people that can really slide. To go out there and (perform well) on a different stage, it’s just showing people what we already got.”

Aside from Altheimer, most of the top performers in the boys’ competition were in the field events. Simon Rosselli (Mead) broke the meet record in the 4A discus with a throw of 205-7. He had an incredibly consistent field series, throwing at least 195 feet on every attempt and over 200 feet four times.

Rosselli has been dominant in the discus this season; in April, he threw 218-7 at the Arcadia Invitational, and he’s currently ranked third in the nation.

He wasn’t the only one to break a meet record in the discus; Will Foster (Prairie) did the same in the 3A division with a throw of 194-4. He also won the shot put with a throw of 61-8.75. 

Cooper Henkle (West Valley Spokane) pulled off a throws double in the 2A division, winning the javelin and discus. He set a meet record in the latter with a throw of 188-8.

Chase McGee (Camas) and Geron White (Federal Way) both nearly broke state meet records in their respective events. McGee cleared 16-9 in the 4A boys pole vault, and he decided to go straight to 17-3, three inches higher than Tyson Byers’ 4A meet record from 2002. He missed that height, but 16-9 was more than enough to earn him his second straight state title and keep his undefeated season alive.

McGee said there were two factors that held him back today. The first was simple: he should have switched to a longer pole for his attempts at 17-3. The second? He competed with a bloody hand. Two weeks ago, he ripped open his right hand trying to perform a backflip and had to get five stitches. His doctor told him about a week later to take those stitches out, which McGee said “might not have been the best idea,” but he did it anyway. 

“I hit it with my shin a bunch of times and kind of reopened it,” McGee said. “I got some strips on there to hold it together.”

McGee’s final attempt at 17-3 produced some of the loudest cheers of the entire weekend. Less than a minute after he knocked the bar off and waved to the crowd, though, the attention shifted to the high jump pit as White gave a few claps above his head.

White had cleared 6-11.25 and was now trying to gain some momentum before his last attempt at 7-2.75, which would have broken the state meet record by a quarter of an inch. Like McGee, he came close, but he couldn’t quite get it done. Still, his previous clearance won him the meet by over five inches and was a personal best.

Josiah Alanis (Evergreen Vancouver) and Aidan Rowell (Anacortes) were the only other boys to break meet records; Alanis jumped 23-11.25 in the 3A long jump, while Rowell ran 8:58.55 in the 2A 3,200 meters. Rowell also won the 1,600 in 4:10.90.

Anacortes won the 2A team title with 75 points thanks to some last-second heroics by the 4x400 relay team. Going into that race, they were leading Tumwater by three points, and both teams had qualified 4x400 squads for the finals. Tumwater took second and put eight points on the board, but Anacortes took third, scoring six and clinching the team win by one point.

The 4A title also came down to the 4x400. Curtis was leading going into it, but they didn’t qualify a relay squad for the final. Kamiakin did, and was down six points. Anchor Devin Crews, who won the 110-meter hurdles on Friday, took the baton in third place and made a crucial pass in the back stretch. He held on to second place for the remainder of the race and scored eight points for his squad, earning them the team title.

Liberty won the 3A team title with 57 points thanks to wins in the 110-meter hurdles and 200 meter dash by Sutton Flint.

Shamblin Throws US#1 Javelin Mark At Class 2B Meet

While the 2A, 3A and 4A competitions were going on at Mount Tahoma High School, the teams in 1A, 1B and 2B divisions competed at Eisenhower High School in Yakima. Colby Shamblin (NW Christian) recorded the biggest highlight of the meet, throwing 225-2 in the 2B boys javelin, a new US#1 mark.

Shamblin threw over 200 feet on all of his attempts except for the last one, which he fouled on. He threw 208-0 on his first attempt, which was a personal best, but on his very next throw, he blew that mark out of the water. 

Jett Winger (Lakeside) and Levi Bengelink (Bellevue Christian) also threw over 200 feet in the 1A boys javelin, earning WA#3 and WA#4 marks. Winger won with a 202-6 throw, while Bengelink was second with a throw of 201-9.

Pepper Boesel (Brewster) threw 145-7 in the 2B girls javelin, a new WA#1.

TEAM CHAMPIONS

Class 4A: Kamiakin boys 53 points, Mt. Si girls 58 points - RESULTS

Class 3A: Liberty (Issaquah) boys 57 points, Mercer Island girls 70 points - RESULTS

Class 2A: Anacortes boys 75 points, Sehome girls 83 points - RESULTS

Class 1A: Kings boys 66.5 points, King's girls 95 points - RESULTS

Class 1B: Valley Christian bos 106.5 points, Pope John Paul II girls 91 points - RESULTS

Class 2B: Freeman boys 75 points, Saint George's School girls 103 points - RESULTS