TACOMA — Anna LaBeaume peaked at the right time once again.
The Sequim senior won her second straight Class 2A championship in the shot put today, throwing up a school record amid a steady downpour at the state meet at Mount Tahoma High School.
LaBeaume lapped the 2A field, including the favorite Shreese Gotel of Steilacoom, for the second straight year in the final round with a throw of 43 feet, 10 1/2 inches.
“It was perfect,” LaBeaume told the Kitsap Sun. “It was my last year and I’m so excited that it came together.”
“I’m like shaking. I don’t know what to do with myself. I want to eat. That’s what I want to do.”
Just as she had done the year before, LaBeaume saved her best throw of the meet for her last.
She already had the title all but clinched after throwing a 41-7 on her first attempt, a mark no other athlete was able to beat.
With the pressure no longer on her, she did herself one better on her last throw.
LaBeaume had the fourth-best mark in 2A coming into the event. She topped her best throw of the year by 2 feet, 9 1/2 inches.
The 43-10 1/2 mark was the longest throw in 2A for the entire track season, not just the state meet.
“You train for that, and you certainly hope that they do [peak at state],” Sequim coach Brad Moore said. “She knew she had a little bit of an uphill battle.
“She just responded great. It was just so much fun to watch.”
LaBeaume is the first Sequim athlete in school history to win two individual state track championships, let alone defend one.
She is Sequim’s second 2A title winner at the state meet thus far, with teammate Allison Cutting winning the 3,200 meter run on Thursday.
