TACOMA — With the conclusion of the West Central/Southwest District track meet May 20, a jubilee season reached completion for nearly all of the North Kitsap Vikings. Now, the spirit the team has been creating since Day One is all focused behind seven state-bound men.

Distance runner Will Cameron is the only Viking on the remaining team with state level experience. Cameron’s trip last year with Chelsea Prueitt and Ryan Young taught him a few lessons in preparation his senior year state meet.

“Be confident and know that (we) are fast enough to run with everyone there,” Cameron said as words of wisdom in preparation for the 2006 WIAA/State Famers of Washington Star Track Meet. “Last year, I was sitting in the sun all day without even thinking about it and it kind of zapped me, so this year I’ll stay out of the sun for sure.”

On another note, Cameron has been in the spotlight all season long, one race away from being undefeated in regular season NL competition. And his best 800M time of 1:56.8 is only 1/10th of a second away from the North Kitsap High School record, which was set in 1940.

“This year, I know that I can run with everyone, (there’s) not a question in my mind. If I can run a smart race then I’ll be fine,” Cameron said.

“My main thing is to get that record … being a tenth of second off was so frustrating,” he added.

He’ll have his last chance this weekend along with Garren Dukes, Dak Kongela, Shawn Campbell, Jerrell Smith, Greg Ottele and Kendryck Dunn all of whom grabbed a ticket to the state finals in Pasco with a top-eight performance at the district qualifiers May 19-20 at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

In the field, Dukes and Kongela locked down state spots.

A 13-3 mark for Dukes — who is chasing the NK record in pole vault — landed him in third place of district competition. Kongela triple jumped to third place with a distance of 45-0.75.

Kongela, Campbell, Ottele, Smith and Dunn (alternate) make up the five-man NK 100M relay team which landed a fourth place finish, gaining clearance into the state finals but leaving room for improvement.

“We have a fighting chance in that,” Kongela said, adding that to make it to finals, the team will have to match or better its best time of 43.22 by utilizing clean and precise handoffs.

At the district meet, the team’s fourth place time of 44.04 seconds qualified North despite a discombobulated handoff on the final turn of the race.

Luck also struck in favor of Kongela and NK in the 100M dash when he was surprised with a lane in the race’s preliminary round.

At the Narrows League meet May 13, Kongela didn’t qualify for district, hindered by a hamstring. He finished just below the cut, in ninth place.

But at the district meet, two runners had to bow out of the race due to injury, allowing Kongela and CK’s Danny Vandatta each a spot at the starting blocks.

The opportunity raced into success as Kongela sprinted to an 11.34, finishing in fourth place while Vandatta came in eighth; both qualified for state.

The Vikings have been working for this juncture all season long, it’s been the distant but consistent goal from the beginning. It all comes down to focus, execution, heart, guts and perfection in the final meet of 2006.