TACOMA – Whoever said, “Getting there is half the battle,” was probably right. But what they neglected to say was staying there is even tougher. Six Mount Si and nine Cedarcrest athletes showcased their talent at the state track-and-field championships last weekend in Tacoma, but only eight came away with top-10 placings.

Dan Haakenson of Mount Si took third in the discus with a throw of 162 feet, 10 inches. He was not far off his prediction of placing second with a 170-foot throw. Haakenson was 15th in the event at state last year with a throw of 126 feet, 11 inches. He will attend Pacific Lutheran University in the fall.

Kelly Ramirez of Cedarcrest took fourth place in the mile race with a time of 5:08. She has consistently improved her times all season. She ran a 5:09 at district and a 5:16 at league. This was after running a 5:50 earlier in the season. She was 14th last year at state as a sophomore and ran the race in 5:22.

Cedarcrest’s Erin Kendig, a freshman, won the 400-meter preliminary race with a time of 58.86. In the finals, she ran to a fifth-place finish with a time of 59.36.

James Conrick of Cedarcrest ran the mile in 4:22 and took fifth place. He also finished the two-mile with a time of 9:31 and took seventh place. He was the only athlete of the two schools to place in two events.

Mount Si’s Ashley Weigardt leapt 16 feet, 6 inches in the long jump and placed sixth overall. She was second at the district meet this year with a jump of 17 feet, 1 1/2 inch, a personal best for her.

In field events, Tanya Smart of Mount Si advanced to the finals with a throw of 116 feet, 5 inches. She took sixth place with another throw of 116 feet, 5 inches.

Despite not matching her personal best of 118 feet earlier in the season, Smart was still happy with her performance.

“It’s nice to know the adrenaline is going away. I was shaking so bad I couldn’t throw,” Smart said after her feat. “I’m very happy to have made it this far. I credit my coach, Chris Jackson.”

In the beginning of the season, Smart said she didn’t expect she would even make it to state. She had sprained an ankle at the Snohomish Invitational in April and wasn’t sure she would compete past the league meet.

Smart said she will start physical therapy on her ankle right away, and since she is only a sophomore this year, she still has plenty of time to perfect her discus throw for an even better placing next year.

Cedarcrest’s Aaron O’Neal took ninth place in the javelin with a throw of 171 feet, 2 inches. He went to state last year and placed fourth in the event with a throw of 187 feet, 7 inches.

Ashley Van Oeveren of Mount Si threw the discus 112 feet, 3 inches in the preliminaries and did not advance to the finals. She finished 10th overall.

Cedarcrest’s Maile Marshall cleared 5 feet in the high jump and took 11th place overall.

The Cedarcrest girls’ 4×400-meter relay team of Kendig, Ashley Grant, Sara Gustat and Ramirez took ninth place in the preliminaries and did not advance. Their time was 4:07.52. Last year the 4×400 relay team consisting of Jamie Brooks, Gustat, Grant and Kendig took sixth at state and ran the race in a time of 4:02.41.

Mount Si’s Nick Verbon ran the 110-meter high hurdle preliminaries in a time of 15.07, which was good for 10th place. But he did not advance to the finals. He also ran the 300-meter high hurdles in a time of 41.65 for 14th place. Verbon ran 14.61 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at district, which would have put him in fourth place in the finals at state this year.

Wildcat Jacob Waggoner ran the 800-meter race and finished with a time of 2:01. She did not advance to the finals, but placed 11th overall. Waggoner was fourth at district and ran a 1:59.

Grant ran to a 16th-place finish in the 800-meter preliminaries with a time of 2:30, but did not advance to the finals.

Discus thrower Lindsay Peterson of Cedarcrest also did not advance to the finals. She threw 83 feet, 2 inches in the preliminaries. She was 16th in the meet overall. Three weeks prior, she was the 3A KingCo League champion in this event, having thrown the discus 112 feet, 8 inches. She then took fifth place at the district meet, which qualified her for state. Peterson was also a state competitor last year, but did not place.