The track team had another terrific season this year and topped it off by competing admirably at the metro, district and state meets.

Track coach Tom Burggraff said the team had an overall outstanding effort at all the tournaments this year. The boys’ track team placed fifth overall in the state meet, just short of last year’s performance of third place.

Markeem Adams placed first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.47 seconds. He also ran the 100 meter dash, placing second with a time of 10.89 seconds behind Anthony Wright of Lakes by a mere 0.03 seconds.

The 4x100 meter relay team- Aaron Grymes, Markeem Adams, Ian Keithly, and Jules Guay-Binion, placed third with a time of 43.10 seconds. They were behind Foster and Lakes. Seniors Lizzie Perkins and Grymes both placed fourth in the long jump.

“We performed very well at the state meet," said Burggraff. "There was lots of pressure involved. A lot of the team had their best performance of the year. The boys 4X100 had their best time all year. Markeem competed in four events, and scored in three of them. Aaron competed in three events and scored in all of them.”

There were some key senior losses from last year, so the team had to step up. They got the most out of the talent that they had. This year, West Seattle HIgh had the largest group going to state. There were 14 total Wildcats-- eight boys and six girls.

The girls made a great effort to place 13th in the district tournament. Freshman Kris Tollefson placed second in the 400 meter dash. She had a time of 1:00.91.

The boys were successful at the district tournament. The Wildcats came in third place overall, behind Seattle Prep and O’Dea.

Grymes placed first in the long jump with 21-01.5, while Austin tied for second with 20-0.5. Grymes placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.01, behind Adams who placed first with a time of 10.82.

Also winning the 100 meter dash, Adams also placed first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.21.

The 4x100 relay team had a better performance than they did at Metro, placing first with a time of 43.33 seconds. The 4x400 relay team ran faster than they did at Metro with a time of 3:29.34. They ended up with third place in districts behind Liberty and Seattle Prep.

“Junior Markeem Adams ran in four events and won the 4X400 relay half an hour after running the 200 meter dash," said Burggraff of some of the highlights in the metro meet. "Senior Ashley Hamman was seated 15th before the Metros and came in sixth in the race with a time of 5:33. Four of the top eight jumpers in the metros are from West Seattle."

The girls placed seventh overall at the metro meet. The girls 4x200 meters relay team, seniors Chandler Dennison, Lizzie Perkins, freshmen Madison French and Kris Tollefson, placed second with a time of 1:48.37. They were behind Rainier Beach by 6.33 seconds. The 4x100
relay team, same runners as the 4x200 relay team, came in third place with a time of 51.34, falling to Rainier Beach and Franklin.

Perkins came in third place for the triple jump with a distance of 33-08.00. Running in the 400-meter dash was Tollefson, who came in third with a time of 1:00.44. She came up short to Rainier Beach and Holy Names.

As for the boys, they placed fourth overall behind O’Dea, Seattle Prep, and Bishop Blanchet.

In the boys’ long jump, senior Aaron Grymes and junior Joe Bell Austin placed first and second respectively. Grymes jumped a distance of 20-02.75 while Austin went a distance of 19-11.50.

Adams placed first in the 200-meter dash, with an astounding time of 21.82, winning by a margin of 0.81 seconds. Adams also ran in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.90 seconds. He came up short of first place just by 0.07 seconds to Avi Castro of Rainier Beach.

The boys’ 4x400 relay was the team to talk about at this meet. They were one of the most improved teams from last year.

The runners were seniors Ian Keithly, Eddie Baker, Jules Guay-Binion, and junior Markeem Adams. They came in first place with a time of 3:30.03, beating Seattle Prep by 0.20 seconds. With the loss of graduates Brandon Brown and Christian Crain, the 4x100 relay team, Grymes, Adams, Keithly, and Guay-Binion, came up short of last year’s performance.

They came in second with a time of 43.40 seconds. This year’s team had more depth than last year’s team. People were more spread out in events compared to last year. One thing that the team has improved on this year is the relay runners.

The relay teams were stronger and faster this year. Jumpers also did pretty well.

Burggraff said he appreciates all the effort that the team had put in throughout the season, and is very proud of all of them.