The Tahoma girls 400-meter team set the state record in 2017. Can this year’s group break it?

Be aware: The state high school record for the girls 400-meter relay is in jeopardy. The Tahoma High school girls team said so.

Senior Aliya “Nami” Wilson would know what it takes to get that done. She and her twin sister, Alisha “Miya” Wilson, were on the Tahoma relay team that set the record at the state Class 4A meet in 2017, running the event in 46.07 seconds. On that team was Olivia Ribera and the Wilson’s older sister, Tierra.

Ribera, now running track at the University of Washington, and Tierra Wilson have graduated. But the Wilsons believe teammates Aliana Brady and Adaji Osaro-Igwe give them a group with state-record breaking potential. At the Liberty Invite on March 30, the team ran the relay in 47.34.

“We’re only getting faster, so our times are only going to go down from here,” Nami said. “We’re going for that record. We have the speed and our handoffs have been really good this year, compared to last year.”

It’s an interesting cast of characters for the Tahoma relay team. Osaro-Igwe is a bit more reserved. Miya is the outgoing one, while Brady, a senior, is the Swiss army knife of the group, excelling in a variety of different events. And Nami? She’s the leader of the squad.

“She’s like the mother hen,” Osaro-Igwe said with a laugh. “She’s very assertive.”

Osaro-Igwe, a sophomore, opened eyes before she was even a student at Tahoma. “The summer before freshman year, we knew right away,” Miya said. “She’s a really good runner.”

While the natural talent was evident from the beginning, it took some time for Osaro-Igwe to settle into the group as a freshman. But she eventually became an integral part of the team’s success, taking seventh in state in the 100 meters (12.40) and second in the 200 at 24.55, as well as being a part of Tahoma’s 400 and 800-meter title-winning relay teams.

“Nami and Miya really push me,” Osaro-Igwe said. “They’re so up there at all these meets and it really just inspires me to do what they’re doing. We just all push each other. We’re competitive, but once we step off the track, we’re really friendly to each other.”

And for as talented as Osaro-Igwe is, she keeps things light.

“You’d think someone at that level would just be super focused all the time,” Miya said. “She doesn’t take it too seriously. She doesn’t put herself under too much stress all the time, like my sister and I sometimes do. She’s just super light with it. It’s funny to see her bouncing around the track after a 400 workout.”

Their personalities might differ, but on the track, they’re all intense competitors.

“We all work really hard on the track,” Brady said. “We all get along really well. We just put it all together out there.”

Tahoma won the Class 4A title easily last season with 93 points. Issaquah came in second with 51 points. With the bulk of last year’s team intact this season, Tahoma is feeling pretty good about a repeat.

“We’re excited to go out and win state again,” Nami said.

While Osaro-Igwe’s future is bright, she hopes the last high school track season for the Wilson twins is their best yet.

“We just want to go out with a bang for them,” she said.

This story was originally published April 6, 2019 at 9:36 AM.