Yelm Sends Athletes to State Track Competition

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The Yelm boys and girls track teams are set to send numerous athletes to the state championship competition after the team competed in the West Central District meet on Wednesday, May 17 and Friday, May 19.

The 3A track and field state championship is scheduled for Thursday, May 25 and Saturday, May 27 at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma.

The boys team will send Paul Manwiller to state in the 800-meter, Zach Walsh in the 1600- and 3200-meter, Jordan Lasher in pole vault and the 110-meter hurdles, Isaiah Patterson in discus, Trevontay Smith in the triple jump and long jump, Tyler Allen in the pole vault event, and Brayden Platt in shot put, discus and javelin.

The girls team will send Eliana Lewis for the 100-meter hurdles, Bethany Venuto for the 300-meter hurdles and 4x100, Nolah Wafford in discus, Kiana Neir for pole vault, Ayla Danner-Bunn for the long jump event and 4x100, Isabella Zurfluh for the 4x100, and Breanna Hurajt for the 4x100.

“The goal at the beginning of the year was to be in contention for a boys 3A state title and we are. If all goes according to plan, it will be a tight battle between us, Walla Walla, Gig Harbor and Mount Spokane,” boys head coach Chris Stovall said. “The state competition will be fierce, and with good weather and high expectations, I believe we will make a legitimate run at a state title. We could very well have boys state champions in six events. We will know on day one with the boys triple jump, javelin and the 110-meter hurdle prelims where we are headed.”

During the West Central District meet, Nathan Ford competed in the 100-meter race and finished in 13th place with a time of 11.56 seconds, while Anthony Kiamco finished in 18th place with a time of 11.74 seconds. Their teammate Deegan Golden ran the 200-meter dash and finished in 16th place with a time of 23.35 seconds, setting a personal record in the process.

Manwiller qualified for the state championship track meet by finishing in seventh place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:02.46.

Walsh qualified for two long-distance events at the state championship meet after he finished the 1600-meter relay in fourth with a time of 4:15.78 (a personal record) and finished the 3200-meter race in second with a time of 9:22.65 at the West Central District meet.

Lasher qualified for the state championship track meet in the 110-meter hurdle event by finishing in fourth place with a time of 15.13 seconds. His teammate Collin Davis finished in 13th place with a time of 17.04 seconds.

Latrel Fabian finished in 18th place in the 300-meter hurdle competition with a time of 44.53 seconds.

Yelm’s 4x100 relay team, made up of Shawn Bankston, Jacob Ford, Deegan Golden and Anthony Kiamco, finished in 15th place with a time of 44.61 seconds.

Platt qualified for the state championship track meet in the shot put event by finishing in first place with a throw of 63 feet and 11.75 inches, setting a personal record in the process. His teammates Tyler Blevins (43 feet and 11 inches) and Patterson (40 feet and 10.5 inches) finished in 12th and 18th place, respectively.

Patterson and Platt also qualified for the discus event at the state championship track meet. Patterson finished in second place with a throw of 157 feet and 10 inches, while Platt finished in fifth with a throw of 138 feet and 3 inches. Blevins finished in 12th place with a throw of 127 feet and 10 inches.



Platt qualified for his third event in javelin with a second place finish after a throw of 178 feet and 10 inches, while Sam Dejacomo finished in 19th place with a throw of 117 feet and 11 inches.

Onyx Carter placed 13th in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 10 inches.

Lasher qualified for the state championship pole vault competition by finishing in second place with a vault of 13 feet. Allen also qualified for the state championship pole vault competition by finishing in fourth place with a vault of 12 feet, setting a personal record in the process, while Mason Embry finished in 16th place with a vault of 10 feet.

Smith qualified for two state championship events after he finished first place in both the long jump and triple jump events. He jumped 22 feet and 7.5 inches for a personal record in long jump, and set another personal record in the triple jump competition with a leap of 49 feet and 8 inches, which set a new Yelm High School record.

For the girls, Eliana Lewis qualified for the 100-meter hurdle competition at state after finishing in fourth place at the West Central District meet with a time of 16.59. Breanna Hurajt (16.82 seconds) and Hailey Briggs (17.62 seconds) finished in 10th and 16th place, respectively.

Bethany Venuto qualified for the state championship 300-meter hurdle competition with a time of 47.18, securing a fifth place spot. Her teammate, Chloe Baublits, barely missed the cut, finishing in eighth place with a time of 48.68 seconds. Briggs and Hurajt also competed in the event.

The girls 4x100 relay team finished in seventh place with a time of 51.51 seconds, qualifying for the state championship competition in the process. The team includes Venuto, Danner-Bunn, Zurfluh and Hurajt.

Yelm’s Jayde Connally (32 feet, 4.75 inches), Tatiyanna Wadley (30 feet, 1 inch), and Madelyn Lawson (28 feet, 3 inches) finished the discus competition in 10th, 15th, and 17th places, respectively.

Wafford qualified for state by finishing in third place in the discus event. She set a new personal record with a throw of 106 feet and 3 inches. Lawson also competed in the event, placing in 16th, while Wadley ended in 19th place.

Wafford also competed in the javelin and high jump competitions. She finished in 16th place in the javelin throw, launching it 86 feet and 9 inches. She finished ninth in the high jump with a height of 4 feet, 8 inches.

Neir qualified for the state championship competition by finishing seventh in the pole vault event, setting a new personal record by vaulting 10 feet. Her teammate Destiny Mathews finished in 16th place with 7 feet, 6 inches.

Danner-Bunn qualified for the state championship long jump event after she finished in third place after a leap of 16 feet, 8 inches.

“No matter how we finish, I will hold this season as an absolute success. Each one of our athletes from the greatest to the least experienced has shown growth, self determination and pride,” Stovall said. “‘This is Y’ is a statement of who we are toward each other, with each other and for each other. Truly, one of the greatest groups I’ve been a part of, from coaches to athletes.”