State track and field: Atkins claims 4A girls long jump title over Gero-Holt in spectacle

Federal Way’s Cassandra Atkins and Emerald Ridge’s JaiCieonna Gero-Holt are two of the South Sound’s premier track and field athletes, also friends since the age of nine. Both are multi-event state champions, and Thursday’s opening day at the WIAA’s state Track and Field Championships provided each the prospect for more.

Except in the 4A long jump, where Atkins and Holt were pitted against one another — a virtual two-woman race between Washington’s best. Atkins, the reigning state champion, waited her turn in the second flight at Mount Tahoma Stadium when, suddenly, Gero-Holt notched a new personal record – 18 feet, 11 ¾ inches.

Atkins’ first attempt? 18 feet, three inches, considerably trailing her elite counterpart. Was the defending champion in danger?

It’s when Atkins put her foot to the gas. Her coaches and family approached her: “You just need to do this,” they told her before her final jumps. “You know what you can do.

“Get mad and go.”

Atkins turned to anger. It’s her strategy.

“I got mad… and I just did it,” she said.

And her next attempt made history. Aggressive on the runway, the Federal Way senior found her footing and sprung herself 19 feet, nine inches, and three quarters of an inch (19-9.75) – knocking down a 30-year-old state meet record set in 1994.

“She has a process to herself,” Federal Way coach Quinn Gillis told The News Tribune. “As coaches, sometimes we just have to take a step back and allow her to do her process. Over the past four years, we’ve been in awe of what she’s able to do on a daily basis.”

Atkins’ penultimate jump won a consecutive state title in the 4A girls long jump, made official once Gero-Holt’s final attempt fell short. No longer competitors and again friends, she found Gero-Holt on the sidelines for an embrace. The crowd, treated to a back-and-forth spectacular between Division-I commits, applauded the event’s top two.

Atkins went unbeaten in the long jump throughout her senior season and sports a personal record of 20-0.75 in the event. A skilled triple jumper and 200-meter sprinter, Atkins could realistically knock down the latter’s 42-year-old state record (24.13, 1982) on Saturday.

The anger, the ferocity Atkins channels? Gero-Holt finds it unique.

“She gets pissed off (and) uses that to her advantage,” she said. “If I’m pissed off, I’m not going to compete well. … I have to stay floating on that cloud.

“She was frustrated… but she eventually got it,” Gero-Holt said. “That’s what I admire about her. Through the emotion, frustration, she could put that out on the field.

“Whatever happens, happens. It’s in God’s plan. I’m not mad. She deserves it. I deserve it. We all deserve it because we made it to state. … Like Cassandra said, she’s my girl (since) nine years old. We’ve got, like, a sisterly bond.

“I had two really good jumps. Just didn’t get on the board.”

Gero-Holt remains a heavy favorite to win the high jump and 4A girls 100-meter hurdles on Friday afternoon at Mount Tahoma and could secure a state-title three-peat in both events. A University of Illinois commit, she’ll reunite with Atkins on occasion, who committed to an Oregon program that recently joined the Fighting Illini in the Big Ten.

Officials awarded the gold medal to Atkins and she stood atop the podium, all to herself. Again.

“I wanted to win,” Atkins said. “I (came) in nervous, but in the end, I showed myself what I can do under pressure.”

Added Gero-Holt: “By the time we’re both in college in the NCAA, I’m sure I’ll get her one of these days.”

SOUTH SOUND FINISHERS (TRACK)

A pair of local runners grabbed second and third place in the 4A girls 1600 meters: Curtis’ Eliza White (4:53.43) and Olympia’s Sydney Kosa (4:58.42) broke the five-minute mark for top-three finishes on the podium.

Bonney Lake’s Latham West earned five team points and finished fourth in the 3A girls mile (4:53.88).

Tahoma’s Cooper Boyle ran a 4:18.37 mile, good for fifth place in the 4A boys 1600 meters. Bellarmine Prep’s Will Yearian clocked 4:20.53 and finished eighth in the event.

Gig Harbor’s Jonathan Miles finished the 1600-meter race in 4:13.18, earning sixth place among 3A boys.

Enumclaw’s McCoy Brooks finished fourth in the 2A boys 1600 meters, (4:15.29), and Steilacoom’s Caleb Wilcox grabbed eighth (4:19.43).

SOUTH SOUND FINISHERS (FIELD)

Grace Degarimore is a state champion: South Kitsap’s standout thrower dominated the 4A girls discus field and stormed atop Friday’s podium at Mount Tahoma Stadium on Friday.

Degarimore (164 feet, eight inches) cushioned her lead by a staggering 28 feet and fell two inches shy of Tracie Millett’s (Auburn) state meet record, 160 feet and 10 inches, posted in 1987.

Spanaway Lake’s Josiah Houston used a 6-foot-4 high jump to claim third place in the 3A boys event.

Clover Park’s Kamila Salanoa took home a similar bronze medal in the 2A girls shot put (37-9.075).

Orting’s Aiden Mendenhall impressed with a 45-foot, one-inch triple jump – good for runner-up in the event among 2A boys.

TEAM STANDINGS

4A BOYS

Kamiakin (20)

Eastlake (14)

Camas (10)

4A GIRLS

Olympia (11)

Federal Way (10)

Skyline (10)

3A BOYS

Mercer Island (10)

Mount Spokane (9)

Seattle Prep (8)

3A GIRLS

Mercer Island (16)

Lake Washington (8)

Bonney Lake (5)

2A BOYS

Anacortes (18)

Columbia River (13)

Clarkston (10)

Renton (10)

2A GIRLS

East Valley of Spokane (10)

R.A. Long (10)

Lynden (9)