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4 days ago
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‘I'm proud': Curtis' Altheimer races to 4A 100M final at state track and field
Nicholas 'Nico' Altheimer wants to be 'that guy' in Washington — the state's top sprinter and fastest man. He's still one race short of the gold medal, but Thursday's 4A Boys 100-meter dash preliminaries certainly proved the Curtis star right. Altheimer put on a show from the sixth and final heat, bolting to the finish line faster than any sprinter in any classification (10.52) at Mount Tahoma Stadium. He took down a 4A field of 41 total runners and outlasted Kentridge's Berry Crosby (10.59) for Thursday's top time, now locked into Saturday's 4A 100-meter final with a chance to win it all. Altheimer said he felt shaky near the halfway point of his sprint. By watching, you never would've known. 'I felt like I messed up, but it is what it is,' Altheimer said, smiling ear-to-ear. 'I had a nice time. 'The final's going to be something nice.' The Curtis senior owns the state's fastest 100-meter (10.35) and 200-meter (21.02) dashes this spring. He's the final leg of the Vikings 4x100 relay, which set a state record at last week's district meet as the only group to break the 41-second mark, and should contend in the 4A Boys 300-meter hurdles. 'At the beginning of the season, I didn't want to run a relay,' he said. 'We slowly started getting better. And now, we're the only team to ever go under 41 (seconds). 'We feel like we're going to break our record and take this thing all the way.' And he's part of a Curtis track and field program that took home both West Central District III titles, boys and girls. There's talent everywhere, from sprinters and distance specialists to throwers and jumpers alike. 'We've grown so much,' Altheimer said. 'We're basically like a big old family. I love my team. They're the reason I am who I am, too.' Curtis junior Shelby Duah won her preliminary heat in Thursday's 4A Girls 100-meter hurdles (15.23), battling headwinds to finish third in a field of 20. She joins Altheimer in a quest for the gold medal. 'Every single (Viking) here has a chance to win state,' Duah said. 'They're very inclusive and super fun to be around.' Owen Brown let the suspense build. Mount Rainier's senior triple-jumper was last to fly in Thursday's 4A Boys triple jump final at Mount Tahoma Stadium, needing to eclipse 45-8 for the gold. The problem? Brown had never eclipsed 45-7 in his high school career. He'd need a new personal record despite swirling winds on a sunny Tacoma day. 'I just knew I had to run faster,' Brown said. 'I put all my phases together and got a big jump.' We're not sure you can script the final triple jump of his Mount Rainier career any better. On his sixth and last attempt of the afternoon, Brown flew 46 feet and one inch — clearing Gonzaga Prep's Feso Ogbozor by five inches. Class 4A had a new triple jump champion in the unlikeliest of ways. 'It feels good,' he said. 'I've put in the work all season and was able to PR on my last jump.' Lake Washington's Yevhen Zhmailo, the state leader in triple jump this season (50-9.5) and favorite to win Thursday's 4A title, was unable to compete due to an arm injury suffered Tuesday. Puyallup's Justin Temple Jr., the defending 4A champion, grabbed the bronze medal in his repeat bid (45-5.75). 'I just found out today,' Brown said of Zhmailo's absence. 'I would've loved to compete against him, so I just hope he gets better.' Brown, meanwhile, took up triple jumping only a year ago — clearing just 36 feet in his first weeks of training. By this time last spring, he improved six feet, to 42. Make it 46-1 for the new state champ. 'Last high school meet, and I get to PR,' he said. 'It's nice.' Remember the name: Mount Tahoma's Kanai Kennedy has arrived. The T-Birds freshman crushed an overall field of 32 runners by 0.15 seconds in Thursday's 3A Boys 100-meter preliminaries (10.79), a treat for the home crowd at Mount Tahoma Stadium that locks him into Saturday's final race. 'A lot of headwinds, but I came through,' Kennedy said. 'I feel strong.' Kennedy won last week's West Central District III championships in a personal-record 10.61 seconds, the seventh-fastest recorded time in the state this spring. And with three state meets still to come, it's difficult to project a ceiling for the Mount Tahoma freshman. 'It's fun (here at state),' Kennedy said. 'There's a lot of new people I get to meet. I just get out here, make good memories, and have fun. 'Every time I line up at the blocks, I want to win. I just want to win every time.' – Curtis' Kellen McInelly ran a 4:11.09 mile to finish third in the 4A Boys 1600-meter run. Tahoma's Cooper Boyle finished fourth (4:11.19). – Olympia distance runner Sydney Kosa finished second in the 4A Girls 1600-meter run (4:47.45) and Bonney Lake's Latham West took fifth (4:53.05). – Kentridge's Berry Crosby (10.59) and Jordan Miller (10.62) won their preliminary heats in the 4A Boys 100-meter dash to qualify for Saturday's final. Only Curtis' Altheimer was faster among a total field of 41. – He doesn't hail from the South Sound, but Mercer Island's Owen Powell won Thursday's 3A Boys 1600-meter run (4:03.68) — breaking the state meet record held by Lakes' Izaic Yorks from 2012 (4:04.77). 'I was really decisive with my moves today,' Powell said. 'I had a plan going around 800 (meters) to go, and I stuck with that plan. Because I was so decisive and went hard at that moment, that really helped me today.' – Kent-Meridian's Marcella Jones took home silver in the 3A Girls Long Jump (18-11.5) and finished runner-up to Mercer Island's Aaliyah Khan (19-4.5), who set a new meet record. – It's a tie! Olympia's Lydia Bailey and Mariner's Drea Harris shared the leaderboard's top spot in the 4A Girls Shot Put at Mount Tahoma Stadium (41-10.5). – Lincoln's Dre Sio-Fetaui, a three-star football recruit, finished seventh in the 3A Boys Discus Throw (161-7). – Tumwater's Aaron Paul finished runner-up in the 2A Boys High Jump (6-6), and T-Birds senior McKayla Clary grabbed fifth in the 2A Girls Javelin Throw (122-1).
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
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State track and field preview: What to watch for at Mount Tahoma this weekend
The WIAA's State Track and Field meet is on the horizon at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma. Here's what to watch, events to follow and schedules for the three-day championship from May 29-31. Don't blink, or you just might miss a slew of South Sound runners in this year's 100-meter dash. Locals make up five of the state's 10 fastest-recorded sprints this spring, including each of the top three. Curtis senior Nicholas 'Nico' Altheimer (10.35) and Kentridge teammates Berry Crosby (10.43) and Jordan Miller (10.48) are chasing the gold medal this weekend from the 4A ranks — a race projected to feature all three seniors on the podium. They'll run in Thursday's preliminary heats at 3:10 p.m. for their chance to race in Saturday's 100-meter 4A final at 11:40 a.m. Altheimer continues his quest to be crowned Washington's top sprinter, the Vikings standout with the state's best 100-meter (10.35) and 200-meter (21.02) times this season. He runs the final leg of Curtis' state-record 4x100 relay and will contend in the 4A Boys 300-meter hurdles (39.34). Can he bring multiple gold medals back to University Place? 'He's a really special athlete,' Curtis head coach Ben Mangrum said of Altheimer. 'They don't come around very often like him. Just really natural, but also has worked really hard for a long time at this. 'His talent is remarkable, but his work ethic is pretty excellent as well. He's like 6-foot-4, probably 200 pounds, but just eats up the track every step.' When Curtis' 4x100 relay team dashed to victory at the West Central District III championships at Kent-Meridian High School May 21, it became the first in state history to break the 41-second mark (40.97). Now, they've arrived at the state's biggest stage. Jayden Rice-Claiborne, Isaac Brooks, Kamil Ross, and Altheimer are the favorites in Saturday's final, should they advance through Friday's preliminaries. 'Those guys have been working hard for a long time, so it's no accident that they're running really well right now,' Mangrum said. 'They've put in the time to do that.' And who's right on their tails? Kentridge's Crosby-Miller sprinting duo join Jacob Satchell and Josiah Brown to comprise the Chargers' 4x100 relay, whose 41.18-second race at the NPSL Championships on May 14 stood as the state's best time for a week (before Curtis stole the top of the leaderboard for themselves). The South Sound remains rich with 4x100 relay talent, including 4A's Curtis and Kentridge quartets. Lincoln will contend in 3A with Ramon Jones, Eddie Bruner Jr., Kasey Williams, and JoMierre Askew-Poirier. The Abes claimed last week's district relay title with a personal-record 41.59 — second-fastest among 3A programs in 2025. And look for Tumwater's speedy 4x100 relay, tops in 2A so far this spring. Xavier Bunn, Cash Short, David Malroy, and Blake Kirkpatrick ran a 41.99-second race on May 9, the classification's best time statewide. Kanai Kennedy just took the West Central District III championships by storm. Will he save his best run for last on his home track? Mount Tahoma's budding freshman stole the show in the 3A 100-meter run at Kent-Meridian last Wednesday, notching a personal-record (10.61) that cleared the field by nearly a quarter-second (10.85). It's the seventh-fastest 100-meter time spanning all classifications in Washington this season, placing Kennedy directly in contention at home this weekend. He'll run in three events at Mount Tahoma Stadium: The 3A Boys 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4x100 relay as the final leg. ▪ Curtis features a trio of contending distance runners: Kellen McInelly (1600m, 3200m), Dima Serafimovici (3200m) and junior Owen Mangrum (1600m, 3200m). McInelly broke three-decade-old Curtis records in both events and is 'one of the more dangerous guys in the state right now,' Mangrum said. Owen Mangrum, Ben's son, makes 'everything fun' for Curtis' head coach. 'When I was about 10 or 12 years into coaching, my kids were growing up and they were starting to get into activities, and I saw that I was missing out on what they were doing,' Ben Mangrum said. 'I actually coached Owen in baseball for a number of years. ... I've never had to be the coach that comes down hard on his own son. He's always been a great example for everybody else. 'He took on running a couple of years ago, and it was kind of a blessing for me because I didn't want it to be something that was mine. It was something that he chose, that he wanted to do, and then it totally snowballed into something that he cared more about than I could have imagined.' ▪ Bonney Lake distance specialist Latham West goes for gold in this weekend's 4A Girls 1600- and 3200-meter runs. The Panthers junior is the state's reigning 3A Girls 1600-meter fourth-place finisher and grabbed the state's top seed in the 3200 with a dominant, 16-second win at last week's district championships at Kent-Meridian (10:31.58). ▪ Federal Way's Geron White is a heavy favorite to claim repeat titles in the boys high jump at Mount Tahoma. White battled unrelenting wind and rain to win last year's 4A Boys title (6-6) and competes from 3A with the Eagles this spring. White has already cleared the 6-10.25 mark, the event's top seed by more than a six-inch margin. ▪ Emerald Ridge sophomore Iren Derricks burst onto the local track scene by capturing last year's 4A Girls 100-meter title (12.23) as a freshman last spring and enters this year's meet with a personal-best 11.90. Can she bring home gold once again? ▪ Lincoln's Eddie Bruner Jr. sports the state's fastest 400-meter dash this spring (47.38) and defends his title at Mount Tahoma this weekend. The Abes star claimed last year's 3A Boys 400-meter title (48.53) over Liberty's Jackson Moffitt (48.95). Mount Tahoma Stadium — Tacoma, WA (May 29-31) Thursday: Events begin at 1 p.m. Field events are held from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., and running events begin at 2 p.m. Final awards and team scores are announced at 8 p.m. Friday: Events begin at 9:50 a.m. Field events are held from 9:50 a.m. to 3 p.m., and running events begin at 11 a.m. WIAA Academic Awards are announced at 1:40 p.m. and final awards are revealed at 6:25 p.m. Saturday: Events begin at 10:20 a.m. Field events are held from 10:20 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and running events begin at 10:30 a.m. Final team scores and awards begin at 4:35 p.m. Here's a full, detailed schedule of this weekend's state meet provided by the WIAA.
