Duran Ward leaned into a state title.

Trailing Federal Way junior Trenton Pinson by half a step with only a few to go in the finals of Class 4A 100-meter dash at Star Track XXVII, Ward’s mind raced.

“I had to do something,” Ward gushed. “I wasn’t going to lose this race. Not in my senior year.”

So the Todd Beamer sprinter resorted to a tactic he’d never before employed: the finish line lean.

“In all my races, I’ve never had to use the lean,” he said. “I’ve never even practiced it.”

The lean was the difference. Ward edged Pinson by two-thousandths of a second, 10.802 to 10.804.

But the pair would not find out who won until more than five minutes later. Ushered to the awards tent on the infield of Mount Tahoma Stadium, Ward and Pinson were left to wonder.

“I was asking everybody and nobody knew, they all said it was too close to call,” said Ward, who finished second to Pinson in the race at the West Central District meet last week. “When they got the paper with the times, it said 10.81 next to both of us. When they finally said I won, it was an amazing feeling.”

Ward added to his title haul when he blazed to victory in the 200 with a time of 21.79 seconds – again edging Pinson for first – and helped the Titans win the 4x100, too. Along with relay mates Dominique Maxie, Travis Koch and Anthony Hogan, the foursome set a school record with their winning time of 42.17 seconds in the 4x100 relay.

Despite having only four athletes competing, Bellarmine Prep won its second straight girls team title. The Lions’ quartet of Midori Starks, Sarah Hartwell, Shaquana Logan and Kelly Jacka totaled 56 points and Curtis was second with 48. Bellarmine Prep won the 4x100 relay, turning in the third fastest time in state history at 47.40 seconds, and also won the 4x200.

Jacka, who also won the finals of the 200 with a time of 24.24 seconds and placed second in the 100, said the foursome enjoyed the challenge of defending their team title.

“It was only the three of us,” she said, “but we really wanted to win state again.”

Logan helped the Lions add to their points total with a second-place finish in the 300 hurdles. Emerald Ridge junior Kayla Stueckle overcame nerves to win the event and set a 4A state meet record of 42.13 seconds.

“My start was good, everything felt good,” Stueckle said. “I probably stutter-stepped a couple times, but this was probably the best race I’ve ran.”

Andrea Geubelle capped her senior season with her third individual championship of the meet and fifth of her high school career. After winning the triple jump and long jump on Thursday and Friday, the Curtis senior entered the 100-meter dash as the top seed. She prevailed, winning in 11.87 seconds.

“I walked in here with a target on my back,” she said. “It makes you nervous, but it kind of pushes you, too. But it all turned out exactly how I like it.”

FINISH LINES

Mead won the boys team title with 49 points and three teams – Kent-Meridian, Central Kitsap and Beamer – tied for second with 34. … Kent-Meridian’s Derrick Daigre went from fifth to first in the final 120 meters of the 800-meter run. The sophomore won in 1:52.57 and placed second in the 400. … Puyallup senior Justin Veltung won the long jump, leaping 24 feet, 5 inches. … Joe Zimmerman of Lewis & Clark set a 4A meet record in the javelin with a throw of 208 feet, 4 inches. … Central Kitsap’s Shane Moskowitz was first in the 1600 in 4:13.71. … Meet officials estimated attendance at the three-day state meet at 14,000.

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271