West Central District Championships: Day Two

Day 2 of the West Central District Championships wrapped up on Saturday afternoon in Kent. By the end of the two days, the Jags had qualified 6 women and 2 men to the state championships this week at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Our first qualifier of the day came in the women’s high jump when school-record-holder Mareonna Henderson punched her ticket with a clearance at 5’2”. This marks the fifth different event that Mareonna has qualified for state in during her career for a total of 11 state berths (others are 100M, 300H, 4x200, and 4x400). She cut her high jump short to begin warming up for the women’s 300 hurdles, where she won her heat and advanced to the state championships with a third place finish overall. Mareonna will compete in the 300 hurdles, high jump, and the 4x400 relay at state. (Video of Mareonna’s race can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_FkZGQmLKM)

Also in the hurdles, her teammate and state-leader Karlee Stueckle took care of business, winning her heat and claiming her fourth consecutive West Central District Championship in the event. Karlee will join Mareonna in the 300 hurdles and 4x400, while also running the 100 meter hurdles at state. (Video of Karlee’s 300 hurdles can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SlykHp8IIU)

In the women’s 3200 meters, freshmen Roz Slichko and Emily Wells put themselves in the mix among the 19 women in the field. Emily battled the entire race and finished 10th, just a few spots short of a state berth, while Roz Slichko ran a lifetime best to qualify for her first state championship meet in track and field. By running 11:10 in the 3200 meters (about 2 miles), Roz moved into second place on our all-time list, passing 2010 grad and University of Montana alum Carly Wilczysnki. Roz will have another opportunity to improve on her freshman record and #2 all-time performance on Saturday at state.

And our women’s 4x400 also had a strong showing. Freshman Carley Huber got things started with a great leg and was followed by sophomore Sophia Brown, who battled to the finish and handed off in first place. Track rookie Sydney Colbern ran a superb leg to keep the lead and handed off to Karlee Stueckle, who brought things home for a total time of 4:00. This marks the fifth year in a row that a Jag 4x400 team has qualified for the State Championships. A combination of Mareonna, Roz, Sydney, Carley, Sophia, and Karlee will take the track on Thursday night with the hopes of earning a spot in the finals and a state medal.