5 days ago
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.
