by MICHAEL DASHIELL
Sequim Gazette
Sunshine wasn’t the only thing breaking out at the Port Angeles track Saturday.
Sequim’s Taylor Bonneau, Jayson Brocklesby, Stephan Stilts and Emanuel Herrera snapped an 11-year-old school record in the boys’ 4×100 relay, helping the Wolves take third place in the West Central District 2A sub-district meet and advancing to the 2A district meet.
Not to be outdone, Sequim’s girls’ three relay squads set personal bests as they also finished third in team standings, echoing both teams’ performances of a week ago at the Olympic League meet.
“Like most coaches here, I was not too worried about team scores,” Sequim coach Brad Moore said, after seeing his five relay squads and 12 individuals earn top-five finishes and consequently berths at districts, scheduled for May 20-21 in Sumner.
“I was real pleased,” Moore said. “The relays ran great (and) we got good individual performances. We have the potential to do well next week.”
That’s when Sequim and the six other Olympic League squads take on top athletes from the South Puget Sound League, Seamount League and KingCo’s lone 2A school, Interlake. The top six competitors and relay squads from districts advance to the class 2A state meet, slated for May 26-28 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
Aiming for her fourth state berth in as many years, Sequim distance stalwart Audrey Lichten topped the field in the 800 by more than five seconds (2:20) and placed second in the 1,600 meters to rival Marina Roberts of Kingston.
Seeking her first state berths, Sequim sophomore Haleigh Harrison won the high jump, placed second in the triple jump and helped Sequim’s 4×100 and 4×100 relays both take second place.
Sequim freshman Sarah Hutchison placed second in both 100 and 300 hurdles events.
Harrison, Hutchison, Lichten and Mandi England helped the 4×400 relay team set a seven-second season best, finishing just behind Kingston.
On the boys’ side, junior Frank Catelli set a personal best in the shot put for the third week in a row with a toss just short of 53 feet, winning the event by more than two feet. He also placed second in the discus and third in the javelin.
“I’m real pleased with what I saw from him today,” Moore said of Catelli. “His heart’s been in (the) shot and discus this year.”
Bonneau, the Sequim sophomore sprinter, continued his solid season with a second-place finish in the 200 and third place in the 100. Brocklesby, also a sophomore, advanced in both the high jump (fourth) and 400 meters (fifth) despite a muscle strain in his right foot.
Herrera, seeking a return to state, took third in the 300 hurdles while Stilts captured district berths in both 110 high hurdles (fifth) and 300 hurdles (fourth).
Sequim senior Alex Jenkins is headed back to districts after taking fourth in both 800- and 1,600-meter races.
Mack Grinnell and Hamish Peers are both headed to districts after placing second and fifth, respectively, in the pole vault.
With a 44.12-second finish, Sequim’s 4×100 quartet broke Sequim’s record of 44.3 (hand-held time) set in 2000 by Mike Ericksen, Mike Carbis, Chris Pendleton and Jason Savage.
“There’s definitely room for improvement (on that record),” Moore noted.
Port Angeles edged Olympic for the boys’ sub-districts team title while North Kitsap’s girls easily outpaced Kingston for top honors.
Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequimgazette.com.
