By Terry Mosher
Editor, Sports Paper
As expected, Central Kitsap swept to the Olympic League Junior High Track and Field Championships held at South Kitsap’s Joe Knowles Stadium on May 29. The Cubs won the boy’s meet with 140 points and the girl’s meet with 117.5 points. Curtis was second in both – 116 points for the boys and 100.5 for the girls.
This was the last junior high track and field championship for the Olympic League because starting next year all the local schools will be competing as middle schools. Central Kitsap has already announced that it’s ninth-graders will be competing at the high school beginning next year, which forces South Kitsap to follow suit at its three junior highs – Cedar Heights, John Sedgwick and Marcus Whitman.
The OL championships have been held for about 54 years.
It is no surprise that CK’s Cameron Carroll and DeAndre Sincere paced the way for the Cubs’ victory in the boy’s meet. Carroll and Sincere won three events each, sandwiching the distance and sprint races between them, although Carroll did get beat by teammate Blake Trujillo in an event, the 800, in which he leads the nation.
Carroll didn’t come close to his country-leading time of 1:59.21 in placing second to Trujillo, who won in 2:08.87. Carroll was second in 2:09.49 and in third came another Cub, Christian Schwieterman in 2:10.38.
The Carroll-Trujillo match-up was reversed in the 400. Carroll upset Trujillo in it, winning with a time of 52.37 with Trujillo second in 52.49. Carroll did take the 1600 (4:36.15) and the long jump (5-foot-10). Carroll leads the country in the 1600 at 4:30.01.
“Cameron was ‘cruising’ yesterday, winning the 1600 easily and not fast (for him), and he beat Blake in the 400, Blake’s race by a half a step,” said CK coach Dave Keller. “(Cameron) was cruising the last 100 meters or so (in the 800), not worried about his competition, when Blake kicked. By the time Blake went by him and he realized it, it was already over. I don’t think that Cameron was too upset about being beaten by Blake in that race.”
Sincere won the 60 (7.27), the 100 (11.61) and the 200 (23.41) and took third in the long jump (18-09) to Albert MacArthur of Marcus Whitman, who went 19-06.5 to just beat out teammate Christopher Drum (19.-02.5).
Curtis’ John Langrell won the hurdle battle with RJ Enrique of Fairview. Langrell won the 75 hurdles in 11.41 (Enriquez was second in 11.59) and the 200 hurdles (27.63) with Enriquez second in 27.87.
The 800 relay was exciting, to say the least. The Fairview foursome of Scott Tiburcio, Enriquez, Kelvin Naputi and Logan Madison in 1:41.43 and Curtis and CK were right behind in second and third. Curtis ran it in 1:41.48 and CK in 1:41.85.
Cedar Height’s Nolan VanAmen won the two events he leads the nation in – the discus (189-05) and shot put (56-11.25) – but lost the javelin competition to Fariview’s Sam Tupai, who threw the spear 131-00. VanAmen was second at 123-06.
Tupai was second in the discus at 155-08 and third in the shot put 42-05.5.
Molly Fischer of CK and Mackenzie Claeys of Ridgetop traded places in very close races in the 800 and 1600. Fischer won the 800 (2:26.32) with Claeys second (2:26.92). Claeys then won the 1600 (5:26.13) with Fischer second (5:27.5).
John Sedgwick’s Persephane Savage took both hurdle races. She won the 75 hurdles (12.620 and the 200 hurdles (29.970.
The CK 1600 relay team was flying while winning by almost nine seconds over second-place Curtis. The CK foursome of Fischer, Carrera Gemmer, Lexi Martinez and Emma Gutierrez won in a time of 4:20.92. That time, while very good, is almost 20 seconds behind the nation’s leading clocking set by a team from Michigan.