Whatcom County track and field teams completed the final stage of districts May 17–20, and the 10 schools across three classifications will have 132 event entries at state meets.
Sehome (Class 2A) and Lynden Christian (Class 1A) combined for 53 of those entries to their respective meets.
All state meets will be held from May 25–27. The 1A meet will be held at Zaepfel Stadium at Eisenhower High School, and the 2A/3A meets will be at Mount Tahoma High School.
Here’s a recap of last week’s district meets and athletes that secured state entries.
1A District 1/2 championships
Meridian, Nooksack Valley, Blaine, Mount Baker (12 others) at Lynden Christian
Lynden Christian posted 10 event wins at its own meet and earned 23 state meet entries, the most among the five Whatcom County schools in Class 1A.
The Lyncs will have 14 girls and nine boys entries competing at the 1A state meet.
Freshman Etta DeJong led LC’s girls group at the bi-district meet with individual event wins in the girls 400-meter dash and the high jump. DeJong also was part of the Lyncs’ first-place 4X400 relay team, and she will compete in all three events plus the long jump at state.
Sophomore Avery VanWeerdhuizen finished second in the 100-meter hurdles but qualified in the event, and she will also be a part of LC’s girls 4X100 relay team.
Juniors Alina Veltkamp (triple jump, long jump) and Tabby DeJong (shot put, discus) each earned two entries at the state meet as well.
On the boys side, senior Andrew Luce won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs at bi-districts and he will be the top seed in both races at state. Luce also qualified in the 800-meter run.
Freshman Nikolas Luce also earned state entries in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs.
Junior Tyson Bajema (400-meter dash), sophomore Mick Owen (triple jump) and senior Johnny Bouma (pole vault) also qualified in individual events. Bajema and Bouma will also run for the Lyncs’ boys 4X100 relay team.
Nooksack Valley won five events at bi-districts and will have 13 state entries — seven boys and six girls.
Junior Joey Brown won the javelin event and also qualified for state in the 300-meter hurdles and long jump. Fellow junior Cian Coppinger earned event wins in the shot put and discus, qualifying him for both at state.
Senior Ryan Hughes rounded out state entries for the Pioneers’ boys, and he will compete in the triple jump and pole vault.
While they didn’t post any individual event wins at bi-districts, NV’s Kate Desilets and Kate Shintaffer will each compete in four events at state.
Desilets qualified in the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes and is the anchor for the Pioneers’ 4X100 and 4X200 relay teams. Shintaffer earned entries in the long jump and javelin and is the starter on both relay teams.
Meridian had just two event wins at bi-districts but earned 12 state entries, 10 of which are on the boys side.
Junior Jase Klinkhammer won the 400-meter dash and also qualified in the 100- and 200-meter races.
Three Trojans will compete in the boys 110-meter hurdles at state. Sophomores Jameson Hedahl and Tate Hanson will join junior Dane Beishline in the event. Beishline also qualified in the 300-meter hurdles after winning the event at bi-districts.
Freshman Rhett Duersch (boys shot put, discus) and sophomore Brandon Montgomery (pole vault) also earned state entries.
On the girls side, junior Morgan Adams (100-meter hurdles) and freshman Logan Ignacio (3,200-meter run) will compete at state.
Mount Baker did not earn any event wins at bi-districts, but it did pick up eight state entries that were split evenly between boys and girls athletes.
Senior Landon Smith qualified in the boys discus and shot put, and he will be joined by fellow senior Ethan Larson in the latter event. Junior Alex Maloley also earned a state entry in the javelin.
For the Mountaineers’ girls, junior Natalie Horsmon qualified in the 300-meter hurdles and pole vault. Horsmon joins freshman Ellie Hanstead — who earned an entry in the 400-meter dash — on Mount Baker’s 4X400 relay team that earned a state spot.
Blaine also did not win any events at bi-districts, however, the Borderites will have two state entries, both on the boys side.
Sophomore Josiah Weeda will compete in the 110-meter hurdles and be an alternate for the Borderites’ 4X100 relay team which includes junior Justin Minjarez and sophomores Colby Shipp, Dylan Johnson and AJ Bennett.
2A District 1 championships
Sehome, Squalicum, Bellingham, Lynden (five others) at Lakewood
Sehome dominated the 2A District 1 meet, notching 12 event wins and securing 29 total event entries to the 2A state meet.
The Mariners will have 15 boys and girls entries each, the most among the four Class 2A schools in Whatcom County.
Sehome’s individual girls entries were spread across 11 athletes, with sophomore Triya Mitchell being the only athlete to qualify in multiple individual events. Mitchell won the 200-meter dash at the district meet, qualified in the 100-meter dash and will anchor the Mariners’ 4X100 and 4X200 relay teams.
Junior Alina Kravtsov won the 400-meter dash at districts and will run on all three of Sehome’s relay teams at state. Sophomore Bella Connell, who will run on the 4X100 and 4X200 relays, won the 100-meter hurdles at districts.
On the boys side, Jacob Andrews won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at the district meet and he will anchor the Mariners’ 4X100 relay team. Andrews is the reigning 200-meter dash state champion.
Senior Zack Munson won the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and will head back to state in all three events. Munson won the 3,200-meter state title in 2022.
Lynden earned 15 entries to the 2A state meet — eight boys and seven girls — with its eight event wins at the district meet.
Senior Porter Wilhite nabbed three entries in the boys 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles and high jump events. Fellow senior Troy Petz won the boys long jump and triple jump and earned a third entry with the Lions’ 4X400 relay team. Petz is the defending state long jump champion.
Junior Jared McCrory (pole vault) and senior Gabe Oudman (javelin) also earned state entries.
Lynden’s girls were led by its trio of relay teams — which swept the district titles — and the Lions will have an entry in the 4X100, 4X200 and 4X400 events.
Sophomores Kiki York (200-meter dash) and Faith VanBrocklin (300-meter hurdles) joined freshman Sloan Dickson (800-meter run) in capturing individual entries. All three will run on one or multiple of Lynden’s relay teams.
Squalicum had only two event wins at the district meet but has 14 entries into the 2A state meet, with 11 from its boys team.
Senior Andre Korbmacher, the reigning 110- and 300-meter hurdles state champion, won the 110-meter hurdles at districts, and that will be his only individual event at state. Korbmacher will also run in the Storm’s 4X100 relay.
Junior Tegan Daughters is headed to state in the 100- and 200-meter dash events, in addition to his legs in the 4X100 and 4X400 relays.
Juniors Chase Bartlett (800-, 1,600-meter runs) and Tyler Nielsen (1,600-, 3,200-meter runs) each earned two state entries with their district performances.
Bellingham nabbed six boys and six girls state entries with its five event wins at the district meet.
Junior Chayse Flick-Williams finished first in the girls 100-meter dash, long jump and triple jump. Flick-Williams is the defending state champion in the 100-meter dash and long jump.
Finishing second behind Flick-Williams in the long jump and triple jump was junior Genevieve Blum, and she will compete in both events at state.
Seniors Henry Sheldrup and Javen Livas made up four of the Bayhawks’ boys entries, as each qualified in the discus and shot put. Sheldrup won the discus title at districts and Livas won the shot put.
3A District 1 championships: Ferndale (16 others) at Shoreline Stadium
Ferndale posted one event win and earned three state entries at the district meet.
Senior Adrian Finsrud won the boys pole vault and twin brother Andrew Finsrud also qualified. Fellow senior Ellie Ochoa also earned a state entry in the girls javelin.
