TUMWATER — Kelley Young is in the “up” part of her self-described “up-and-down” season.
Heidi Greear did not expect to win the event she conquered Friday evening.
Together, they led the Washougal Panthers to a third-place finish in girls teams standings at the Class 2A District 4 Track and Field Championships at Tumwater High School.
Young edged Woodland’s Kelly Nigro to claim the 100-meter hurdles, and Greear won the discus after just missing out on the shot put title. They were two of six girls champions from Washougal, Hockinson, Woodland, and Ridgefield.
In all, 14 girls from those schools earned individual berths to next week’s Class 2A state meet in Tacoma.
There were no boys champions from Clark County’s four schools, but nine finished in the top four to qualify for state.
Young was the first Clark County winner of the day.
“It’s crazy,” she said, referring to her season. “I haven’t been up to the technique level that I’ve needed to be. All of a sudden, everything’s clicking.”
Recently, she ran a personal best and set a school record of 15.83 seconds in the 100 hurdles. She wasn’t quite that fast Friday at district, but fast enough to win the title.
“It’s really everything that I’ve ever wanted for this season,” she said.
Greear finished second in her favorite event — the shot put — then surprised herself in the discus.
“This is totally unexpected,” she said. “Discus is my side event. I love shot put, and it’s my thing. To win (discus) is really cool.”
The Panthers totalled 60 points for the third-place finish. River Ridge won the girls team title with 112 points. Host Tumwater was second at 81.
Ridgefield’s Shelby Williams qualified for state in three events — the shot put, the 100, and the 100 hurdles. She won the shot put, beating Greear on the final attempt of the competition.
“I don’t go in expecting to win. I expect to do my best. Whatever happens, happens,” Williams said.
She even said she would not have minded if Greear would have won on this day.
“We’ve been competing all year. It’s a lot of fun. We go back and forth all the time,” Williams said.
Woodland’s Alex Coons, who finished second at state in the 200 last year, has moved her attention to the 100 this season. She held on to win the sport’s glamour sprinting event.
“I didn’t see anyone in my line of vision until the very end. Then Lane 3 and 5 were both right there,” she said.
Coons, in Lane 4, got to the line first, though.
“Amazing. I’ve been going first, first, first, first, the past four weeks, and it’s been great,” she said.
Nigro, who finished second to Young in the 100 hurdles, got her championship in the 300 hurdles.
“I’m not going to lie. It feels pretty good,” she said.
She took the lead, flying past a competitor on the corner, and was well ahead in the final 50 meters. She did hit the final hurdle but maintained her balance.
“I got DQ’d once this year, hitting a hurdle and stepping out of my lane. I’m really glad I didn’t crash,” she said with a smile.
Kyra Davidson of Hockinson set a personal record and won the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 4 inches.
“I was in shock. I can’t believe I jumped that,” she said. “It’s kind of overwhelming.”
She said she was not sure how she accomplished the feat, but then she figured out the mystery on her own.
“I’m focused on training this year, and it’s helping a lot. I didn’t clear 5 feet last year,” she said. “I just practice, practice, practice.”
Brendan Casey of Washougal and Kenny Lopez of Hockinson each qualified for state in two events. Casey was second in the javelin and finished third in the pole vault. Lopez raced to third-place finishes in the 100 and 200.
Black Hills won the boys team title with 105 points. Washougal, in eighth place, was Clark County’s top school.
