WASHOUGAL — One step before the state championships, the area’s top track and field athletes hit their stride.
Friday’s Class 2A district meet saw standout performances from several state-title hopefuls. The meet at Washougal High proved a good final step before the state meet in Tacoma next Thursday through Saturday.
Nick Jenkins will enter next week with state title hopes in two events. The Ridgefield junior won the triple jump and long jump on Friday. He owns he best 2A marks statewide in both events this season.
But as he sprints down the jump runway, Jenkins doesn’t think about feet and inches.
“It’s not thinking about what you want as a mark,” he said. “It’s just thinking about just jumping and seeing how far you can go.”
Jenkins missed nearly a month early this season with a hip flexor injury. His double win Friday put that further into the past.
In fact, it was also at Washougal on April 26 when Jenkins knew he was back at full strength. At the Panther Twilight meet, he set a personal best of 48 feet, 4 inches in just his third triple jump competition of the season.
“I had to ease back into it,” Jenkins said. “Surprisingly, I jumped pretty well and PR’d.”
Tyler Flanagan didn’t ease into anything on Friday. The Woodland senior notched a decisive win in the 300 hurdles in a personal-best time. He finished well ahead of Black Hills junior Sir Carter, who entered Friday with the fastest time in 2A.
In the win, Flanagan avenged a narrow loss to Carter in the 110 hurdles.
“He’s fast and he’s a good sport, so I had a good chip on my shoulder,” Flanagan said. “I wanted to beat him in at least one event. We’re always happy for each other if we PR.”
Nicole Guthrie is another Woodland athlete gunning for a state title next week. Friday, the junior cleared 5 feet, 6 inches in the high jump for the second consecutive meet.
Guthrie is the only 2A athlete statewide to clear 5-6, which is tied for Woodland’s school record.
Guthrie had her spirits lifted early in the season when she cleared 5-4 in her second meet.
“Once I got 5-4 that first time, it was a big confidence boost,” she said. “A lot of it’s mental. Even if you miss the bar, you’ve got to put it behind you and focus on the next one now.”
Washougal junior Ryan Davy won the 100 and 200 meter races, breaking 11 seconds in the 100 for the second time this season.
“I’ve been training basically all offseason,” he said. “We did a lot of work on technique. I think that’s been a lot better and it has helped me a lot.”
