Tyler Bates and Andrew Troeh both took home individual titles, while Julian Campos and Collin Babineau each posted top 3 finishes to help the Aberdeen High School boys track and field team place second overall at the Class 2A state championships meet.
Bates, who won the discus title, and Troeh, who captured the high jump crown, were joined by fellow local standouts Tyara Straka of Hoquiam and William Idso of Ocosta as state champions. The University of Oklahoma-bound Straka was a dual titlist at the 1A meet, winning the shot put and discus, while Idso also triumphed in a pair of events, claiming the 100 and 400 in the 2B ranks.
Sehome claimed the overall boys’ 2A crown with 88 points. Aberdeen finished with 51 points to edge both Bellingham (50 points) and Squalicum (49) for second place in the team standings.
Troeh closed out his high school career with a personal record leap of 6-feet, 4 inches to easily win the 2A high jump title. In addition to winning a state championship, the senior’s mark tied the school record set in 2011 by Tyson Stipic. Troeh also placed third in the triple jump (41-01.50) to join teammates Bates and Campos as multiple state placers.
Bates, a sophomore, also won his state title with a PR, registering a school record throw of 162’ 5 to defeat runner-up Weslee Kriete of Ephrata by more than 10 feet in the discus. The distance bettered the Aberdeen record of 156’6 established 12 years ago by Dylan Boone.
Bates also finished 9th in the shot put with a throw of 46-10.00. The Bobcats received a 7th-place finish in the event from sophomore JaBron Brooks (48-02.00) and a 10th place from senior Liam Heikkila (46-02.00).
Campos placed third in the 3200 (9:19.91) and fourth in the 1600 (4:16.49).
“It was hard, but I knew I could do it though. I was feeling the best I’ve felt all season,” Campos said about his time in the 1600 which set a new Bobcats’ benchmark. “I didn’t know I could hold on, but I just told myself to keep going. I’m happy with what I got. I am really satisfied with my season. I love my teammates. I love my coaches. We got a district title, and I couldn’t be happier with how things went.”
The 2A state meet, which was held May 26-28 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, also saw Babineau place third in the 110 hurdles (15.58) and freshman Henry Nelson finish fifth in the 800 (1:58.66) for Aberdeen.
Rounding out the list of top 10 finishes for the Bobcat boys was the 4×400 team of Campos, Nelson, senior Omar Jonas Urbina and junior Trey Anderson, who placed seventh with a time of 3:28.52.
While Aberdeen was making history in Tacoma, Hoquiam’s Straka was doing the same at the 1A state girls’ championship at Eastern Washington University in Cheney as the talented senior won the shot put (42-08.50) and discus (148-02).
Straka’s win in the shot put bookends her high school career with state titles as she also captured the event as a freshman.
The Montesano girls placed ninth overall in the 1A team standings, receiving a second place in the 200 from senior Jaiden Morrison (1:00.23) and a third in the javelin from junior Ashlyn Devereaux (106-06).
The Bulldogs also saw the relay team of Sierra Birdsall, Lilly Causey, Dekotah Parks and Morrison finish fourth in the 4×100 and Alayna Olson joining Causey, Birdsall and Morrison to place second in the 4×200.
The Ocosta boys placed fourth at the 2B state meet
Ocosta senior William Idso won the 100 with a time of 11.50 and the 400 in 51.17. The senior nearly completed the sprint trifecta as he finished second in the 200 (23.02).
William Idso would also grab sixth in the high jump (5-10.00) and teamed up with Michael Reynolds, Dylan Todd and his twin brother, Matthew Idso, to place third in the 4×400.
The Wildcats received an eighth place in the 800 and ninth in the 100 from Matthew Idso, and a seventh in the 3200 and ninth in the 1600 from freshman Todd.
North Beach senior Josh Bighead finished third in the triple jump (41-02.50).
At the 1A boys state championship meet, Elma junior Elijah Flores was seventh in the triple jump (40-04.25), and ninth in the long jump (20-00.75), while Hoquiam senior Giovanni Foster was fourth in the 100 (11.24).
