A few months away from taking off to the University of Wisconsin on a football scholarship, Tacoma Baptist’s Walker Williams could have laid low this spring.
But that is not how the big man rolls.
You see, he loves his school. He is sensitive to his surroundings. And, heck, winning another Class 2B discus title would not be a bad incentive, either.
Williams dominated the discus Saturday at the state meet. His throw of 161 feet, 5 inches won him back-to-back state titles.
“Brett (Chaput from Wahkiakum) is a great thrower, but he was not on today,” Williams said. “The weather was not awesome for the discus. It was a little windy … but I happened to be on top of it today.”
When longtime Crusaders coach Kevin Brubaker stepped down after last season, Jim Robinson, who ran track at the University of Houston with Carl Lewis, was hired to coach the team.
That was something Williams was very cognizant of.
“I did not think it would be fair to a new coach who had a state champion come back … and not come out,” Williams said. “This (state title) provided closure for my high school career.”
His teammate, Keaton Cruver, captured the boys 400 in 49.61 seconds.
The Tacoma Baptist quartet of Ellie Spiro, Paige Narayan, McKenna Neufeld and Rebecca McDonald defended their girls 4x100 relay (50.93) and 4x200 relay (1:46.96) crowns.
Despite being limited by sore hamstrings, Northwest Christian of Lacey’s Lucas Graham claimed titles in the 2B boys 3,200 and 800 meters. He also won the 1,600 Friday and leaves the school with seven total state titles in track and cross country.
CLASS 1A
Once again, Savannah Burr was flying high in winning the girls triple jump. And so, too, were the rest of the Orting Cardinals after they clinched their first state team championship.
With 59 points, Orting edged King’s (52) and the Northwest School (49).
Burr’s 37-71/2 was good for the win, beating Newport’s Arielle Walden (36-111/4).
And longtime distance-running powerhouse Charles Wright Academy showed it could win with a little burst, too. The Tarriers got wins from Alexander Moore in the 100 (10.98) and 200 (22.30).
CLASS 1B
Nobody was busier – and more successful – around the track at Eastern Washington University than Mount Rainier Lutheran’s Rachel Siltman.
A state runner-up in 2011, Siltman won the girls 100 hurdles (16.64) and 300 hurdles (48.22) titles Saturday to go along with her triumph in the triple jump and on the winning 4x400 relay.
Mount Rainier Lutheran also won the 4x100 relay in 53.37 with Veronica Gamble, Jenny Power, Haley Rue and Kendra Windham, powering the school to its third consecutive team title (90 points).
“We thought we would be pretty close (to 90),” first-year Hawks coach Amy Lebrun said. “They pretty much expected to win.” blog.thenewstribune.com/preps
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.