TACOMA — Arlington’s Lyndsay Leatherman truly did save her best for last.
The senior’s final throw of 142 feet in Thursday’s 4A state discus final not only clinched her first individual state championship, but also was a personal best and set a school record.
“You could just see it,” Arlington track coach Judd Hunter said. “I was standing right behind her in the back of the ring (before her final throw) and she just had that look in her face like, ‘I’m a competitor and I’m going to beat you right now.’ Sure enough, she just went out and popped a big one. It was pretty cool.”
Leatherman’s throw was eight feet better than her previous best this season. She beat Camas’ Nicole Corbett, who placed second with a throw of 137 feet, 11 inches, and Richland’s Macey Weitz, who finished third at 137-8.
Leatherman knew she needed a big throw on her last attempt and she immediately knew she’d gotten it.
“When it left my hands I was like, ‘That was a good throw,’” she said.
Moments later, the throw was announced at 142 feet to the cheers from Leatherman’s supporters. When none of the remaining competitors were able to match or beat her final throw, she knew she had clinched the championship. Waiting for her at the gate as she exited the throwing area was Hunter and the two shared an embrace.
“There we a lot of emotions when (the announcer) said that 142,” Hunter said. “That just made it all worthwhile. She’s been working hard. She had three third places last year and I kept asking her, ‘Are you going to get third again?’ That last throw, it all kind of came together for her.”
At last year’s state meet, Leatherman placed third in the discus, shot put and javelin. Her goal this year was to improve on those finishes.
It’s safe to say she’s off to a good start.
“Last year, I got third and my main focus was just to get better. But to have the championship, it’s just awesome.”
Leatherman finally has the individual state championship that’s eluded her in previous years, but her work this year is far from over. She goes after the shot put championship today and the javelin title on Saturday.
“We’re going for three of them and this is just momentum to lead us into that,” Hunter said. “Hopefully, she can accept the challenge of the next two and not just go, ‘Whew, I did it and now I’m done.’ I think she can because she’s such a competitor.”
Hunter is hopeful that a good showing in both of the shot put and javelin could put the Eagles in contention for a team trophy.
Leatherman was joined in the top five by junior teammate Justean Landis, who finished fifth with a throw of 129-4.
“We’re teammates and we’ve been working together all year,” Leatherman said. “To come out here together and represent our school and both get a placing in state, you can’t put it into words because we’ve been training so hard.”
Snohomish’s Tara Harms finished just behind Landis in sixth place with a throw of 126 feet.
Top local finishers
While Leatherman was the only local athlete to come away with a state championship on Thursday, several others finished in the top-eight, earning a medal.
Cedarcrest senior Logan Orndorf placed second in the 2A boys 1600-meter run with a time of 4:17.46. Lakewood junior Douglas Davis wasn’t far behind in fourth with a time of 4:18.11.
Stanwood sophomore Madison Yerigan placed third in the girl’s 3A high jump with a jump of 5 feet, 2 inches, six inches behind the champion. Prior to state, Yerigan had the best jump of any of her competitors at 5-7.
Lynnwood sophomore Mikayla Pivec also recorded a fourth-place finish in the 4A girls 1600 meters. Her time of 4:56.14 was 23 seconds behind Camas’ Alexa Efraimson, who’s 4:33.29 was more than 16 seconds better than her closest competitor.
Shorecrest had two girls place in the top-five of the 3A girls javelin. Junior Katherine Taylor’s throw of 127-6 was good enough for third and senior Aiko Mizumori-Canfield placed fifth with a throw of 120-1. Stanwood sophomore Haley Strowbridge also earned a medal, placing seventh with a throw of 116-9.
Jackson senior Anna Pischer earned a sixth-place finish in the 4A girls triple jump 36-93/4.
Glacier Peak senior Megan Davis (5:08.73) and freshman Heidi Smith (5:08.83) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in the girls 3A girls 1600.
Cascade senior Randin Crecelius placed eighth in the shot put with a throw of 50-043/4.
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
BOYS
4A State Championships
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
Shot put—1. Jonah Jordan (Mead) 55-00.75; 8. Randin Crecelius (Cascade) 50-04.75; 9. Jake Miles (Jackson) 50-03; 12. Octayvien Sapp (Mariner) 47-11. 1,600—1. Drew Schreiber (Eisenhower) 4:07.32; 14. Nathan Beamer (Arlington) 4:21.42; 15. Miler Haller (Edmonds-Woodway) 4:22.09.
3A State Championships
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
Pole vault—1. Luke Middlestadt (Prairie) 15-03; 11. Kyle Wood (Stanwood) 13-00. 1,600—1. Joe Hardy (Seattle Prep) 4:07.73; 12. John Rodeheffer (Oak Harbor) 4:24.63; 16. Omar Abdulla (Shorecrest) 4:29.83; 18. Jack Pearce (Mountlake Terrace) 4:40.16.
2A State Championships
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
Long jump—1. Ryan Chase (Capital) 22-06; 11. Josh Dickey (Lakewood) 20-05.50; 12. Brett Bustad (Lakewood) 20-00.75. 1,600—1. Scott Kopczynski (East Valley-Spokane) 4:15.96; 2. Logan Orndorf (Cedarcrest) 4:17.46; 4. Douglas Davis (Lakewood) 4:18.11; 12. Colton Green (Cedarcrest) 4:26.50.
GIRLS
4A State Championships
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
Discus—1. Lyndsay Leatherman (Arlington) 142-00; 5. Justean Landis (Arlington) 129-04; 6. Tara Harms (Snohomish) 126-00; 10. Paris Flenoy (Cascade) 111-06; 12. Rachel McDaniel (Lake Stevens) 110-11. Triple jump—1. Danielle Agoh (Tahoma) 37-10.25; 6. Anna Pischer (Jackson) 36-09.75; 11. Jessica Ludwig (Arlington) 34-04.25; 13. Alexa Simons (Snohomish) 34-00.75. 1,600—Alexa Efraimson (Camas) 4:33.29; 4. Mikayla Pivec (Lynnwood) 4:56.14; 12. Jessica Rawlins 5:02.50.
3A State Championships
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
Javelin—1. Mariah Horton (Kelso) 133-02; 3. Katherine Taylor (Shorecrest) 127-06; 5. Aiko Mizumori-Canfield (Shorecrest) 120-01; 7. Haley Strowbridge (Stanwood) 116-09. High jump—1. Andrea Stapleton (Kamiakin) 5-08; 4. Madison Yerigan (Stanwood) 5-02; 6. Wurrie Njadoe 5-02; 16. Natalie Wyles (Stanwood) 4-08. 1,600—Megan Beauchene (Kamiakian) 4:48.42; 7. Megan Davis (Glacier Peak) 5:08.73; 8. Heidi Smith (Glacier Peak) 5:08.83; 10. Katherine Gustafson (Mountlake Terrace) 5:11.54.
2A State Championships
At Mt. Tahoma H.S.
1,600—1. Katia Matora (Lake Washington) 5:00.18; 10. Madi Shinn (Cedarcrest) 5:24.12.
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