SILVERDALE — The finale. Nothing is better in the sport of track and field than when teams bring their premier athletes together for the last meet of the season.
North Kitsap School District schools Poulsbo Junior High and Kingston Junior High along with Cedar Heights, Central Kitsap, Ridgetop, Fairview, Marcus Whitman, Oakland Bay, Sedgwick and Bremerton junior high schools converged May 31 for the Olympic League Junior High Championships in Silverdale.
When it was all over, the PJH Panthers captured the girls team title, compiling 115 points in its first place finish.
Adeline Carion (60-meter dash), Siara Byers (100, 200,) and Annelise Weinman (400) brought home first place finishes for PJH.
Hilary Leonard (400), Shannon Leicht (75-meter hurdles) and Byers (long jump) nabbed second place marks for PJH.
Athletes earning third place included Grace Carlson (800), and Leonard (1600).
On the boys side, the Panthers earned third place overall, finishing with 60 points.
Alex Flores shined yet again, clocking a 11.49 in the 100 and a 52.80 in the 400, taking first place in both events.
Athletes earning third place included Alex Fuchs (60, 200), Tyler Spear (400) and Jake Sartain (discus). Spear also finished fourth in the 800.
KJH didn’t fare as well as PJH, but had many athletes in the spotlight at the junior high championships.
KJH’s girls squad compiled 47 points, capturing sixth place overall.
Cavaliers stalwart distance runner Ruby Roberts ran away with the 1600 crown, finishing with a blistering time of 5:09.5. Roberts crossed the line well ahead of the crowd as the next closest runner finished 15 seconds behind her.
“Ruby gave an outstanding performance for the team this year,” KJH coach Karla Laubach said. “She lowered the school record to 5:08.66 and it will be very difficult for anyone to beat that.”
PJH coach Lee Hodin said Roberts is one of the best runners in the state.
“Ruby had quite a season this year for Kingston,” he said. “Her personal record would have put her in the top 10 at state.”
Athletes earning third place finishes for the Cavaliers girls squad included Kateese Carter (60) and Rachel Tafte (high jump). Jaime Schultz took fourth place in the long jump as well.
KJH’s boys team tallied 10 points, finishing in ninth place overall.
Gage Lee hurled the shotput 41 feet, 5 inches for a fourth place finish. Zane Ravenholt earned seventh place and Tung Chu took eighth place in the 75-meter hurdles.
In the jumping department, Jesse Banda earned seventh place in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches. George Hill finished in eighth place with a leap of 5 feet.
