The best place to start would probably be two weeks ago at the Bellevue Invite. Bellevue is a lot of fun for us because we get to take a very large team to the meet, so many of our younger athletes get a chance to compete on the "big stage" of an Invite. Last year our Boys team placed fourth, and we anticipated that we should place at least that or higher.
To put it lightly, we far exceeded all of our own expectations. Our boys team won the Bellevue Invite by over 30 points with 125.75 points over second place Todd Beamer. Six first place finishes and three seconds made the Bellevue Invite one of the most successful in team history. As the day was historic, so was our Boys 4x400 relay. Up to that point in the year, the 4x4 had won many meets, but hadn't had a "breakout" performance like last year.
Junior Demetrius Bronson led off for the first time this year with a solid 51.7 split. Sophomore Junior Gauldin followed with a 51.7 split, despite a very awkward handoff that undoubtedly cost them some time. Sophomore Devin St. Clair then got the baton with a 15 meter deficit on the leader and closed the gap dramatically with a 49.8 split and handed it off to Junior Chris Selvar who outkicked the anchor for Eastlake (see picture) to bring home the victory in a school record time of 3:23.63. This was, until the past week's meets, the fastest time in the state. I firmly believe the 4x4 is the backbone of any track and field team, so it brings me and the rest of the program great pride in seeing it have so much success. Of the other event winners, Chris Selvar won the 800m in a personal best 1:55.31 time (tying Michael Chinchar for the team lead and #2 all-time). Michael Chinchar overcame illness and a poor 1600m race to win the 3200m in a season-best time of 9:18.0. Sophomore Cody Fishel tied his PR and won the High Jump with his jump of 6'3". Devin St. Clair won the Long Jump for the second straight year with his jump of 21'6 3/4". Also, Junior Gauldin won the Triple Jump with his jump of 42' 7 1/2". All of this led to an overwhelming victory for the boys team, and a really heavy trophy to present to the team. Way to go boys!
Junior Demetrius Bronson led off for the first time this year with a solid 51.7 split. Sophomore Junior Gauldin followed with a 51.7 split, despite a very awkward handoff that undoubtedly cost them some time. Sophomore Devin St. Clair then got the baton with a 15 meter deficit on the leader and closed the gap dramatically with a 49.8 split and handed it off to Junior Chris Selvar who outkicked the anchor for Eastlake (see picture) to bring home the victory in a school record time of 3:23.63. This was, until the past week's meets, the fastest time in the state. I firmly believe the 4x4 is the backbone of any track and field team, so it brings me and the rest of the program great pride in seeing it have so much success. Of the other event winners, Chris Selvar won the 800m in a personal best 1:55.31 time (tying Michael Chinchar for the team lead and #2 all-time). Michael Chinchar overcame illness and a poor 1600m race to win the 3200m in a season-best time of 9:18.0. Sophomore Cody Fishel tied his PR and won the High Jump with his jump of 6'3". Devin St. Clair won the Long Jump for the second straight year with his jump of 21'6 3/4". Also, Junior Gauldin won the Triple Jump with his jump of 42' 7 1/2". All of this led to an overwhelming victory for the boys team, and a really heavy trophy to present to the team. Way to go boys!The girls team also had some good performances on the "big stage". Like the Boys, the highlight 
of the meet was the very last event, the 4x400 relay. The team of Sophomore Ashley Luther, Junior Abby Brauer, Junior Vanessa Parker and Freshman Dana Wareham set a season best time of 4:16.0 solidifying themselves as #4 on the top ten list. This is also significant because it is the first time since 1993 that the Girls 4x4 has run under 4:20.0. Dana Wareham also had a great run in her 400m dash, running 61.0 and placing 7th overall. Other strong performances for the girls came from Sophomore Kyra Gaines, who ran a personal record 27.40 in the 200m dash. Freshman Aiesha Goodlow turned in her fastest time of the year with her time of 18.38 in the 100 Hurdles and was joined in the PR club by Junior Erin Bradfield who jumped 31'10" in the Triple Jump. These performances earned the Girls a 24th place finish. Overall meet results can be found here.
of the meet was the very last event, the 4x400 relay. The team of Sophomore Ashley Luther, Junior Abby Brauer, Junior Vanessa Parker and Freshman Dana Wareham set a season best time of 4:16.0 solidifying themselves as #4 on the top ten list. This is also significant because it is the first time since 1993 that the Girls 4x4 has run under 4:20.0. Dana Wareham also had a great run in her 400m dash, running 61.0 and placing 7th overall. Other strong performances for the girls came from Sophomore Kyra Gaines, who ran a personal record 27.40 in the 200m dash. Freshman Aiesha Goodlow turned in her fastest time of the year with her time of 18.38 in the 100 Hurdles and was joined in the PR club by Junior Erin Bradfield who jumped 31'10" in the Triple Jump. These performances earned the Girls a 24th place finish. Overall meet results can be found here.Last week saw one of our team's toughest dual meets of the season. Our Girl's squad put up a good fight, but lost 57-84 to the KM Girls. Our Girls won 6 events, and were competitive in many others. Event winners included Kyra Gaines in the 100m (13.2), Dana Wareham in the 200m, (26.9, a season PR and #3 all time) and Long Jump (16' 1 1/4", #7 all time), Lindsey Moore in the High Jump (5'6"), and both relays (4x100: Ashley Luther, Kristen Olenick, Kyra Gaines and Dana Wareham, 51.7; 4x400: Luther, Abby Brauer, Vanessa Parker and Wareham, 4:16.2).
The Boys team churned out perhaps the toughest dual meet of the season, winning over KM by a score of 80-56. Up to that point, KM had only lost once, and was in contention for a share of the league title. Many athletes stepped up and had great performances to assure the win. Michael Chinchar stepped out of his usual events and won the 400 in a team best time of 51.4. Another highlight for the Boys team was Junior Gauldin's PR Triple Jump of 43'2 1/2" This win moved the boys team to a 6-0 record (not including 2 Invitational wins) and further established themselves as a powerhouse team in the state.
The KM meet also provided the girls team with a couple of PR's and strong performances. Event winners were Kyra Gaines in the 100m (13.2, moving into the top 10 list), Dana Wareham in the 200m (26.9, moving up the top 10 list) and the Long Jump where she set a season PR (16'1 1/2"), Lindsey Moore in the High Jump (5'6", tying her PR), and both relay teams took home first place finishes. Meet results for the KM dual can be found here.
Last saturday saw our boys and girls team split up for the prestigious Shoreline and Lake 
Washington Invitational meets. Shoreline is an all-boys meet and Lake Washington is an all-girls meet and both attract some of the top athletes in the state. Our girls team only sent 12 athletes to Lake Washington, but they competed hard and represented Kentwood well on the big stage. The girls squad was led by Lindsey Moore who placed 2nd in the High Jump (the 4th time this year she's jumped that height). Lindsey also set a PR in the Javelin with her throw of 99'9". Dana Wareham also had a big day, winning her heat in the 400m with a time of 60.85, and running the anchor legs on both the 4x2 and 4x4 relays. All three relays ran at Lake Washington and although they didn't run their fastest times of the season, all three were competitive within their hear in what perhaps is the best meet competition they will see all year (including state because the entries are based on marks, not classifications).
Washington Invitational meets. Shoreline is an all-boys meet and Lake Washington is an all-girls meet and both attract some of the top athletes in the state. Our girls team only sent 12 athletes to Lake Washington, but they competed hard and represented Kentwood well on the big stage. The girls squad was led by Lindsey Moore who placed 2nd in the High Jump (the 4th time this year she's jumped that height). Lindsey also set a PR in the Javelin with her throw of 99'9". Dana Wareham also had a big day, winning her heat in the 400m with a time of 60.85, and running the anchor legs on both the 4x2 and 4x4 relays. All three relays ran at Lake Washington and although they didn't run their fastest times of the season, all three were competitive within their hear in what perhaps is the best meet competition they will see all year (including state because the entries are based on marks, not classifications). The boys squad went into their toughest invite of the season with the Shoreline Invite. Shoreline traditionally brings a very talented field from all across the state to compete against. Our boys stepped up to the challenge and established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the state. There were several highlights of the meet, led by event winners Michael Chinchar in the 1600m, and Devin St. Clair in the Long Jump. Michael ran away with the 1600m title, winning in a time of 4:12.18, missing the meet record by little over a second. Devin leaped to a big victory with his jump of 22'6", showing the state that he is capable of winning a big meet. Another thrilling event was the boys 4x4 relay which saw another showdown with Eastlake High School (the team our boys beat to win the Bellevue Invite the week before). This time though, there wasn't enough room to outkick them and our boys took 2nd place with their time of 3:24.82. In the end, the boys team took home second place to Evergreen of Vancouver, a team that we will definitely see at the state meet. Meet results can be found here and news story here.
These meet were a good taste of what our competition will be like as we cruise into the postseason, hopefully preparing us for the great competition to come.
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