TACOMA – Each day after basketball practice this winter, Mason Scheidel would go on a five-mile run.
The Skyview senior and three-sport athlete knew his last high school competition would be a track and field race.
So he put in the extra legwork. He wanted to make it memorable.
Saturday, he won a race few people at Mount Tahoma High School will ever forget.
Scheidel dove at the finish line to win the 4A state title in the 800 meters by one-hundredth of a second.
He was joined by Union senior Jilven Refil among local boys to win titles on the final day of the state track and field championships. Refil won the 100 and 200 meters.
But Scheidel’s finish was likely the most dramatic moment of the three-day meet. Over the final 50 meters, he was both cut off and pushed in the back as the top four runners jostled for position.
With 25 meters left, he drove between Noah Wallace of Lake Stevens and Ethan Karlinsey of Inglemoor to the inside lane. He was just behind Wallace’s left shoulder as the finish line approached.
Then Scheidel dove.
Doing so was in the back of his mind. He remembered Skyview’s cross country coach Chris Erdman telling of how he dove at the finish of a state event when he raced for R.A. Long.
Scheidel rolled onto his back as he landed. Large red swaths of “track burn” marked his shoulderblades.
Sitting just past the finish line, Scheidel pounded his chest. It wasn’t to celebrate, just an impulse reaction to adrenaline. He wasn’t sure he had won.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “I’ve never dove so I didn’t know if it had slowed me down. My friend held up No. 1, and I just went crazy.”
Moments later, Scheidel tried to put the finish into words. He struggled to do so, repeatedly interrupting himself with his own disbelief.
“Oh my gosh, I won!,” he exclaimed mid-sentence on several occasions.
Scheidel was the seventh-fastest qualifier in Friday’s preliminary heats. Just getting to Saturday’s finals was a small victory. He missed the state finals last year by .07 seconds.
“I had a talk to myself that day that I was going to be a state champion,” he said. “All year I worked super hard just to make finals and compete for a state title.”
Over the past year, Scheidel envisioned racing for a state title “hundreds of times.”
In his dreams he always won, but never with such a dramatic dive.
Reality ended up being better than Scheidel could have dreamed.
Union senior Jilven Refil was ready to say enough.
He had already won a state title in the 4A 100 meters Saturday. But a sore groin made him wary about running in the 200 meter finals.
But Union sprint coach LaMont Woods urged him for one more race.
“He said just do it, one last race,” Refil said. “Union always finishes everything. I didn’t think I’d get first, though. Maybe second or third.”
Refil won the 200 meters by .06 seconds with a lean at the end.
It was a fitting end to Refil’s brief but successful high school track career. He came out for the track team this season, but was sidelined by academic eligibility issues for half the season.
But with the help of Union’s coaches, Refil boosted his grades and became eligible just before the district meet.
Now, Refil is a two-time state champion and on track to graduate in June. He was a big part in the Titans placing third in the 4A boys team race.
“I couldn’t ask for anything else,” he said. “Work, school, it’s all looking really nice right now. Put work into something you like, and hopefully all that work will turn into something more than you expect.”
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
Class 4A State Championships
At Tacoma
Saturday’s Finals
Winner and local athletes
Team scores – 1, Federal Way 65; 2, Inglemoor 45; 3, Union 39; 4, South Kitsap 35.
100 meters – 1, Jilven Refil (Union) 11.38; 5, Michael Ugarov (Union) 11.62.
200 – 1, Jilven Refil (Union) 22.31.
400 – 1, Jake Ulrich (Eastmont) 48.07; 4, Adam Ryan (Camas) 49.33.
800 – 1, Mason Scheidel (Skyview) 1:55.36; 5, Adam Ryan (Camas) 1:56.28.
3200 – 1, Jack Yearian (Bellarmine Prep) 9:05.63; 6, Yacine Guermali (Camas) 9:18.87; 12, Daniel Maton (Camas) 9:31.74.
300 hurdles – 1, Tanner Conner (Kentridge) 37.44.
400 relay – 1, Graham-Kapowsin 41.96.
1600 relay – 1, Inglemoor 3:20.68; 4, Camas 3:22.23; 5, Skyview 3:22.62.
Javelin – 1, David Woodward (Olympia) 188-1; 4, Curtis Stradley (Battle Ground) 183-1; 8, Brad Decker (Skyview) 174-10; 10, Gavin Lee (Heritage) 170-5; 11, Cody Williams (Camas).
Long jump – 1, Mason Sallee (Federal Way) 23-8.75.
Class 3A State Championships
At Tacoma
Saturday’s Finals
Winner and local athletes
Team scores – 1, Lincoln 45.66; 2, Bonney Lake 40; 3, Mount Spokane 36.5; 4, Shorewood 36.
100 meters – 1, Emmanuel Wells (Rainier Beach) 10.98.
200 – 1, Emmanuel Wells (Rainier Beach) 21.88.
400 – 1, Evan Mafilas (O’Dea) 48.80.
800 – 1, Devan Kirk (Shorewood) 1:53.62.
3200 – 1, Justin Janke (North Central) 8:55.96.
300 hurdles – 1, Josh Riley (Sumner) 39.03; 4, Michael Schmidt (Prairie) 39.92.
400 relay – 1, Rogers-Spokane 43.01.
1600 relay – 1, Lincoln 3:20.19.
High jump – 1, Jakobe Ford (Shadle Park) 7-1; 13, Illia Saakian (Fort Vancouver) 5-10.
Triple jump – 1, Tyson Penn (Bellevue) 48-3.75.
Class 2A State Championships
At Tacoma
Saturday’s Finals
Winner and local athletes
Team scores – 1, Black Hills 47.5; 2, Lynden 41; 3, West Valley-Spokane 40; 4, Olympic 38.
100 meters – 1, Zecheriah Herford (West Valley-Spokane) 11.05.
200 – 1, Jaleel Elmore (Olympic) 22.55.
400 – 1, Jaleel Elmore (Olympic) 48.84; 7, Brandon Lehto (Ridgefield) 52.03.
800 – 1, Brigham Cardon (Selah) 1:55.47; 5, Brandon Lehto (Ridgefield) 1:59.34.
3200 – 1, Andrew Cooper (Liberty-Issaquah) 9:24.57; 6, Silas Griffith (Ridgefield) 9:31.14.
300 hurdles – 1, Josh Braverman (River Ridge) 38.39; 6, Cole Walker (Hockinson) 40.69.
400 relay – 1, West Valley (Spokane) 42.42.
1600 relay – 1, Olympic 3:23.69.
Javelin – 1, Devon Shedd-Kirkland (Tumwater) 173-3.
Class 1A State Championships
At Cheney
Saturday’s Finals
Winner and local athletes
Team scores – 1, Zillah 58.5; 2, Deer Park 48; 3, King’s 42; 3, Medical Lake 42.
100 meters – 1, Caleb Perry (King’s) 11.17.
200 – 1, Keyhon Ross (Medical Lake) 22.22.
400 – 1, Riley Olney (Zillah) 49.47.
800 – 1, Conner Lovell (Montesano).
3200 – 1, Tibebu Proctor (Northwest) 9:30.30.
110 hurdles – 1, Marcus McGuinn (Meridian) 15.14; 8, Jeremy Scott (La Center) 15.14.
300 hurdles – 1, Brian Golding (Goldendale) 39.20; 7, Jeremy Scott (La Center) 42.17.
400 relay – 1, Medical Lake 42.82.
1600 relay – 1, Montesano 3:27.33.
Shot put – 1, Dalton Martin (Coupeville) 47-7.75.
Long jump – 1, Ryan Slack (Zillah) 21-5.5; 8, Thomas Dreyer (La Center) 19-2.75; 9, Kyle Gonzales (King’s Way) 18-10.25.
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