TACOMA — Another race, another state title for Taylor Roe.
The Lake Stevens sophomore sensation captured the fifth individual state title of her career Thursday, defending her crown in the Class 4A girls 1,600 meters with a dominant performance on the opening day of the state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School.
Roe jumped out to a big lead on the first lap and never looked back, cruising to victory with a winning time of 4 minutes, 54.86 seconds. The distance-running phenom held a nine-second advantage at the race’s midway point and finished 3.7 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.
“It feels awesome,” Roe said. “I couldn’t be more grateful to just have the opportunity to come out and race. I was just super excited to race.”
It was the third career track state title for Roe, who won both the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters in convincing fashion at last year’s state meet. She also has a pair of state cross-country titles.
And with Roe slated to run both the 800 meters and 3,200 meters Saturday, she has a chance to sweep the three distance races and add to her championship collection. Roe enters both races with the fastest time in the field this season.
“Track is about challenging yourself and trying to go for almost the impossible,” Roe said of the possibility for a distance sweep. “I just want to try to take a shot at it, and I’ll be happy with however I do. I’m just going to try and go do my best.”
Kamiak sophomore Alicia Anderson used a strong closing kick to place second in the 1,600 meters, finishing behind Roe with a time of 4:58.59. The two Wesco 4A runners attended elementary and middle school together, and Roe was thrilled to see her former classmate succeed in her first trip to state.
“It’s awesome to see her get second today,” said Roe, who gave Anderson a big hug shortly after they crossed the finish line. “I was grateful to come out here and do what I did, but I couldn’t be more happy to see her have success like that.”
E-W’s Park takes a close second
In the span of nine days, Matthew Park has experienced both sides of a photo finish.
After claiming the district title by 0.01 seconds last week, the Edmonds-Woodway senior fell 0.05 seconds short of winning the 3A boys 1,600 meters state championship. Park finished in 4:15.99, just behind state champion Hayden Dressel of Mt. Spokane.
“Two weeks in a row, just absolute craziness at the end,” Park said. “It kind of sucks being on this end.”
Park was in third place for most of the race before taking the lead with about 300 meters to go. He held a slight advantage over Lincoln’s James Mwaura heading into the final stretch, but Dressel erased a sizable gap in the final 100 meters to make it a thrilling three-man sprint to the finish.
“I saw the guy from Lincoln coming up on me, and I thought it was just us two left,” Park said. “And then I saw Hayden coming on the outside.”
Park finished 1.01 seconds ahead of third-place Mwaura, but was out-leaned at the line by Dressel.
Despite the heartbreaking finish, Park took solace in running a personal-best time and improving on last year’s 11th-place state finish.
“It’s good, because I PR’ed and everything,” Park said. “But at the same time, it’s pretty disappointing too. Happy with it, but just so close.”
Park figures to get another crack at Dressel on Saturday, with both slated to compete in the 3,200 meters final.
“I’m definitely going to be gunning for him,” Park said. “I’m not going to let him do it again.”
Other top local finishers
Jackson senior Matthew Watkins placed second in the 4A boys 1,600 meters with a time of 4:11.88, finishing 0.64 seconds behind state champion Daniel Maton of Camas.
Arlington junior Gabriel Green took second place in 3A boys javelin with a mark of 182 feet, 9 inches. He finished just more than a foot behind state champion Ben Broselle of Ferndale.
Edmonds-Woodway senior Vernice Keyes placed second in 3A girls discus with a mark of 132 feet, 9 inches.
Mountlake Terrace senior Matt Guardiano took second place in the ambulatory shot put, finishing one-half inch behind state champion Stephen Glover of Kentridge.
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