by Eric Francis
Burlington-Edison’s Tyler Williams (front), Connor Whan (center) and Mount Vernon’s Ethan Garrison enter the final lap of the 1,600-meter run during the first day of the county meet.
MOUNT VERNON — Tyler Williams and Connor Whan decided to wear retro Burlington-Edison jerseys to the oldest track meet in the county, the 103rd annual Skagit County Track and Field Championships. Though wind resistance didn’t play into their decision, the tighter-than-normal tops were a good choice in a blustery first day of the meet at Mount Vernon High School on Wednesday.
The Tiger duo finished first and second in the boys’ 1,600-meter run, with Williams claiming one of nine county titles awarded on the first day of the two-day competition. The remaining champions will be crowned Friday.
Other than the venue, and the wind, not a lot changed from last year’s county meet. Concrete’s Lukas Scherer defended his title with a throw of 158 feet, 4 inches. Scherer was consistent throughout the day, clearing 150 feet on four of his six throws.
Tiger junior Brienna Palmer is also a two-time champion now in the pole vault after matching the stadium record with a vault of 9-6. Even so, the wind made it a frustrating day. As she approached the vault perpendicular to the wind, gusts blew her pole off line repeatedly, forcing her to abort as many tries as she could.
“Stupid wind. I hate it,” Palmer said with a grin after clearing 9-6 on her final try.
“It pulls the pole off line as I’m running,” she explained later. “It’s pretty frustrating.”
Anacortes junior Thomas Kassa ripped off a jump of 44-111⁄2 during his first round of jumps to repeat his triple jump crown. He would also clear 6-5 in the high jump to win his second title by nine inches. Kassa won that event two years ago as a freshman.
The fourth repeat champion was Mount Vernon junior Tessa Murray, who broke away from teammate Kayla Johnston on the final lap of the girls’ 3,200 to win her third straight county crown. She finished in 12 minutes, 17.3 seconds.
“It felt super,” Murray said. “The wind wasn’t too bad. All I could think about was the girls right behind me.”
Sedro-Woolley’s Robert Macready picked up his second county shot put title in a row with a throw of 47-1, nearly three feet ahead of the field and almost three feet farther than his winning throw of a year earlier.
The other three champions crowned Wednesday were first-time winners, coming in events where last year’s champion had graduated.
Williams, the top returning finisher from last year’s race, ran a personal best of 4:31 in winning the 1,600.
“The wind made it a bit harder, but we did pretty good,” Williams said. “The time was pretty good for this time of the year.
Mount Vernon’s Katie McNett was the only girl to clear 100 feet in the discus, taking the title with a throw of 112-5.
Burlington-Edison’s Callie Reff, who scratched a year ago in the long jump, this time dominated the field with a leap of 15-71⁄2, 91⁄2 inches ahead of her nearest competition.
• Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at
