With the Oregon high school state meet in the books it is now time to focus on Washington and California.
WIAA 2022 State Track and Field Championships - May 26 - 28
Large Schools: Mt. Tahoma High School - Tacoma, WA
Small Schools: Eastern Washington University - Cheney, WA
The state of Washington has a three day meet and most of the athletes have not competed in the state meet since the last state meet in 2019. Isaac Teeples of Kamiakan and Ethan Coleman of Olympia will face each other while Sam Jacobson of Newport can also threaten. Aiden Emerson of Arlington almost won the elite mile at Arcadia earlier this season and will be the favorite in the the 3A division. Zach Munson of Sehome and Selah's Cooper Quigley are the top 2A athletes and Kelton Gagnon of Klahowya will light up the track in Cheney.
Ella Borsheim of Bellarmine Prep will conclude her epic Washington career this weekend and is the favorite in the 4A girl's 1600, but do not ignore Curtis' Eliza White who has raced impressively at Oregon Relays and Jesuit Twilight Relays. The 3A race has a bunch of athletes who can break five minutes including freshman Lily Laporte of Bishop Blanchet and Macy Marquardt of Kennewick. Seton Catholic's Alexis Leone started her season with a big win in Spokane back in January and she will be looking to be the 1A champion in Cheney.
It is possible that Kamiakan's Isaac Teeples could be the 1600 and 800 champion as his 1:52 time separates him from the pack. Same goes for Aiden Emerson of Arlington as he can be a double champion in the 1600 and 800. The most interesting race could be the 2A boy's 800 as season PR's have this race as a toss up. Olympia's Katelyn Rigg and Eisenhower's Kara Mickelson are two dominant 800 runners for the 4A division. Could a freshman win the 3A division? It is quite possible as sox freshman toe the prelims at the state meet.
Ethan Coleman of Olympia is the favorite to win the state title in the 3200 as Isaac Teeples of Kamiakan will be coming off the 1600 and 800 races. A pair of Bishop Blanchet athletes could battle for the 3A title with Will Schneider and Vince Recupero teaming up. Zach Munson of Sehome and Kelton Gagnon of Klahowya are also favorites in their divisions. If Ella Borsheim runs her 3200 like she did at Arcadia, there will be no contest. Still, Skylline's Sydney Collier is having a great season and races beyond her years as a freshman. Lily Laporte of Bishop Blanchet and Macy Marquardt of Kennewick will have a rematch from Thursday's 3A 1600 in the 3200. Jessica Frydenlund of Anacortes and Alexis Leone of Seton Catholic are favorites in their respective divisions.
California State Meet - May 27-28
Buchanan High School - Clovis, CA
I don't want to sound repetitive, but California will be hosting their first official state meet since 2019 and the distance runners have only gotten faster with time. California's state meet is different from Oregon and Washington in two important ways: all divisions run in one singular state meet and all three distance finals are contested in one single day. The 800 and 1600 prelims are contested on Friday and all three distance races are finals on Saturday.
The 1600 winner could have a local feel as the top boy entrants are both juniors in Chris Caudillo of Clovis and Noah Ray of Buchanan. Scotts Valley Jeremy Kain and Agoura's Ethan Godsey will also be factors in the 1600. The girl's 1600 will be another epic race between freshman Sadie Engelhardt of Ventura and Dalia Frias of Mira Costa. Both athletes have been posting amazing marks in various distances and Frias has won all the head to head battles. Sam McDonnell of Newbury Park has gone through the qualifying meets with flying colors and will also be in the mix.
The boy's 800 could be special with Thacher's Ellis Delvecchio, Jai Dawson of Dana Hills and Aaron Sahlman of Newbury Park already fought a tough 800 last week at CIF SS Masters. Yukata Roberts of El Camino can break up the southern section trio. The girl's 800 has a deep field that has a number of athletes who can break 2:10 including Mia Chavez of Chino, Mackenzie Browne of North, Ashlee Gallegos of JSerra, Arielle Mckenzie of La Canada and Engelhardt who will be racing the 1600 and 800 double.
Clovis' Chris Caudillo has the top seasonal time going into the 3200, but will he have enough energy to return from the 1600? Sage Creek's Bryce Gilmore has a time that can keep up with Caudillo and sophomore Jason Parra of Millikan continues to improve this season. The girl's 3200 is anyone's race including freshman Hanne Thomsen of Montgomery, Mackenzie Rogers of Poway, Riley Chamberlain of Del Oro and Sophia Nordenholz of Albany. Sam McDonnell returns from the 1600 race and can be a factor as she has tripled in some of the qualifying races and ran quality times in all of her races.
NCAA West Regional
May 25 - May 28 University of Arkansas
West coast schools will be qualifying at the west regional to the NCAA Championship which will be held on the . . . . west coast in Eugene.
Prefontaine Classic
May 27-28 University of Oregon
The greatest track meet in the US returns to its normal May date in Eugene for the fist time since 2018. A few high school athletes compete including Colin Sahlman of Newbury Park and Caleb Lakeman of Tualatin.