Olympic League track and field stars begin postseason trek in Poulsbo

Jeff Graham, Kitsap Sun

Four Olympic Field track and field athletes finished Saturday's league championship meet in Poulsbo with a pair of individual titles. Two of those athletes represented the host Vikings.

North Kitsap's Salix Wartes-Kahl concluded the two-day meet, which began Thursday, as the girls 800 and 1,600 champion. The 800 is Wartes-Kahl's focus as the Class 2A state meet approaches — she was the state runner-up as a junior — and her time Saturday (2 minutes, 19.97 seconds) gave her a comfortable win over second-place Kaitlyn Bloomenrader of Sequim (2:24.01). Wartes-Kahl ran her best 1,600 time of the season on Thursday (5:13.46).

North Kitsap sophomore Calina Morgan added a title in the 100 (PR, 25.59) and senior Corinne Aala added first-place in the pole vault (PR, 10 feet) to help North Kitsap cruise to the girls team championship. The Vikings totaled 104 points to finish ahead of Bremerton (68), Bainbridge (41), Kingston (36.5), Port Angeles (24), Olympic (22) and North Mason (20). North Kitsap also won the 4x100 relay in 51.43.

Other champions on the girls' side included Olympic senior Mia Talarico, who ran 26.16 in the 200 to set a personal-best time. Talarico also won the long jump at 16-2. Winners from Bremerton included junior Cecilia Powell in the 400 (PR, 1:00.05), senior Salleen Mattivi in the 3,200 (12:01.94), junior Rylee Wheaton in the shot put (PR, 41-00.75) and junior Talelia Sweet (PR, 32-6) in the triple jump. The Knights added a win in the 4x400 relay (4:15.34).

Kingston senior Leighton Menge captured the 100 girls hurdles title in 16.34 and North Mason junior Adrianna Tupolo won the girls discus title with a mark of 112-10. Bainbridge took first in the girls' 4x200 (1:48.45).

North Kitsap’s Salix Wartes-Kahl competes in the 800 Meter during the Olympic League Track and Field Championships at North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Wartes-Kahl took first place with a time of 2:19.97.
North Kitsap’s Salix Wartes-Kahl competes in the 800 Meter during the Olympic League Track and Field Championships at North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Wartes-Kahl took first place with a time of 2:19.97.

On the boys' side, Logan Sloman of North Kitsap won a pair of events with personal-best times in the sprints. The senior edged Bremerton junior Isaiah Cadengo 11.09 to 11.19 in the 100 on Thursday, then beat out Cadengo for the 200 title on Saturday, 22.42 to 22.61.

The Vikings added victories in the 800 (senior Matthew Fee, PR, 1:56.59), 3,200 (senior Quinny Stewart, PR, 9:55.87), javelin (junior James Rebman, 164-3) and the 4x100 relay (43.98) while finishing second in the team standings with 71 points. Port Angeles, led by 110 and 300 hurdles champion Parker Nickerson, took the boys team crown with 102 points. Bainbridge finished third with 60 points, followed by Bremerton (51), Olympic (35), Kingston (15), Sequim (11) and North Mason (6).

Cadengo picked up a win for Bremerton with a PR in the 400 (43.92) and fellow junior Dallin Anderson captured the 1,600 title with a PR (4:22.83). The pair also helped the Knights place first in the 4x400 (3:31.13). Other champions included Bainbridge junior Yufei Shou in the pole vault (PR, 14-9), Olympic junior DeQuan Freeland in the shot put (PR, 44-3.5) and Olympic junior Rico Cooper in the triple jump (PR, 41-10).

Bainbridge, which is 3A, used Saturday's gathering as a final warm-up ahead of its league championship competition next week when the Spartans attend the Pierce County League meet.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Olympic League track and field stars begin postseason trek in Poulsbo

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