Adna junior Austen Apperson put on quite the show at the 2B state meet at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, making a remarkable four trips to the top of the winner’s podium.
Apperson became the first athlete in the 2B ranks since 2013 and just the sixth overall to sweep the 800, 1600 and 3200 state titles.
Stephen Bottoms of Onalaska was the last to accomplish the feat five years ago. Pe Ell’s Sean Messiter was the first to pull the state distance running trifecta in 1984, which was the inaugural year of the 2B classification in track.
Apperson followed up his three individual first-place finishes by helping the Pirates’ 4×400 relay team take first place. Apperson was joined on the team by Zander Blankenship, Brady Collins and Aisan Ryan.
Adna senior Luke Wellander joined Apperson as a state champion, winning the 110 hurdles in a time of 15.63 seconds.
The Pirates finished second overall as a team in the boys’ standings with 56 points. Kalama captured the state 2B boys’ team title with 63 point and Pe Ell finished third with 45.
The Trojans received second-place medals from Ryan Shepherd in the javelin and from Andrew Schulz in the long jump. Shepherd, a senior, also finished third in the triple jump, while Schulz, a junior, posted a fifth place finishes in both the 200 and triple jump.
Senior Bradley Prestegord rounded out the list of Adna boys to place in the top five after finishing fifth in the shot put.
Napavine sophomore Draven Riddle captured the triple jump state title with a distance of 42-03. Riddle’s teammate Noah Lantz collected a fourth in the javelin.
Toledo’s Ethan Buck was third in the boys’ javelin while Tristen Storey of Morton-White Pass finished third in the 100 and fourth in 200.
Napavine’s Mollie Olson closed out her high school career by winning the 100 hurdles at the girls’ 2B state meet. Olson also finished second in both the triple jump and long jump and fifth in the 300 hurdles to help the Tiger girls finished fifth as a team.
Napavine also received a fourth in the long jump and a fifth in the triple jump from Chloe Stewart.
Toledo senior Ally Bacon registered a second place in the javelin, while teammate Kallie Schaplow posted a fifth in the event.
Mossyrock got a fourth place in the javelin from Jamie Carlson and a fourth and fifth in the javelin and discus, respectively, from Ava Nelson.
Onalaska sophomore Carmen Cleveland-Barrera rounded out the list of local top five placers by finishing fifth in the shot put.
