How Mercer Island Fared At The WIAA Track/Field Finals

Carly Andersen finished fifth in the 3A girls javelin throw to lead Mercer Island track at the WIAA state track and field championships on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Andersen came in seeded eighth in the preliminaries, but moved up to fifth with a best throw of 123 feet, 7 inches.

“I was the first in the second flight, so I don’t think I was expecting it, but I was able to pull it off,” Andersen said of her finish.

Andersen was one of three Mercer Island track athlete to place during the tournament. The Islanders sent a total of six athletes to the championships, ending up with three top-8 finishes.

Aaron Elefson and Nicholas Ford led the boys, finishing 7-8 in the boys 3200 meter run. Elefson also finished tenth in the 1600 meter run.

The tournament was hampered the first two days by inclement weather that brought rain in droves, casting a cloud over certain competitions. Nonetheless, a number of records were broken and several reigning champions repeated in their respective divisions.

Kasen Williams of Skyline provided highlights in the boys 4A division, taking home three state titles to cap off his remarkable senior season. The future University of Washington football player swept the long, high and triple jump competitions, setting a new state record in the triple – an event his father once owned the state record in – with a jump of 50 feet, 9 ¾ inches.

“Me and my dad kept saying, ‘it’s got to come back in the family,’” Williams said of his record-setting jump. “So I threw something out there…and just gave it a shot.”

Perhaps the highlight of the three-day event came in the final field activity, the 4A boys long jump. Williams took home the win, but not before a spirited battle with a field that included Edmonds-Woodway’s Alec Fellows, Kentwood’s BJ Arceneaux and Justin Browne of Gig Harbor.

The Renton boys track team dominated the 2A field behind, taking first place behind a combined five state titles between P.J. Benedictus and Justin Bennett. Benedictus repeated as the triple-jump champion and finished second in the long jump and high jump, while Bennett took first in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, as well as anchoring the first place 4X100 meter relay team.

Alanna Coker of Juanita High School repeated as the 3A girls triple-jump champion and finished second in the 100-meter dash. Coker was seeded second in the 200-meter dash following the preliminary round, but finished fifth after suffering a minor leg injury in the triple-jump competition.

Overall team winners were as follows: 4A girls – Kentwood; 4A boys – Kent-Meridian; 3A girls – Holy Names Academy; 3A boys – North Central; 2A girls – Sehome; 2A boys – Renton.