Marcus Dickson lost his kicks.
Trailing Squalicum High’s Patrick Gibson for seven and a half laps, Dickson figured his end-of-race rocket boosters would blast him into the lead and he’d win the Class 2A boys 3,200 meter race Thursday night at Mount Tahoma Stadium.
But when Dickson kicked, nothing came.
“The mile and 800, I kick and I go,” the White River High senior said. “This race I kicked and couldn’t go any faster. It was crazy.”
Gibson held off Dickson, setting a 2A state-meet record with a time of 9 minutes, 1.86 seconds. Dickson’s time of 9:04.91 also broke the previous mark.
“I always have the kicks,” Dickson said. “This race, I know I gave it my all because with 100 (meters) left my legs were Jell-O.”
Dickson entered Star Track 30 with the goal of sweeping the three distance events, plus the 4x400 relay, and leading the Hornets to their first track and field team title. Dickson is the state leader in the 800 (1:49.45) and his time in the 1,600 (4:05.83) ranks second nationally. He expected the 3,200 would be the most difficult to win. Dickson’s fastest time this season was 9:23, while Gibson, who won the state cross country title in the fall, clocked 9:07 last week.
“The goal was to win all four,” he said. “but I knew the two-mile was going to be hard. Patrick is the real deal.”
Gibson said he wanted to take the race out fast, admitting he feared Dickson’s kick. When the two pulled away together during the final lap, Gibson knew he’d have to dig deep.
“I was scared going out on the last lap,” he said. “I knew he was coming.”
Dickson didn’t catch Gibson in the 3,200, but the two will meet again in the 1,600 on Saturday. Dickson, the defending state champion, plans for a different outcome.
“I have to defend my title,” he said, “and make sure Patrick doesn’t beat me again.”
State meet records also fell in the 3A boys and 2A girls 3,200-meter races.
Seattle Prep’s Joe Hardy narrowly eclipsed the 29-year-old 3A boys record, winning in 8:55.22. Cheney High’s Sanne Holland clocked 10:48.40 in the 2A girls race.
No meet record was set in the 4A girls 3,200, but Woodinville High’s Chandler Olson and Mount Rainier High’s Jordan McPhee gave spectators a thrilling finish.
The two ran side by side down the home stretch and despite McPhee’s lean at the line, Olson won by one-hundredth of a second, finishing in 10:33.69.
Immediately after the race, neither girl was sure who had won.
“At first I thought that I was little bit ahead and I was going to win,” Olson said. “But she leaned over the line at the very last second and I was like, ‘Oh, crap, I lost.’ ”
AROUND THE TRACK
Gig Harbor High’s Courtney Jost turned in her best mark of the season in the 4A girls triple jump, winning with a leap of 39 feet, 4.5 inches. … The finals of the 4A boys 110-meter hurdles will be mostly a rerun of the West Central/Southwest bi-district race last week. Of the eight hurdlers that advance to state, seven qualified for the state finals. … Richland High’s Dennis Christensen won the 4A boys shot put with a throw of 60 feet, 4.5 inches. … Clarkston High’s Jamie Weisner recorded the longest javelin throw in the state this season when she won the 2A girls title with a mark of 146-9.
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com 253-597-8271 blog.thenewstribune.com/preps @DougPaceyTNT
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