TACOMA — The state track meet didn’t exactly go the way Stanwood’s Madison Yerigan had hoped a year ago.
Yerigan came into the 3A state meet with a personal best of 5 feet, 7 inches in the high jump, but jumped just 5-2 on the big stage, finishing fourth.
She more than made up for it on Thursday.
Yerigan easily cleared the bar at 5-8 and defending champion Andrea Stapleton from Kamiakin was unable to in three tries, giving Yerigan the state championship.
“I’m so excited. I couldn’t be more excited,” Yerigan said. “Last year was a rough year. I got one year under my belt and I couldn’t be more excited to come back and actually perform well.”
Stanwood jump coach Nick Clack said nerves played a role in Yerigan’s disappointing finish a year ago, but the experience seemed to help her in this year’s finals.
“Last year, she was nervous and not performing like she should,” Clack said. “This year, it was really cool to see how she trusted in the process that we had gone through all season and really worked on her mental game this year.”
Yerigan came into the state meet with a season-best of 5-10, a mark she didn’t need to win on Thursday, but she went for it anyway.
“I’ve gotten 5-10 once this year and I just wanted to reassure myself that I could get it again,” Yerigan said.
Yerigan had three chances to match her personal best, which would have also equaled the 3A state meet record, but came up short. Her third and final jump was the closest.
“The second one I completely butchered, it wasn’t good, but the third one I think I just clipped (the bar) with my legs,” Yerigan said. “It’s always a little disappointing, but I guess that’s the event, you always end up failing in the end.”
Up until the bar was raised to 5-10, Yerigan hadn’t had any problems. She easily cleared the bar on her first four jumps.
“I’ve been pretty consistent with getting 5-8 on my first try, it’s just once it gets to the higher heights I think it’s more of a mental thing,” Yerigan said. “Looking at something that much taller than you are is a little intimidating sometimes, but at the beginning I was feeling super good. I got every single one on my first try and I couldn’t be more happy with that.”
Yerigan stands 5 feet, 71/2 inches tall, a half-inch shorter than her winning jump of 5-8.
Like Yerigan, Stapleton had little problem clearing the shorter heights.
“It’s just such an honor to be able to compete against somebody of that caliber,” Yerigan said. “She’s so amazing and so nice in every way, shape and form. She’s such a good competitor and such a good jumper.”
As a junior, Yerigan will have one more year to defend her championship — and she has a second goal in mind.
“Get that meet record,” she said.
Clack has his sights set even higher — the state record is 6-1.
“I think it’s definitely in the grasp, definitely in the wheel house,” Clack said. “We’ll be shooting for that. I think she can do it for sure.”
Pivec sisters finish back-to-back in 1,600
Two lanes separated Lynnwood junior Mikayla Pivec and her sophomore sister Malia Pivec at the start of the 1,600-meter finals at the 3A state meet on Thursday, but they got to stand next to each other on the podium.
Mikayla lined up in lane three and Malia in lane six, but the sisters finished back-to-back with Mikayla coming in third at 4:55.66 and Malia coming in fourth at 4:55.86.
“It feels pretty cool,” Mikayla Pivec said. “It’s been one of our goals to place in the top five at state and to both go three and four is pretty amazing.”
The two girls were all smiles after the race after sharing the moment together on the podium.
“It’s a pretty remarkable experience to be able to train with her and then compete with her in the state race,” Malia Pivec said.
Pivec, who was named Washington State’s Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year and won a state championship with the Royals, has one more season to go after a state title in the 1,600 and Malia has two. Though both girls will undoubtedly be two of the favorites next year, they remain low key about their expectations on themselves.
“We’re just going to place as high as we can,” Mikayla Pivec said. “We know there is a lot of good runners in the state and we’re just going to do our best.”
“I know Washington is a powerhouse for distance, so just improving and getting personal records is the main goal,” added Malia Pivec.
Three boys place top-seven in 3A 1,600
Oak Harbor’s John Rodeheffer finished third in the 3A boys 1,600-meter finals. His time of 4:17.08 was nearly two seconds behind Mt. Spokane’s John Dressel, who won the race in 4:15.26. Edmonds-Woodway’s Miler Haller placed sixth at 4:18.91 and Arlington’s Nathan Beamer finished seventh at 4:19.26.
3A Track &Field Championships-Day 1
At Mount Tahoma H.S.
Boys
1,600—1. John Dressel (Mt. Spokane) 4:15.26, 3. John Rodeheffer (Oak Harbor) 4:17.08, 6. Miler Haller (Edmonds-Woodway) 4:18.91, 7. Nathan Beamer (Arlington) 4:19.26; Pole vault—1. Zach Shugart (Bishop Blanchet 15-9, 6. Grant Whitcutt (Edmonds-Woodway) 13-6, 12. Zach Verge (Marysville Pilchuck) 12-6.
Girls
1,600—1. Jordan Oakes (Holy Names) 4:47.11, 3. Mikayla Pivec (Lynnwood) 4:55.66, 4. Malia Pivec (Lynnwood) 4:55.86 10. Heidi Smith (Glacier Peak) 5:17.36; Javelin—1. Kirstin Mury (Kelso) 136-2, 7. Maya McFadden (Glacier Peak) 116-6, 9. Jessica Ludwig (Arlington) 112-7, 10. Alisha Clingan (Mountlake Terrace) 106-3; High Jump—1. Madison Yerigan (Stanwood) 5-08, 9. Maya McFadden (Glacier Peak) 5-0, 12. Hayley Lundstrom (Oak Harbor) 5-0.
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