Both the mens and womens Issaquah High Track and Field teams suffered a close loss to Newport on Tuesday, April 2. Despite an outstanding effort from all Issaquah athletes, the final results showed the men lost by 15 points and the women by only eight points.

Even with the loss, the Eagles still won their fair share of events, as senior Kate Wilkinson and her brother, sophomore Matt Wilkinson, dominated the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, each winning and setting new personal records in both events. When asked about their races, Kate said, “My races were a lot better than they usually are, I stepped on some hurdles but I still managed to win, the gecko on my arm makes me run fast,” and Matt responded, “My legs felt a lot better than they had for past meets, but I don’t even know how I ran that fast. My form wasn’t even great for the hurdles but I still managed to win.” Other Issaquah first places came for the women with freshman Greta Cavotta in the 200, sophomore Paka Ferrer for the javelin, sophomore Maren Larsen in the high jump, and sophomore Julia David-Smith in the 3200 a full 90 seconds ahead of everyone else. David-Smith also took part in the winning the 4 by 400 relay team with Katie Riley, Meara Norris, and Lucy Bentsen where the ladies won by over five seconds.

First places came for the men through junior Ben Eskenazi for the shot put, junior Caleb Kim in the pole vault, freshman Julian Tate in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, Jasper Fuhs, Alec Barran, Barry Diedericks, and Wilkinson with a win in the 4 by 400 relay, as well as senior Sam Griffith in the 3200 who won by over 30 seconds.

Griffith has also recently committed to Washington State University where he will continue to run, but as a D1 athlete. When asked about his races Griffith had this to say, “before each race I go through a very in depth warm up to make sure my whole body is ready to run, and then during the race. The challenge becomes a mental one and it’s all about forcing your legs to keep moving fast, and it comes down to your mental ability to tell yourself to do so.”

Be sure to come out on Tuesday, April 16 to support the men and women as they compete against Bothell for the last home meet of the season.