Back-to-back: Federal Way's White clears 6-11, repeats as state high jump champion

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a day ago

It was only a matter of time before Friday's 3A Boys Triple Jump at Mount Tahoma Stadium turned into The Geron White Show.
Federal Way's defending state champion makes skyscraping jumps look easy. When officials set the opening height to clear at 5-6, White sat patiently for his turn. By six feet, he was hurdling the bar feet-first — a confident, effortless warm-up for what was to come.
White cleared 6-8 on his third and final attempt, a clutch leap that etched repeat titles into stone, but the senior star was far from finished, and the spectacle was only beginning.
A personal-record 6-11 came next.
With family, coaches, and friends glued to the surrounding fenceline, White flashed a thumbs up for a personal fan club, his trademark tradition. He shouted, 'Let's Go!' for the hundreds of onlookers and began a slow clap that built in tempo; even White's competitors joined in.
'They know that I put on a show,' White said. 'If I can do it for them, that's just great.'
Then came the unforgettable leap that sent both sides of Mount Tahoma Stadium into celebration. White cleared the bar at 6-11, notching an official mark of 6-11.25. Three more attempts at 7-2 fell just short, but the Eagles star settled for a new personal record and back-to-back gold medals.
'This is a surreal feeling,' White told The News Tribune. 'Coming out here and doing this not once, but twice? It's something that not a lot of people can say they did. Me being able to do that is just a blessing, and I love that I could do it for my coaches and teammates.'
White claimed last year's 4A Boys High Jump title (6-6) before Federal Way reclassified to 3A last fall. Unrelenting rain and high winds ravaged the 2024 contest, but Friday featured picture-perfect weather conditions: clear, sunny skies with minimal wind.
'I'm stronger,' White said. 'Much stronger. That comes with maturing and really getting your work ethic to be there with you. You get that up, and the sky is the limit.'
Ingraham's KingDavid Jackson (6-6) and Liberty of Issaquah's Oden Hatcher tied for runner-up honors. Mount Tahoma's Zane Cordero (6-2) finished T5 on his home track.
White already took home hardware at this year's meet with a third-place finish in Thursday's 3A Boys Long Jump (22-1.5) and enters Saturday's 3A Boys Triple Jump (47-7.5) as the top seed.
Nine of the 20 contestants failed to clear six feet in the high jump — the bar that White hurdled.
'That's what I usually do,' he smiled. 'It could scare some people… but I'm such a high-class jumper that popping over those heights is really nothing to me.'
Callie Wilson couldn't believe it. When Bonney Lake's senior hurdler was first to cross the finish line in Friday's 4A Girls 100-meter hurdles, the emotions poured out — a mixture of shock and jubilation with a hint of relief.
Fueled by adrenaline, Wilson bolted off of her starting block and instantly knew she was in position. She clipped a pair of hurdles along the way but finished strong, outlasting top-seed Leilani Mays (Union) for the gold medal (14.22) at Mount Tahoma Stadium.
'It feels absolutely insane,' Wilson said. 'I knew I was (in) a pretty good spot, but to actually do it? Crazy.'
Even crazier? Wilson began hurdling in February, just three short months ago. Panthers coaches believed in her potential before she believed in herself, encouraging her to try something new.
'It made track more fun,' Wilson said. 'I have so much room to grow… but it's just absolutely insane.'
Curtis duo Shelby Duah (14.58) and Jazzlyn-Rei Smith (14.73) finished third and fourth in a race filled with South Sound track talent. Kentridge's Ayla Johnson (14.93) grabbed a fifth-place finish and Tahoma's Riley Dickson (15.11) took sixth.
In Friday's 3A Girls 100-meter hurdles moments prior, Gig Harbor's Eisley Hering (14.89) and Karin Heikkila (15.09) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, bookending White River's Trista Turgeon in fifth (15.05).
'I was thinking… I didn't put in all of this effort in such a little amount of time to not show up and show out,' Wilson said. 'It was going to be my last race ever. I might as well go all-out.'
The packed crowds at Mount Tahoma Stadium just witnessed the fastest 4x100 relay the state has ever seen.
Curtis sprinters Jayden Rice-Claiborne, Isaac Brooks, Kamil Ross, and Nicholas 'Nico' Altheimer smoked their competition in Friday's 4A Boys 100M preliminaries (40.84), tearing down a Garfield state meet record (41.34) that stood for 39 years.
'They're really good friends with each other, and they just know each other really well,' Curtis head coach Ben Mangrum said. 'The handoffs have been getting better all season long because (we've) been consistent with that group.
'And if something does happen, we have more guys that can step in, and they know that. That frees them up to just be their best.'
Curtis captured the West Central District III title with a state-record run (40.97) nine days ago.
Now, they've one-upped themselves.
Kentridge's 4x100 relay isn't far behind: Jacob Satchell, Berry Crosby, Josiah Brown, and Jordan Miller ran a personal-best 41.11 from Friday's third preliminary heat, another race that brought down Garfield's state meet record from 1986. We'll see the Vikings and Chargers battle head-to-head for gold in Saturday's final alongside the likes of Glacier Peak (41.85), Kamiak (42.18), and Lake Washington (42.36).