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Enumclaw High School Athletics


HORNET TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016

Hornet Track Championships 2016

| 5/31/2016

Enumclaw Hornets Track & Field



2016 State Meet Wrap Up



Headline News: Enumclaw Lady Hornets Track Athletes Cap a Banner Season by Clinching Dual Relay Victories at the State Meet!



Overview: The Enumclaw Hornets Track & Field Team closed out the 2016 season at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma with three outstanding days of competition. For those unfamiliar with high school track and field, only sixteen talented young athletes in each event qualify to compete in the end of season state championship meet. This year, after two weeks of qualification rounds, Enumclaw High School was able to send eighteen deserving athletes to this prestigious competition. Throughout the progression of the meet, the athletes acquitted themselves well, while adapting to breezy and changeable weather conditions impacting the venue.



EHS Boys 2016 State Meet Competitors:



·       Brandon Barnett, High Jump



·       Eric Hamel, 1600m Run & 3200m Run



·       Connery McLaughlin, Javelin



·       Jeremy Watts, Pole Vault



EHS Girls 2016 State Meet Competitors:



·       Juliana Brown: 4x100m Relay Alternate & 4x200m Relay Alternate



·       Samantha Engebretsen: 1600m Run & 3200m Run



·       Aleea Gwerder: 400m Dash, 4x400m Relay, 4x200m Relay Alternate



·       Rachel Lewis: Triple Jump



·       Sarah Meeker: 4x100m Relay Alternate & 4x400m Relay Alternate



·       Emi Neu: High Jump



·       Josie Neu: 4x100m Relay, 4x200m Relay and 4x400m Relay



·       Taliah Olson: 4x100m Relay, 4x200m Relay and 4x400m Relay



·       Payton Roberson: 4x400m Relay Alternate



·       Nikole Schroeder: 4x100m Relay, 4x200m Relay



·       Susan Starr: Javelin



·       Hunter Storm: 1600m Run & 3200m Run



·       Caitlin Swenson: Long Jump



·       Taylor Tandecki: 200m Dash, 4x100m Relay, 4x200m Relay and 4x400m Relay



Meet Recap:



      On the boys side, Brandon Barnett closed out his junior year of competition finishing 12thoverall in the high jump, clearing a height of 6’00”. Eric Hamel concluded his career as a Hornet with a 14th place finish in the 1600m Run and a 15th place showing in the 3200m Run. Eric will continue to develop his running skills as he attends Western Washington University in the fall. Sophomore Connery McLaughlin finished on the podium in 5th place this year with a Javelin throw if 159’6”. Rounding out our boys finishers, Jeremy Watts cleared 14’00” in the pole vault, placing him 7th overall in the state of Washington.



      For the Lady Hornets, Samantha Engebretsen finished her running career as a Hornet with a dual state championship appearance, placing 16th in the 3200m Run and crossing the line in 12th position in the 1600m Run. She will continue to run at the collegiate level in the Big Sky State this fall. Sophomore Hunter Storm made her second appearance at Mt. Tahoma, finishing 14th in the 1600m Run and 12th in the 3200m Run. Senior Caitlin Swenson finished in 17th place in the long jump and will begin her college career at University of Idaho in the months ahead. Senior Susan Starr finished out her years on the Hornet Track Team with a 14th place finish in the Javelin. Rachel Lewis placed 16th in the triple jump and will attend the University of Washington in the fall. Emi Neu capped her sophomore year by narrowly missing a podium finish in 9th place in the High Jump. Senior Aleea Gwerder and Junior Taylor Tandecki did not qualify for finals in the 400m and 200m events respectively, but would put their remaining energy to maximum effect in the relays.



      As the state championship track meet progressed over the weekend, the Lady Hornets showed their incredible depth of talent. One of only two 3A schools fielding teams in each of the three relay event contests, the Hornets posted wins in two of the three races! Additionally, over the last three weeks, the EHS girls relay teams have set new school records on nine separate occasions. The 4x200m team of Taylor Tandecki, Josie Neu, Nikole Schroeder and Taliah Olson completed the two-lap race in an outstanding time of 1:43.43 to place 2nd, establishing a new school record in the process. The same talented squad followed up their initial performance in the 4x200m Relay with a championship run in the 4x100m race, in a winning time of 49.17 seconds, after setting a school record of 49.06 in the preliminary heats the previous day under much more favorable conditions.



But perhaps the best result of the meet would be demonstrated during the final event of the weekend, as the 4x400m Relay team of Tandecki, Olson, J. Neu and Gwerder blazed to a first place finish after a thrilling battle with defending state champions Lynnwood, in a school record time of 3:54.52. This time is well below the four-minutes flat barrier that is considered by many to be the “Gold Standard” of performance for high school girls in this event.



      It is also important to recognize the contributions of our relay team alternates Payton Roberson, Juliana Brown and Sarah Meeker, all of whom gained valuable experience in the post season, which will serve them well in the future. Payton Roberson in particular helped make one of the state championships possible, as she stepped in for an injured teammate at the sub-district meet, running a strong leg on the 4x400m Relay to help the squad win the league championship and advance to the district level in preparation for state.



      Finally, it is with regret that we say goodbye to seniors Josie Neu and Aleea Gwerder. Aleea will be off to Utah in several weeks to continue her education and hone her Soccer skills at the collegiate level. We are sure that Josie’s passion for photography, equestrian pursuits and business affairs will take her in interesting directions in the future. We wish them both all the best.



And that’s a wrap for the EHS Hornet Track and Field State Meet Results in 2016! It was a great year and we are looking forward to fantastic things to come in the years ahead! Go Hornets!


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