The Tornados track and field teams hosted River Ridge and Central Kitsap in Yelm’s first home meet of the spring season on Wednesday, April 12, as both the boys and girls team secured first place.
The boys team scored 107 points, while the girls team had 88 points.
“The track meet was fantastic. We had 18 top 20 all-time performances for Yelm track and field. We also had 98 kids set personal records for their events,” coach Chris Stovall said. “It’s unheard of. I’ve never been around a track team that broke that many personal records in one day.”
In the boys 100-meter, five of the top six finishers were from Yelm. Deegan Golden finished in first place with a time of 11.52 seconds, which was good enough for a personal record (PR). Anthony Kiamco set a PR as he finished in second place with a time of 11.53 seconds. Jacob Ford finished in third place with a time of 11.8 seconds for a PR, while Mason Embry finished in fifth place with a time of 11.97 seconds. Charles Smith finished in sixth place with a time of 12.02 seconds.
Golden also took first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.87 seconds. He was followed by Kiamco with 24.05 seconds, who secured second place, and Makoa Fatuesi with 25.37 seconds in fourth. Jesse Salas finished in fifth place with a time of 25.49 seconds, while Dominic Jones finished in sixth place with a time and PR of 25.91 seconds.
Alex Hurd finished in first place in the 400-meter dash with a PR of 54.65 seconds. Charles Smith finished in fourth place with a time of 56.95 seconds, while Tyeyo Larsen came in seventh with 58.95 seconds, and Jackson Gray finished in 58.96 seconds for eighth.
Four Tornados finished in the top five of the 800-meter race. Zach Walsh placed in first with a time of 2 minutes and 2.54 seconds, setting a PR in the process. He was followed by Paul Manwiller in second place with a time of 2 minutes and 5.71 seconds, and Cody Helligso in fourth place with a time of 2 minutes and 14.43 seconds. Matthew Walsh finished in fifth place with a time of 2 minutes, 16 seconds.
Ethan Stewart took first place in the 1600-meter race, finishing with a time of 5 minutes, 15.11 seconds. His teammates Christopher De La Torre finished in fifth in 5 minutes and 41.43 seconds, Jacob Bavry secured sixth with a time of 5 minutes and 45.46 seconds, and in seventh place was Chance Nohelty, who finished in 5 minutes and 47.53 seconds.
Yelm swept the top five places in the 3200-meter run as Sam Hall took first place with a time of 10 minutes, 52.11 seconds. Damon Rabalais finished in second with a PR of 11 minutes, followed by Nicholas Cox in third place with a time of 11 minutes, 4.17 seconds. In fourth was Cristian Flores in 11 minutes, 6.16 seconds, and Patrick Walsh in fifth with 11 minutes, 9.2 seconds.
Latrel Fabian and Braxton Atkin finished in first and fourth place, respectively, in the 300-meter hurdle competition with times of 47.4 seconds and 54.01 seconds.
In the 4x100 relay, Yelm’s “B” team secured first with a time of 45.94 seconds. This team included Shawn Bankston, Ford, Golden and Kiamco. Yelm’s “A” team took fourth place with a time of 50.29 seconds. The team featured Myles Lewis, Jesse Salas, Embry and Fatuesi.
Yelm’s “A” team for the 4x400 relay took third place with a time of 3 minutes, 54.36 seconds. The team featured Alex Hurd, Gray, Larsen and Smith. The 4x400 “B” team placed fourth, with a time of 3 minutes, 56.76 seconds. The team included Zach Walsh, Matthew Walsh, Manwiller and Hall.
Yelm’s throwers had another strong showing in shot put and discus.
Tyler Blevins finished in first place for shot put with a throw of 42 feet, 7 inches. His teammate Landen Barger finished in second with a throw of 40 feet, 7 inches. They were followed by Onyx Carter in fourth with 38 feet and 7 inches, Damien Williams-Butler in fifth with 38 feet and 4 inches, and Ami Fakava in sixth with 38 feet, 2 inches.
Blevins also placed first in the discus event with a throw of 123 feet, 5 inches, while William Snodgrass finished in second place with a throw of 113 feet, 11 inches. Barger took third place with a heave of 112 feet, 5 inches. Fakava finished in eighth and Jordan Lasher took ninth, with throws of 100 feet and 3 inches, and 99 feet, respectively.
Sam Dejacomo placed fifth in the javelin competition with a throw of 124 feet, 8 inches, followed by Connor Ellison in sixth with a throw of 121 feet, 1 inch. Fakava and Lasher finished in eighth and ninth, with respective throws of 118 feet and 11 inches, and 114 feet and 4 inches.
In the high jump, Carter and Jonas Moreno tied for second place with a jump of 5 feet, 6 inches. Makoa Fatuesi finished in fourth with a jump of 5 feet, 4 inches.
Tyler Allen secured first in the pole vault event with a vault of 10 feet, followed by Embry who finished in second with a vault of 8 feet, 6 inches.
Trevontay Smith finished in first place in the long jump competition after he leaped 22 feet and set a new PR. Lasher finished in third place with a jump of 20 feet and 2 inches, followed by Ford in fourth place, who jumped 18 feet and 1 inch.
Smith also placed first in the triple jump event with a jump of 43 feet, 9 inches.
In the girls 100-meter race, Breanna Hurajt finished in third place with a time of 13.49 seconds. She was followed by teammates Bethany Venuto in fourth with 13.55 seconds, and Ayla Danner-Bunn in fifth with 13.56 seconds. Hailey Briggs and Lea Roux finished in seventh and eighth place, with respective times of 13.89 seconds and 14.37 seconds.
Venuto set a new PR as she finished first in the 200-meter race. She crossed the finish line with a time of 28.05 seconds. Hurajt finished in second place with a time of 28.2 seconds, while Danner-Bunn finished in fourth with a time of 28.54 seconds. Kiana Neir placed sixth with a time of 29.82 seconds.
In the 400-meter race, Ariana Murillo finished in first place with a time of 1 minute, 7 seconds. Her teammates Brooke Smith secured eighth with a time of 1 minute, 16.51 seconds, while Cali Becktold finished in 10th in 1 minute and 21.15 seconds.
Central Kitsap swept the top six finishes in the 800-meter dash, but Momoka Larson and Somaly Yoeurth finished in ninth and 11th place, with respective times of 2 minutes and 50.65 seconds and 3 minutes and 6.93 seconds.
Harper Langley finished the 1600-meter run in fifth place, with a time of 6 minutes, 58.49 seconds.
Yelm’s Kailey Slevin finished in second place in the 3200-meter run with a time of 12 minutes, 57 seconds.
Eliana Lewis placed first for the Tornados in the 100-meter hurdle race with a time of 17.22 seconds, while Hailey Briggs finished in second with a time of 17.32 seconds, followed by Amailee Niz in third place with a time of 17.84 seconds.
In the 300-meter hurdle race, Venuto finished in first place with a time of 49.38 seconds. She was followed by Briggs in second place with a time of 52.4 seconds. Teammate Chloe Baublits finished in fourth place with a time of 53.35 seconds, while Laney Reeves finished in ninth place with a time of 1 minute, 4.44 seconds.
Yelm’s “A” team finished in second place for the 4x100 relay with a time of 55.17 seconds. The team included Sage Rough, Lea Roux, Destiny Mathews and Eliana Lewis.
The “B” team took first place in the 4x200 relay. Manned by Neir, Baublits, Briggs and Murillo, Yelm finished with a time of 1 minute, 54.22 seconds.
The 4x400 team placed third with a time of 5 minutes, 19 seconds. The team included Reeves, Jaiden Stockdale, Glennah Woffard and Navaeh Leach.
Jayde Connally finished in first place in the shot put event for the Tornados with a throw of 34 feet, 2 inches. Other placers from Yelm included Madelyn Lawson with 30 feet and 8 inches, and Lily Lawson with 26 feet, 11 inches.
In discus, Lily Lawson finished in first place with a throw of 85 feet, 2 inches, followed by Madelyn Lawson with 80 feet and 8.5 inches in second place. Alivia LeDuc finished in fifth place with a throw of 67 feet and 4 inches, while Connally finished in eighth with a throw of 64 feet and 6.5 inches.
Connally also placed first in the javelin event with a throw of 79 feet, 8 inches. She was followed by Madelyn Lawson in third with 70 feet, 4 inches, and LeDuc in fourth with 68 feet, 5 inches. Niz finished in fifth with a throw of 64 feet, 6 inches, while Eowyn Kukahiko finished in sixth with a throw of 55 feet, 7 inches.
In pole vault, Neir finished in first place with a vault of 8 feet and 6 inches, setting a PR. She was followed by teammates Destiny Matthews in fourth with 6 feet and 6 inches, and Alyssa Martine in sixth with 5 feet.
Danner-Bunn finished in second place for the long jump event with a jump of 16 feet, 7.5 inches. Hurajt secured third place with 15 feet and 7 inches, while Haven Hodge ended in fourth with 14 feet and 8 inches.
Hodge also placed first in the triple jump event after she leaped 30 feet, 7 inches.
“There was no facet of what we do as a track team that had a bad day. Everyone did fantastic.” coach Stovall said. “Our coaching staff has done an excellent job, but it’s the kids’ work ethic that makes this team great. They’re a great group of kids.”
The Tornados next track meet was set for Wednesday, April 19, at North Thurston High School. The meet will include Yelm, North Thurston and Peninsula.
