Four VHS track and field athletes survived the gauntlet at the WCD III Championship (district) meet last weekend in Bremerton, advancing to the WIAA State Championships for 1A, 1B and 2B schools to be held in Cheney this weekend.

It has been many years since VHS qualified more than three athletes to compete at state, and these four are primed for competition at the big circus event hosted on Eastern Washington University’s famous red field. Hundreds of high-schoolers will face off in preliminary track and field events held Thursday and Friday, followed by final events on Saturday.

Veteran senior Annika Hille will compete in the 200-meter and 400-meter sprints, as well as the long jump. This will be Hille’s fourth trip to state.

Junior Kat Andrus will compete in the javelin throw and the triple jump, with fellow junior Lauren Jenks running the 800 meters in her first state championship meet.

Junior exchange student Marie Kier will join Hille on the runway in the long jump event.

Prior to last weekend’s district meet, the Pirate team of 15 competitors took on familiar foes at the Nisqually League Championships in Fife on May 13 and 14. The team boasted 12 finishers in the top five, including a satisfying second-place finish for the girls’ 4 x 100-meter relay team of Shea Bray, Marie Kier, Ana Olson and Jordan Bezoenik. Selena Mildon pushed to her personal record (PR) in the 1,600 meters for a fourth place in 5:53.35, while Paolo Peani improved his 200 meter time with a PR of 26.09 seconds.

Hille and Andrus were both awarded League Champion titles. Hille charged her way to first place and a PR in the 400 meters in 59.28 seconds. Andrus had her first league win in the javelin event after a PR-worthy launch of 100 feet, 4 inches. She followed that with a winning leap of 35 feet, 6.25 inches in the girls’ triple jump. Overall, 11 Pirates clinched a berth to compete in district championships at Bremerton.

Like spring’s scattered showers, field event competition can be especially unpredictable. Elusive starting marks, varied surfaces and mental breakdowns can ruin a jumper or thrower’s best intentions and their day in the pit. On the flip side, sometimes the planets of speed, strength, form and luck may all align and bring a record mark. Such was the case for jumper Marie Kier at the District meet, who jumped a full foot beyond her previous best to 15 feet, 10.25 inches, pulling a second place PR out of her hat and a spot at State. Senior Arthur Moore, the lone boy in the Pirate crew there, found sure footing and a PR in the boys’ triple jump at 35 feet, two inches. His fifth place finish was not quite enough to make the State roster, however.

Sisters Selena and Aria Mildon teamed up for a strong sixth and seventh-place finish in the 1600 meter race, ending their season of distance running with the team. Senior Natalie VanDevanter made a heroic attempt in the 3200 meter contest as she battled for the coveted third place spot for State. She achieved another PR of 13:06.52, but couldn’t quite catch the third place runner as she finished fourth. Again, on the field VanDevanter delivered a fine discus throw of 85 feet, five inches that was just a couple of feet shy of third place. The girls’ 4×100 meter relay squad executed good timing and quick hand-offs, as they took sixth place with their best time this season of 55.85 seconds.

Lauren Jenks showed true grit and strategy in the girls’ 800 meter event as she reserved her spot for most of the race and landed in a gleeful second place and a berth at State. The girls’ 200 meter race provided another chance for Annika Hille to face her regular Cascade Christian rival in the sprints. This day she was victorious after a burst in the final stretch to a winning time of 26.28 seconds and her second District Champion title of the meet. Hille also leapt to a first place title in the long jump at 16 feet, 3 inches, and captured a solid third place finish in the 400 meters.

The absence of any VHS high jump equipment or proper pit to practice with did not stop Kat Andrus from competing in the girls’ high jump event. She topped out at 4 feet, 8 inches to take fourth place. Finally, after a lengthy delay for soggy conditions on Saturday, Andrus warmed up and reigned supreme in the triple jump, earning her second career District Championship in that event and the opportunity to face stiffer competition this Saturday in Cheney.

— Carrie Van Buren is the mother of a VHS track and field athelte.