TACOMA — Sequim coach Brad Moore always leaves the door of possibility open going into state track and field meets.
“You never know,” Moore said Tuesday. “You just never really know for sure,” Moore said Tuesday.
He has said similar things in recent years leading up to the Class 2A state meet, which begins today and runs through Saturday at Mount Tahoma High School.
The boys high jump is especially tough to predict.
Sequim junior Jackson Oliver is seeded ninth in the event, but he also owns the top mark in the state, 6 feet, 5.5 inches, which he jumped in the first meet of the season.
All but two of the 16 jumpers at state are within 4 inches, 5-10 to 6-02, of each other.
Oliver is seeded at 6 feet, so he’s right in that mix. He also has reached 6-04 on a more consistent basis than the top seed, Max English of Kingston, who jumped a 6-05 at the District 2/3 championships last week.
In summary, the high jump state title is up for grabs, just as it was in 2013 when Sequim’s Jayson Brocklesby claimed the title.
“Jackson is healthy, and he’s working on little stuff,” Moore said.
“We’ve talked about tactics, as far as how to deal with the competition itself.
“You have to think about things in advance.”
Alex Barry is the only javelin thrower in Class 2A to reach 180 feet, which he has done three times.
The senior, who enters as the second seed, has even more in him.
“Alex is capable of throwing long, like 200 feet,” Moore said.
“If he can just put all the little pieces together, it will go, go, go.”
Aiding Barry, and all the other throwers, is that state competition will be waged on a rubber surface, which, Moore said, provides “a little better return on your delivery.”
Wolves junior Oscar Herrera will make his second straight state appearances in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles.
He and Barry also are part of Sequim’s fourth-seeded 4×400-meter relay, along with Miguel Moroles, Jason Springer, Logan Habner and Kane Stoddard, though an injury likely will prevent Stoddard from competing at state.
“This is fastest [4×400 relay] team I’ve ever had,” Moore said.
“The kids are just looking great.”
Josh Cibene’s back is feeling much better, and the senior is in line for a medal in the pole vault, entering in an eight-way tie for second place at 13-06.
Waverly Shreffler and Heidi Vereide are individual state qualifiers for the Sequim girls.
Shreffler, a junior, has been one of the top 800 runner in the state, and she enters seeded sixth.
Vereide, a senior, is making her first state appearance in the long jump.
Those two also are part of the Wolves’ 4×200- and 4×400-meter relays along with Gretchen Happe, Mercedes Woods, Emma Beeson and Megan Breckenridge.
“The girls [4×400] team can honestly run 4:10. That would get them on the podium,” Moore said.
“They just have to do it at the right time.”
Port Angeles
Gracie Long already has a district title in cross country and two more in track and field (1,600 and 3,200).
Now she’s looking to finish her freshman year with some state hardware.
“Oh, wow. She’s a special kind of athlete, a special kind of kid,” Port Angeles coach Bill Tiderman said.
“She’s like that horse . . . Seabiscut, kind of like that, in that when there’s people around, she doesn’t like to lose to them.
“If it gets down to the last 200 [meters] and it’s close, [the other runner] better count on losing.
“If you’re going to beat her, you’ll have a pretty big lead to do it.”
Long also made state in the high jump, which Tiderman calls her “fun event.”
At last year’s state meet, Roughriders senior Zoe Owens beat her personal best in the triple jump to earn a seventh-place medal.
She will jump first at Friday’s finals, which could give her a mental edge.
“She’ll be right in the mix,” Tiderman said.
“Somebody is going to pop off a good jump. You just hope you’re the one that makes that good early jump.”
Sam Burton, also a senior, used that mental edge at last week’s district meet to win a jump-off for the final state berth in the pole vault.
Another senior, Matt Robbins, who won a state wrestling championship in February, isn’t phased by being the second-lowest seed in the shot, about 5 feet out of medal contention.
“Matt’s in, it’s huge company there,” Tiderman said.
“Today he said, That’s only 5 more feet.’ We just agreed with him, ‘Yep, only 5 more feet.”
Peter Butler qualified in the 1,600 and 3,200, having destroyed his personal records in both events at last week’s district meet.
“Peter is a very smart runner. He has a lot of heart, a lot of strength,” Tiderman said.
“He’s looking for a podium. I expect him to get in the top 10 or the top 8.
“He’s another one of those kids that puts his mind to it, he’s mentally strong.
“Right now he’s running his best, peaking at the right time, which is what we want.”
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Sports Editor Lee Horton can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
