Redmond sending seven, Bear Creek 11 to state track meet

The Redmond High track team will be sending nine athletes to the upcoming Class 4A state track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High in Tacoma.

May 23, 2011 7:14 pm
The Bear Creek boys' 400 meter relay team took the district title with a time of 45.72
The Bear Creek boys' 400 meter relay team took the district title with a time of 45.72

The Redmond High track team will be sending seven athletes plus three alternates to the upcoming Class 4A state track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High in Tacoma.  For a complete list of all state-bound track athletes, click here.

Star Track gets underway this Thursday, starting at 4:30 p.m. and continues Friday and Saturday.

At the Northwest Regionals meet last weekend, Miles Hille punched the only state ticket on the boys’ side with a fifth-place finish in the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 22.13 seconds.

On the girls’ side, Katherine Smiley and Mandy Rusch both narrowly missed out on individual state berths in the 200 and 400 meters, but the Mustangs’ relay teams cleaned up as all three squads made the state cut.

In the 400 relay, Bailey Whittaker, Amy Pumputis, Darcy Hardwick and Smiley placed second in 49.74. The 800 relay team of Maria Eckmann, Whittaker, Annika Hayman and Keiko Montenegro placed fourth (1:45.68). The 1,600 relay quartet of Rusch, Pumputis, Hardwick and Smiley ran a season-best 4:01.20 and nailed down a state spot.

In the field, Katie Lord dominated the high jump, winning with a leap of 5 feet, 5 inches, with Hardwick also advancing in the long jump (16-9, third place).

Bear Creek lights up district meet

The Bear Creek School track and field squads shined at last weekend’s 2B District 1/2 track and field meet at Southwest Athletic Complex in Seattle, winning four events and sending a total of 11 athletes to the 2B state meet on May 27 and 28 at Eastern Washington University.

Junior Maddie Magee, the defending state high jump champion, cleared 5 feet, 7 inches to claim the gold, as did Morgan Rial in the 400 meters and distance runner Joy Twentyman in the 3,200 meters.

The boys’ 400 meter relay team of Mark Phillips, Lucas Fernandez, Josh Firminger and Nigel Saw took the district title in 45.72 seconds. Fernandez also advanced to state in the 100 and Firminger earned state-bound times in the 200 and 400.

Other state qualifiers are Kira Geiger (second in pole vault) and the girls 800 meter relay team of Halle Coleman, Morgan Rial, Danielle Isbell and Elizabeth Fernandez (second place, 1:48.19).