Track and field athletes from Enumclaw, WR finish in Top 10

Among the athletes are EHS’ Carson Christiansen and WRHS’ Jackson Gibbon.

By Kevin Hanson • June 6, 2019 11:30 am
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Enumclaw High’s Carson Christiansen was surrounded by family, friends, and coaches May 31 when he signed an athletic letter-of-intent with Washington State University. The Hornet senior is coming off a track and field season that saw him shine at he state championships. Competing in the Class 4A field in Tacoma, the incoming Cougar placed second in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump. Photo courtesy Enumclaw High athletics.
Enumclaw High’s Carson Christiansen was surrounded by family, friends, and coaches May 31 when he signed an athletic letter-of-intent with Washington State University. The Hornet senior is coming off a track and field season that saw him shine at he state championships. Competing in the Class 4A field in Tacoma, the incoming Cougar placed second in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump. Photo courtesy Enumclaw High athletics.

Local track and field athletes found themselves on the statewide Top 10 list at the close of the high school season.

Nine Enumclaw High performers made the elite list in the Class 4A ranks, some individually and some as part of relay efforts.

Senior Carson Christensen tops the EHS chart. He flew 23 feet, 3 inches at the state meet in Tacoma, which left him tied for the second-best performance among 4A athletes and fourth-best in the state. In the triple jump, Christensen’s top effort of 46 feet, 5.5 inches at the league meet left him third on the 4A list and sixth overall.

Enumclaw High’s 4×400 relays, both boys and girls, were among the best in the Class 4A clcassification.

The EHS girls’ team of Gracie Neu, Mia Ammons, Johanna Brown and Kayla Carlson clocked a time of 3 minutes, 58.53 seconds at the state meet, leaving them No. 2 among all 4A teams. The Hornet boys team of Ricky Portillo, Royal Snyder, Anthony Russell and Kale Engebretsen sat fifth after posting a time of 3:24.46 at state meet.

It was a similar story in Buckley, where nine White River performers made the Top 10 list in the Class 2A ranks; again, some made it individually and some were part of relay teams.

Heading the White River list is junior Jackson Gibbon, a specialist in the throws. He wound up second in the shot put with a toss of 55 feet, 1 inch, and was third in the discus with an effort of 166-5. Both came during the state championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Comparing the top performances in all classifications, regardless of school size, Gibbon sits ninth in both events.

An added specialty is the hammer throw, an event that is not included in high school meets but is staged independently. Gibbon had the third-best throw in the state while competing in Lacey.

Also making the 2A individual lists were Spencer Brooks, a junior, and sophomore Tori Schmidtke. Brooks had the eighth-best time in the 400-meter run, finishing at 50.53 seconds at the state meet. Schmidtke finished No. 7 in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 59.29 seconds, also at the state meet.

White River also had two relay teams cracking the girls’ 2A Top 10.

The 4×400 relay crew had the No. 4 time of 4:03.98 and the 4×100 team had the classification’s No. 7 time of 50.55. The 4×400 quartet of Taylor Schmidtke, Tori Schmidtke, Maria Hawthorne and Emma Robbins had their best effort at the state meet; the 4×100 team had J’Kira Wolbrecht joining Robbins and the Schmidtke twins, racing to their top time at a dual meet against Orting.

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