TACOMA _ Not even the loud crash of a metal barricade a few
feet behind him bothered Erik Lanigan. The stakes _ a Star Track XVIII
boys 3A championship — were too high.
Down to his final attempt in the high jump on Friday, Lanigan
heard the barricade, designed to separate event competitors from those
warming up, slam to the ground from a strong gust of wind. But Lanigan
was so focused on getting his steps right that the crash didn’t faze him as
he soared over the bar 6 feet, 5 inches high.
That jump turned out to decide the state championship for the Mount
Si senior, who later cleared 6-7.
“I heard it, but I didn’t really let it bother me,” Lanigan said
afterward. “I had fun. I had a real blast.”
Lanigan had the lone state championship among Snoqualmie
Valley athletes. Cedarcrest’s Aaron O’Neal was fourth in the javelin, Mount
Si’s Ben Eaton was seventh in the long jump and the Cedarcrest girls 4 x
400 relay came in sixth. The other Mount Si and Cedarcrest competitors
didn’t earn medals for a top-eight finish.
Lanigan said he struggled to get his footwork right, which threw off
his takeoff position. His first step was too fast, so he turned to jump coach
Tony Manjarrez for help.
“I’d go talk to my coach, get a smack back on the side of my
head,” Lanigan said. “I get too tense. I had
to relax. But when I needed it, I hit it.”
Lanigan’s successful jump at 6-5 turned out to be the winner, as the
three competitors remaining all missed at 6-5. The competition was missing
state leader Jeong-hwan Kang of Kennedy, who had cleared 7-0 during the
season but was injured.
Lanigan cleared 6-7 on his second attempt and decided to try for
6-10, which would beat his personal record of 6-8. He missed all three tries at
6-10, coming close on his second attempt.
“I really wanted 6-10,” he said.
Lanigan, a senior, had finished third in the state meet last year.
He plans to enroll at Central Washington University and try out for the
track team.
O’Neal was the lone sophomore in the javelin field. He threw a
personal-best 187-7 to finish fourth behind winner Kyle Burden of Camas
at 201-2. O’Neal’s previous best was 182 feet.
“My goal was to place and to throw 190,” O’Neal said. “I didn’t quite
hit it.”
O’Neal’s best throw came in the preliminaries. None of the top
four improved their marks in the final round.
The high finish gives O’Neal extra incentive for next season. After
his freshman year, O’Neal said he did little training. Now, he said, “I’m
going to hit the weights hard.”
Eaton was ecstatic to finish seventh in the long jump. A senior,
Eaton turned out for high school track for the first time. Previously, he’d
work on his basketball skills during the spring.
“This was very enjoyable to me,” said Eaton, who also took 13th in
the triple jump. “Just to make it here is amazing. The competition is
great. Even if you don’t place, getting here is an accomplishment.”
Eaton’s top mark was 20-10 in the long jump, which was won by
Brian Graham of Lake Stevens at 22-1. His best mark in the triple jump was
40-10.
“I’ve been hounded all during high school (to turn out for track),
because I was successful in track in middle school,” said Eaton, who long
jumped 19-7 as an eighth-grader. “This is great. I went to state in two sports.”
Eaton plans to attend North Seattle Community College and play
basketball.
Cedarcrest’s girls 4 x 400 relay ran sixth in 4:02.41 behind
Bellevue, which won in a meet-record 3:55.55. The quartet of Jamie Brooks,
Sarah Gustat, Ashley Grant and Erin Kendig had placed fourth in its
preliminary heat, in 4:03.8.
Other state competitors who didn’t finish in the top eight:
Kolby Korshaven, a Cedarcrest senior, was 12th in the boys shot
put, 47-6 ½.
Kelly Ramirez, a Cedarcrest sophomore, was 14th in the girls
1600 in 5:22.99.
Dan Haakenson, a Mount Si junior, was 15th in the boys discus,
126-11.
Tanya Smart, a Mount Si freshman, was 15th in the girls discus,
105-2.
Lindsay Peterson, a Cedarcrest junior, was
18th in the girls discus, 84-2.
