The South Sound Classic track meet is one of the premier meets in Washington state. With over 60 teams attending this meet, the competition is stiff. Despite the odds the Viking showed up and showed out.
On the boys field side, senior jumper Royce Rabb jumped 6 feet 4 inches in the high jump and placed third overall. Rabb currently sits as the number one high jumper in 4A state. In his second event, the triple jump, Rabb went nuclear. With a jump of 44 feet 1 inch which currently ranks him sixth in 4A state for the triple jump, Rabb won the meet. Rabb is one of the state’s top contenders, and at this meet, he proved that he can perform when the lights are brightest.
On the girls field side, sophomore Delaney Lundquist put on a show with a throw of 126 feet 11 inches in the javelin. This throw cemented her as one of 4A’s top competitors. She currently sits at fourth in 4A state as a sophomore. Lundquist’s throw on its own is impressive enough, but what some people may not know is that going into this meet, Lundquist was seeded at 10th overall. With a PR of 8 feet, Lundquist secured her victory over one of 3A’s top girls javelin throwers. As a sophomore, Lundquist is currently sixth in school history for a girls javelin thrower. With two more years at LSHS, she has her eyes on the school record of 146 feet 1 inch.
“I started crying after I figured out I won because I had like a lot of emotion, and it was a pretty cool moment to have my family there,” Lundquist said.
Another Viking athlete on the girls side, who made a statement was junior Kaetyn Riley. On the track, Riley was doing it all. Her events included the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and the 4x400m relay. In the 100m hurdles Riley came into the meet seeded 11th. After a huge PR of 14.95 second and a race that came down to the wire, Riley placed ninth overall. In the 300m hurdles, Riley came into the meet seeded 10th overall, but she did not let that stop her. From the fourth heat, Riley beat two girls in the fifth heat to place sixth overall with a PR of 45.51 seconds. In the 4x400m relay, Riley anchored a team that currently ranks 5th in 4A state.
“When I run, I kind of just black out and try not to get last,” Riley said.
Riley is a legit state competitor in all three events. In the 100m hurdles, she currently sits at seventh in the state and in the 300m hurdles, she sits at ninth. In addition to these state rankings, Riley is currently the third fastest girls 100m hurdler ever at LSHS, the fifth fastest 300m hurdler ever at LSHS, and her 4x400m team holds the second fastest time ever at LSHS.
Again on the field side for the boys, senior thrower Kenny Buckmiller came up big. With a throw of 50 feet flat, the senior secured third place at one of the biggest meets in the state. Going into this meet, Buckmiller was seeded seventh, and going into his final throw he sat in fourth place. On his final throw, Buckmiller threw a five-inch PR taking down several of the state’s top competitors in the boys shot put. Buckmiller currently sits at 18th in the 4A state for the boys shot put. However his day did not end there. In the boys javelin throw, Buckmiller was seeded as 18th in the meet, but on his second throw with a distance of 152 feet 8 inches, Buckmiller secured 11th place at the South Sound Classic Invitational.
Many coaches refer to the South Sound Classic as “state-before-state” and if this is true, hopes should be high for these Viking athletes. During championship season many viking athletes will be competing at WESCO, Bi-Districts and State. With so much talent on the roster, Viking athletes are eyeing the podium at state.
