When Hayden Niemi and Maddox Sampson were sophomores at W.F. West High School, they used the Chehalis Activators as their coming out party.
It was Niemi that won the 300-meter hurdles in under 44 seconds, which at the time was only the second instance he broke that mark. Sampson was still getting his feet underneath him, but still recorded two top-10 finishes in both hurdle races.
Fast forward to Saturday afternoon and the pair have blossomed into stars.
Niemi set another PR in the 300 hurdles in 41.12 seconds while Sampson was .02 seconds off his career-best to win the 110 hurdles. Both were on the winning 400 relay and led the Bearcats to a team victory with 106 points.
“We’ve always known our grade can pick up the weight of the team and run with it,” Niemi said.
Previous years have featured key contributors such as Lucas Hoff, Caleb Busse and others. The depth never translated to being a potential factor in the Class 2A team race in Tacoma.
Just on Saturday alone, W.F. West saw 16 new personal bests.
Sampson does believe this group can be a factor come May.
“We got a lot more in us,” he said.
Niemi was in a battle with Capital’s Landis Bryan for much of the race until straightaway when the senior was able to clear the final two hurdles and clip Bryan at the finish line. It’s Niemi’s third win in four 300 hurdle races.
“Just stick with him and kick it at the end,” Niemi said.
Two years ago at state, he did both hurdle events. Now, he’s putting the majority of his focus into the 300.
“I honestly like them a bit more and last year was the biggest growth I’ve had, this year is hard to tell,” Niemi stated. “Break 40 (seconds), place at state, those are my goals.”
Sampson has dedicated his time to the 110s and despite hitting the last hurdle, was still able to nudge Capital’s Quinn Sebring by .10 seconds. His time of 15.59 was nearly a PR.
For the most part, Sampson felt his steps were good until the final clearance. He was far from disappointed afterwards.
“I saw him beside me and that pushed me to go faster and do better; I need more of that,” Sampson said.
The senior is a returning state medalist in the 110s, eighth last May after being seeded seventh. He’s aiming for his third consecutive trip to Mt. Tahoma High School.
“I don’t want to lose,” Sampson said.
Sampson anchored the 400 relay to a new season-best time of 43.94 seconds that featured Niemi, Walker Sampson and Eli Letcher.
W.F. West’s Peyton Santiago unleashed a javelin throw of 178 feet, 2 inches that smashed his previous best by nine feet. He now is the owner of the No. 1 distance in 2A and sixth best in the state.
Walker Sampson finished runner-up in the 200 and long jump while Juan Gonzalez and Hayden North went 2-3 in the high jump. Mason Ruiz was the runner-up in the pole vault, so too was Solomon Dennis in the triple jump and Carson Smith took third in the shot put.
Onalaska’s Ethan Thayer competed in back-to-back days, throwing at Friday’s Kalama Twilight Invite and the Activators, and left with sweeping both the discus and shot put.
Thayer eclipsed the 60-feet threshold in the shot put and went 183 in the discus on Friday. He didn’t reach those marks on Saturday, but still won both events.
“As the season continues, I’m going to start building up and I’ll get where I want to be,” Thayer said.
The returning Class 2B discus champion has routinely been throwing far in practice and he stated he’s not satisfied unless he PR’s.
Such is life with increased expectations.
“I’ve raised the bar and even if I win, it is me against myself,” Thayer stated.
Still, he is happy with the progress he’s made in the shot put. At the state meet last year, he was over 55 feet, something he called a “miracle.” In five of his six throws in Chehalis, he was well past 55 feet.
“I worked a lot on my sweep leg and being more smooth and consistent,” Thayer said.
Teammate Morgan Allen finished top-five in both of the throws and placed 10th in the 110 hurdles.
Morton-White Pass’ Mathew Parvin was also a two-time event winner, winning the 100-meter dash in 11.53 seconds and setting a new PR in the long jump with a leap of 21-08.
He looked at the measuring tape after his jump and when he saw 21-and-a-half, his mood went from good to ecstatic.
“I felt amazing today,” Parvin said.
The junior is a perfect 4-for-4 in the 100 and 2-for-2 in the long jump this season. Parvin medaled in the long jump, but was a place off in the 100 in Yakima last spring. He’s trying to duplicate what Tony Belgiorno did two years ago: Win a state long jump title.
“The job is not finished,” Parvin said. “I saw everyone graduating that was above me and I told myself I have to get first.”
Rainier’s James Morrison triumphed in the 1,600-meter run in 4:35.68, setting a new personal best by three seconds. Zach Hamilton finished second and the distance duo also recorded top-five finishes in the 800. Willie Mendoza placed third in the pole vault for the Mountaineers.
Centralia’s Sam Volavola was second in the discus and shot put plus his brother Bill was the runner-up in the open 400. The Tigers claimed the win in the 1,600-meter relay as well.
Black Hills’ Jess Bender placed third in the long jump while Napavine’s Ryan Groves took second in the open 100.
Oakville’s Lewis Koser recorded a pair of top-five finishes in the throws, as did Pe Ell’s Eli Mason in the two hurdle events. Rochester jumper Le’Shawn Hines took third in the triple jump and fourth in the long jump.
Tumwater’s Tyler Clark and Landon Martin placed second and third in the 3,200, respectively. Winlock’s Freddy Patching was the runner-up in the 800.
