TACOMA — As she was passing people down the backstretch on the final lap of the 1,600 meters, Allison Clark never dreamed each step was bringing her team closer to a championship.
“I really wanted to get some points for the team,” said Clark, a Columbia River senior. “But I never thought it would lead to a state title. If only I could have passed one more.”
Yes, every point mattered for the Chieftains at the Class 3A girls state track and field meet. Columbia River won a share of the team title, tying Glacier Peak of Snohomish with 49 points. Camas finished third with 43 points.
ADDING IT ALL UP
Columbia River sent five girls to the Class 3A state track and field meet, and all five contributed to the Chieftains’ co-championship. Here are their results and the points for each event:
Anna Adamko
Discus, First place, 10 points
Javelin, First, 10
Shot put, Fourth, 5
Jessica Bottelberghe
800, Second, 8
Jennifer DeBellis
Pole vault, Third, 6
Allison Clark
3,200, Fifth, 4
1,600, Sixth, 3
Sarah Bobbe
3,200, Sixth, 3
“I thought we had a good chance to be in the top four,” River coach Michelle Buss said. “But this is an amazing accomplishment.”
The amazing part is that Columbia River won a state championship without help from any sprinters. The Chieftains scored all their points in field events or distance races.
On Saturday, that included a second-place finish by Jessica Bottelberghe in the 800, a third-place from Jennifer DeBellis in the pole vault, and a fourth-place from Anna Adamko in the shot put. Earlier in the meet, Adamko won the discus and the javelin.
“I’m so excited for our team,” DeBellis said. “With Anna in the throws, and I was able to help out …”
Bottelberghe, who missed much of the season with an Achilles’ heal injury, said: “Anna won the discus on her birthday, so I knew it was going to be a good meet.”
And then there was Clark. She finished sixth in the 1,600 late in the day, passing three runners on the final lap. It turned out the Chieftains needed each of those places, as they could only watch while Glacier Peak athletes compete in the subsequent relays.
In the final event, the 1,600 relay, Glacier Peak finished sixth ahead of Highline and Union, forging the tie in the team standings.
“We were all cheering for Union to beat Glacier Peak,” Adamko said. “We looked so weird. It definitely is a team effort. We’re all individuals, but we came together as a team.”
Buss said: “Everybody plays a part; everybody plays a role, even down to those second stringers. I think this is collectively about the team.”
In other action from the Class 2A, 3A, and 4A girls meets:
• Camas’ third-place finish in the team standings was highlighted by the Papermakers’ performance in the final event of the day, the 1,600 relay.
Camas finished second in 3:53.23, behind the 3:51.45 of West Valley of Yakima. But the Papermakers broke the previous meet record in the event — 3:55.55 by Bellevue in 2000.
• DeBellis’ performance in the 3A pole vault was part of a big day for Clark County vaulters.
Georgia Reynolds of Mount Si won the event with a height of 11 feet. But she was followed by Alexandra Uhrich of Union, DeBellis, Kristina Owsinski of Prairie, and Jessica Yraeeburu of Camas.
• Seanna Pitassi, who ran the anchor leg for Camas in the 800 relay, summed up that race.
“I saw she was slowing down and I was like ‘Go for it, go for it,’ ” Pitassi said.
Pitassi made up ground on the leader down the stretch and forged a thrilling three-team finish. Franklin Pierce of Tacoma won in 1:43.69, West Valley of Yakima was second in 1:43.72, and Camas was third with the same time as West Valley.
The Papermakers’ lineup: Shelby Bodily, Michelle Pillette, Ciara Klein, and Pitassi.
“The wind was tough,” Pitassi said. “We PR’d (personal record) despite the wind.”
• Mountain View’s Lynelle Decker finished third in the 4A 800 and sixth in the 1,600. Despite the third-place finish, she didn’t feel as though she ran up to her high standards.
“I don’t think I was very mentally prepared,” she said after running the 800 in 2:17.52. “When you go into a race not mentally prepared, it’s like not training.”
• Johna McEllrath of Prairie surprised herself by finishing second in the 3A shot put.
“I thought I was third the whole time,” she said. “Coming in, I was seeded third and I was hoping to get third.”
McEllrath, a sophomore, had a mark of 38-8¼, finishing behind the 40-9¼ of Bonney Lake’s Adara Winder.
• Rachel McQuivey of Skyview was second in the 4A 300 hurdles. Not that there’s any shame in finishing behind Kayla Stueckle from Emerald Ridge of Puyallup.
McQuivey finished in 43.60, more than one second ahead of the third-place finisher. But Stueckle, who also won the 100 hurdles and the long jump and finished third in the 200, finished in 42.34.
“I have looked up to Kayla all year,” McQuivey said. “She’s amazing; she made me better.”
• Megan Kelley of Camas finished fourth in the 3A 400 and fourth in a crowded long jump field.
In the long jump, Kelley jumped 17-2¼, just 4¼ inches behind champion Kate Adler of Seattle Prep. The top six jumpers were separated by less than 6 inches.
Kelley also helped Camas to its second-place finish in the 1,600 relay.
• Stephanie Harold of Heritage finished fourth in the Class 4A javelin, after entering the meet with the 12th-best qualifying mark from the bi-district meet. For the season, Harold has the second-best mark in Class 4A.
• Sara Slayton of Camas led a strong Clark County finish in the 3A 300 hurdles, finishing third while Brina Sych of Union was fourth.
“I dropped so much time this year,” Slayton said. “I never thought I would make it here.
• Ridgefield’s Shelby Williams concluded a stellar high school career by finishing third in the 2A 100 with a time of 13.10. Alex Coons of Woodland was fourth in 13.11.
Friday, Williams finished third in the shot put, and last year, she placed among the top eight in four individual events.
Williams is headed to the University of Washington with plans to compete in the heptathlon.
The Class 2A 100 was won by Cherish Morrison of Blaine. The sophomore swept the 100, 200 and 400 for the second straight year.
• Tee Tee Martin of Heritage finished fifth in the 4A 100 with a time of 12.75. The event was won by Kishia Mitchell from Rogers of Puyallup, who also won the 400.
