Archbishop Murphy’s Westlund dedicates state title to his fallen classmate

TACOMA — At last year’s Class 2A state track meet, Archbishop Murphy’s Isaac Westlund and Kristi Bartz shared in the disappointment of coming up just short of a state championship.

Westlund finished second in the boys 400 meters with a time of 47.75 seconds, three-hundredths of a second behind the 42.72 run by River Ridge’s Dejuan Frye. Bartz was second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:17.60, six-tenths of a second behind Lake Washington’s Katia Matora.

Both Westlund and Bartz came into the 2015 season determined to improve one spot at state.

Bartz never got the chance. The beloved Archbishop Murphy senior died May 9 after being struck by a train in Marysville.

On Saturday, three weeks to the day of Bartz’s death, Westlund, a senior, won the state championship in the 400 meters with a time of 47.84. The victory, he said, didn’t belong to him.

“This is all for her,” Westlund said. “I was missing her, but I knew she was going to be there when I ran. I was thinking about it the whole time.”

Archbishop Murphy head coach Paul Turner said Westlund was motivated to win the race for Bartz.

“It’s something that motivated him and sat deep inside of him — as it sat deep inside of all of us,” Turner said. “I think we all wanted something special to happen this weekend for Kristi. The 800-meter race in 2A (girls) just wasn’t the same. I think we were all hoping Isaac could go out there and win one for her and he represented her well.”

The girls 800-meter race was won by Anacortes freshman Heather Hanson in 2:18.14, more than half a second slower than the time Bartz ran a year ago when she placed second.

“She was going to win the 800,” Westlund said.

Turner agreed.

“There was no doubt about it that Kristi was going to win, especially watching how (the race) played out,” Turner said. “She was going to run something really fast.”

Westlund’s time was nearly a tenth of a second slower than the time he ran a year ago, but Turner said a slight breeze made the conditions a bit more challenging.

“He’s a little hard on himself,” Turner said. “You win the state championship, then you win the state championship. You don’t ask any questions.”

Westlund edged Frye in the finals. Frye already had won the 100 meters and helped the River Ridge 400 relay team to a victory before the 400 final, so Westlund said he anticipated Frye might be fatigued. Even so, Turner said, Westlund had to be at his best.

“He knew what he had to do,” Turner said. “He knew he had to beat someone that was really, really good and he had to run an A+ race today. It means a lot for him and it means a lot to our team.”

Grant wins second state title

After winning the Class 3A 110-meter hurdles Friday, Meadowdale’s Christapherson Grant capped off his senior year with a second state championship Saturday, winning the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 38.45.

“I finally did both, (a title) for each hurdle event,” Grant said. “I feel like my legacy has been good for my senior year at Meadowdale.”

Grant broke his collarbone on April 18 at the Larry Eason Invitational and was told he would be out six to eight weeks, but doctors cleared him to return on May 13.

With one title already in his pocket, Grant said the pressure was off for most of Saturday, but that changed as the race approached.

“The pressure was off, but probably 30 or 40 minutes before the race I was like ‘(Forget) getting that one title, you know you’ve got to focus on this,’” Grant said. “I zoned in and visualized the whole race.”

Grant’s time was five one-hundredths of a second off his personal best.

Devroe takes home 800 title

Dejon Devroe of Oak Harbor recorded a season-best time of 1:52.61 in the 3A 800-meter final, good enough to give the senior the state championship. He entered the state meet with the fifth-best 3A time in the state this year, but improved on that mark by nearly a second Saturday.

Devroe was joined on the podium by fellow Wesco runners Devan Kirk of Shorewood and Garrett Westover of Marysville Getchell. Kirk finished second in 1:53.14 and Westover was seventh in 1:55.03.

Of note

Jackson’s Aaron Roe and Snohomish’s Brad Hockinson placed second and third, respectively, in the 4A boys 3,200 meters. Roe finished in 9:10.42 and Hockinson at 9:12.69. Bellarmine Prep’s Jack Yearian won the race in 8:59.94. … Edmonds-Woodway’s Nick Venema took second place in the 3A boys shot put with a throw of 53-5. His throw was a season-best by nearly two feet. … Lakewood’s Josh Dickey finished second in the 2A boys 100-meter finals. His time of 11.18 seconds was just one-hundredth of a second behind the winner, Dejuan Frye of River Ridge.

Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.

Class 4A Boys

State Finals

At Mount Tahoma H.S.

Team scores (top five): South Kitsap 50, Wenatchee 47.50, Eastmont 39, Joel Ferris 36, Inglemoor 33. Also: Jackson 14, Mariner 6, Snohomish 6, Lake Stevens 5, Kamiak 3.

100—1. Phillip Moore, Eastmont 10.80; 200—1. Phillip Moore, Eastmont 21.78; 400—1. Michael Rhoads, Inglemoor; 800—1. Cole Christman, Wenatchee 1:53.05. Local placers: 5. Noah Wallace, Lake Stevens 1:54.58; 7. Karsten Pease, Jackson 1:55.90; 3,200—1. Jack Yearian, Bellarmine Prep, 8:59.94; 2. Aaron Roe, Jackson, 9:10.42. Local placers: 3. Brad Hockinson, Snohomish 9:12.69; 300 hurdles—1. Aiden Basco, Mount Rainier 37.85.; 400 relay—1. Graham-Kapowsin 41.75; 1,600 relay—1. Eastmont 3:21.14; Javelin—1. Cole Sunkel, South Kitsap 193-1; Long jump—1. Brandon Stribling, Kentwood 23-0¾.

Class 3A Boys

State Finals

At Mount Tahoma H.S.

Team scores (top five): Bellevue 58, O’Dea 41, Mt. Spokane 40, Rainier Beach 34, Shorewood 25. Also: Edmonds-Woodway 24, Meadowdale 24, Oak Harbor 22, Everett 18, Arlington 14.50, Glacier Peak 11, Marysville Getchell 10, Lynnwood 6, Mountlake Terrace 4, Marysville-Pilchuck 2.

100—1. Myles Gaskin, O’Dea 11.02; 200—Emmanuel Wells, Rainier Beach 22.24; 400—1. Evan Mafilas, O’Dea 49.16. Local placers: 3. Will DeMaris, Glacier Peak 49.66; 800—1. Dejon Devroe, Oak Harbor 1:54.59. Other local placers: 2. Devan Kirk, Shorewood 1:54.67; 7. Garrett Westover, Marysville Getchell 1:55.29; 3,200—1. John Dressel, Mount Spokane 9:00.32. Local placers: 3. John Rodeheffer, Oak Harbor 9:11.71, 4. Miler Haller, Edmonds-Woodway 9:12.62, 5. Nathan Beamer, Arlington 9:16.04; 300 hurdles—1. Christapherson Grant, Meadowdale 38.45. Other local placers: 2. Chris Diaz, Shorewood 39.44, 5. Harry White, Meadowdale 39.42; 400 relay—1. Bellevue 42.70; 1,600 relay—1. John Dressel, Mt. Spokane 4:15.26. Local placers: 3. John Rodeheffer, Oak Harbor 4:17.08, 6. Miler Haller, Edmonds-Woodway 4:18.91, 7. Nathan Beamer, Arlington 4:19.26; Shot put—1. Dylan Ledbetter, O’Dea 54-1½. Local placers: 2. Nick Venema, Edmonds-Woodway 53-5, 5. Nicholas Blair, Everett 52-3¼, 7. Carl Kulper, Arlington 49-11½; High jump—1. Tyson Penn, Bellevue 6-8. Local placers: 3. Tyler McArthur, Lynnwood 6-6; 4. Grant Whitcutt, Edmonds-Woodway 6-6; 5. Ronnie Gary, Shorewood 6-6; Triple jump—1. Tyson Penn, Bellevue 47-4¾. Local placers: 6. Michael Forster, Arlington 43-11; 7. Zach Verge, Marysville Pilchuck 43-6¼.

Class 2A Boys

State Finals

At Mount Tahoma H.S.

Team scores (top five): River Ridge 71, West Valley-Spokane 55, East Valley-Spokane 36, Sequim 35, Sehome 30. Also: Lakewood 23, Archbishop Murphy 15.

100—1. Dejuan Frye, River Ridge 11.17. Local placers: 2. Josh Dickey, Lakewood 11.18; 200—Dejuan Frye, River Ridge 21.75. Local placers: 4. Isaac Westlund, Archbishop Murphy 22.54; 6. Josh Dickey, Lakewood 22.61; 400—1. Isaac Westlund, Archbishop Murphy 47.84; 800—1. Brigham Cardon, Selah 1:54.96; 3,200—1. Scott Kopczynski, East Valley-Spokane 9:08.64. Local placers: 6. Douglas Davis, Lakewood 9:29.84; 300 hurdles—1. Mac Baxter, West Valley-Spokane 37.87. Local placers: 6. Kelson Brewer, Lakewood 40.69; 400 relay—1. River Ridge 41.93. Local placers: 3. Lakewood (Cruz Griffin, Tyler Courtney, Brett Bustad, Josh Dickey) 43.24; 1,600 relay—1. Sequim 3:22.53; Discus—1. Jakob Chamberlin, Bellingham 172-5.