Cruisers punch 27 district tickets at SPSL 2A League Track Championships

The Eatonville Cruisers sent a large contingent to the 2A South Puget Sound League Championships at Harry Lang Stadium at Clover Park High School on Wednesday and Friday, and when the dust settled, a long list of athletes had punched their tickets to the 2A District 3 Championships.

Sophomore Gabriel Kolsrud headlined the boys side with a pair of podium finishes in the distance events, setting personal bests in both. Kolsrud took second in the 3,200 meters with a time of 10:01.87 and third in the 1,600 in 4:42.49, establishing himself as one of the top young distance runners in the league.

Sophomore Mason Kinley was another double qualifier in the field, finishing second in the shot put with a personal-best heave of 47 feet, 1 inch and third in the discus at 128 feet, 3 inches. Junior Adam Ames placed fourth in the discus at 127 feet, 9 inches.

Sophomore Jarin Ragazzo won the javelin outright, launching a throw of 161 feet, 3 inches to claim the league title.

Senior Connor Austin took the pole vault championship, clearing 10 feet, 6 inches. Junior Steven Haas had an impressive day across multiple events, placing third in the pole vault at 9 feet, 6 inches, third in the high jump at 5 feet, 8 inches and qualifying in the 200 meters with a fourth-place finish in 23.84 seconds. Junior David McClain was second in the high jump, also clearing 5 feet, 8 inches.

Junior Jacob Simons was a multi-event qualifier as well, taking second in the 100 meters in 11.30 seconds and sixth in the 200 in 23.92. Senior Oscar Lopez-Diaz placed fourth in the 400 meters in 53.72.

Junior Rogue Pound qualified in two individual events, placing fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in 17.80 and fifth in the long jump at 19 feet, 1.5 inches. Senior Landon Austin edged into the district field with a sixth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles in a personal-best 45.25.

In the relays, both boys teams qualified. The 4x100 squad of Lopez-Diaz, Simons, Haas and sophomore Colton Sanders placed fourth in 46.18. The 4x400 team of seniors Phillip Buchholz and Lopez-Diaz and sophomores Kolsrud and Teagan Croppi was fifth in 3:54.71. Croppi also placed fourth individually in the pole vault at 9 feet.

On the girls side, sophomore Ava Tatro won the pole vault championship, clearing 7 feet to earn the league title. Tatro was also part of the qualifying 4x100 relay team.

Senior Taylor Johnson swept all four ambulatory events she entered, winning the shot put (18 feet, 4.5 inches, a personal best), discus (55 feet, 3.5 inches) and javelin (32 feet, 10 inches) and finishing second in the 100 meters in 26.53. Her performance was among the most dominant of the meet for Eatonville.

Senior Lily Lightfoot qualified in two events, placing fourth in the triple jump at 27 feet, 4 inches and sixth in the 100-meter hurdles in 18.95. Freshman Avery Crowder earned a district berth with a sixth-place finish in the 400 meters in a personal-best 1:08.79. Junior Hannah Bieker qualified in the 3,200, finishing sixth in a season-best 13:04.84.

Junior Madison McChesney placed fifth in the javelin at 78 feet to earn her district spot.

All three girls relay teams qualified as well. The 4x100 team of Crowder, freshman Andrea Hall, junior Ciana Hover and Tatro placed fifth in 54.73. The 4x200 squad of freshman Riley Bailey, Crowder, junior Kalli Olson and Hover was fourth in 2:00.49. The 4x400 team of Bieker, senior Bridget Stumph, sophomore Tymbre Green and freshman Jenny Lowe placed fourth in 4:59.16.

When the final results were tallied, Eatonville walked away from Harry Lang Stadium with 27 athletes, 14 boys and 13 girls, earning berths to the 2A District 3 Championships. The Cruisers will compete Wednesday, May 20 and Friday, May 22 at Bremerton High School, with the top six finishers in each event at leagues earning automatic qualification. An additional four spots per event, combined between the 2A SPSL and 2A Olympic leagues, were also available, though those placings had not been confirmed at press time.