Another amazing meet from IHS girls track and field took place on April 25. Overall IHS had a final score of 115 while Newport had 35. The Eagles battled against Newport in seven events: shot put, discus, javelin, high jump, pole vault, long jump and lastly triple jump.
IHS started off with shot put. Although Newport’s scores for the shot put were higher, four players from IHS received a new PR and increased their positions in the rankings. In the top five between Newport and Issaquah, Junior Keira Phillips received second place with 24 feet 3 inches. Then came the girl’s discus. While Newport’s girls took the top three in this event, it did not stop IHS girls’ field from gaining PRs and fourth, fifth, eighth, ninth, and 10th place! Sophomore Elizabeth Herrera, after receiving a new PR of 58 feet 1 inch and fifth in the event, shares the struggles girls track and field have faced this year, stating, “This year we have had a new coach and are still learning how to interact [with them] and how to have productive practices.”
IHS took the top three spots in the javelin event. Sophomore Erin Chollman and junior Juniper Kennedy not only placed in the top three but also broke school records for the farthest javelin throw for their grade levels. Chollman had a throwing range of 92 feet 6 inches! Next was the pole-vaulting event. Junior Lucy Stevenson got first with 8 feet 6 inches which was been her score for the past four meets. She says, “I hope that at the next event I can get a PR and improve my score maybe even just to 8 feet 7 inches or 8 feet 8 inches.” The next event was high jump. IHS took the top four scores in this event. Sophomore Madelyn Kraemer got first in this event; however, she is mostly known for her work in the track portion of this team and not for her field scoring. IHS dominated during the last two events of long and triple jump. Issaquah received all top nine spots in long jump and junior Kamarrie Spencer achieved a new school record. Out of the five people going to finals for triple jump, IHS had four of these achievements.
Even though we are reaching the end of the season, IHS is improving and receiving a high increase in personal records and school records being broken. Sophomore Amelie Santi shares how she has received invites to additional events, despite this being her first year on the team. High jump Coach Tom Hanson says, “We have had some struggles with injuries, but we are constantly improving as we can see today.” IHS eagles have KingCo, Championships, and Districts coming up. Good Luck, Eagles!
