‘I was so happy’: Tahoma’s 4x100 relay officially the fastest foursome in state history

This is only the beginning, Nami Wilson said.

Introducing the fastest foursome in state history: the 2017 Tahoma High School girls 4x100 relay team.

Olivia Ribera teamed with twin sisters Nami and Miya Wilson, their older sister Tierra Wilson to run the fastest 4x100 relay time in Washington state history on Saturday in Arcadia, California – finishing in 46.32 seconds.

They were easy to find afterward – they were the ones jumping and screaming together.

"All the other relay teams were like staring at us," said Nami, a sophomore. "But I was like, ‘I don’t care. It’s the state record!"

It shattered the previous state record previously held by Federal Way’s Karis Cameron, Ta’Mara Richey, Mariyah Vongsaveng and Hannah Cunliffe. They ran in 46.90 seconds at the state championships at Mount Tahoma in 2014.

Tahoma’s and Federal Way’s relay teams are the only ones in state history to ever finish in less than 47 seconds. Tahoma’s previous best time was 47.13 seconds – third-fastest in state history behind Garfield’s 1983 state-title team and the 2014 Federal Way team.

So the Wilson sisters and Ribera managed to best their previous top time by almost eight-tenths of a second.

"I was so happy," said Ribera, who recently committed to run at the University of Washington. "I couldn’t stop smiling. We were jumping up and down and hugging. So happy.

"It feels like so amazing. I feel like our hard work has really paid off. I’m really thankful to have the coaches and to have those sisters here. I can’t describe how happy and grateful I am."

They were racing at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California on Saturday.

It was already turning out to be a good day for Tahoma. Nami Wilson won the 100 in 11.86 seconds (Lake Washington graduate Danielle Marshall set the state record at 11.36 in 1992) and was third in the 200 in 24.45 seconds.

Miya Wilson won the long jump with a state-best mark of 19 feet, 1 inch, and Ginny Mehl finished third in shot put with a throw of 44 feet, 8¾ inches.

Tahoma’s record relay team finished second behind Kenyla Miles, Saundria Martin, Jaylen Walker and Kaelin Roberts of Carson and their blistering finish of 45.90.

But Nami wasn’t far behind.

"I was like, ‘We must have run a fast time because I came in close behind her,’" Nami said. "I forgot what the state record was, so I saw our time and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s our time.’

"But Tierra was screaming and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’"

The Wilson sisters moved to Maple Valley from Redmond before the start of last school year. Ribera is from Viejo, California, but moved to Washington in the seventh grade.

She said she felt faster back in her home state on Saturday, in the scorching heat. The top-notch competition helped, too.

"We were kind of hoping for the record because we knew it was going to be hot and we knew the competition could be tough," Ribera said.

What also helps this record relay is their bond.

Sure, the Wilson sisters bicker like, well, all sisters do. But any conflicts are tossed aside once they get on the track meet together.

And Ribera has become like another one of the sisters, she said. They frequently spend time at each other’s houses, typically playing Wii video games (Miya is supposedly the best).

"It’s crazy to think that three-fourths of the relay team lives with me and we interact with each other every day," Nami said. "It’s great to know that we accomplished that as sisters and as family – and even Olivia because she’s family now."

They won the 4A state 4x100 relay title together last year and they’ll head to the Pasco Invitational this weekend – the site of their previous best run.

The last state record to fall was last May, when Mountlake Terrace’s Chinne Okoronkwo hit 13-8 on pole vault. The oldest state record in the shot put – Shorecrest’s Lynette Matthews threw it 51 feet, 4 inches in 1971.

But think Tahoma is done?

"It’s just the beginning," Nami said. 　

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 12:26 AM with the headline "‘I was so happy’: Tahoma’s 4x100 relay officially the fastest foursome in state history."