It was a record-setting year for the Mountlake Terrace Hawks girls track team in 2014, with a third place finish at the state championships, a double-individual state champion in Chinne Okoronkwo, and five other squad members earning top 10 finishes at the state meet. With the Hawks losing only one of their top competitors to graduation last spring the team is poised for another run of top state finishes in 2015.
The track season for both the girls and the boys squads breaks out of the blocks on Thursday, Mar. 19, at the PB & Jamboree meet at Juanita High School in Kirkland. First events are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Okoronkwo returns to prep track action this year after winning the 3A girls state crown in both the triple jump and the long jump last season; her triple jump effort of 40 feet 11.25 inches last May was a record for 3A girls state meet competition. Okoronkwo also placed second in the pole vault at the state meet last year.
Since the state championships Okoronkwo has kept busy competing both nationally and internationally. Last August she was at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China, and picked up a silver medal in the 8 by 100-meter mixed relay event. Then just this past weekend Okoronkwo was in New York City at the New Balance Nationals Indoor Meet when she placed third in both the triple jump and the long jump.
Okoronkwo is one of many Terrace returnees hoping to get back to the state meet at the end of this spring high school season. After placing second in the 100-meter hurdles last year, senior McKenna Hunt is back for her final chance at compete at the state meet. Katherine Gustafson is looking to improve on her eighth place finish in the 3200-meter run and her 10th place finish in the 1600-meter run. Hawk teammate Jessica Ong placed 10th in the 800-meter run at state last year and returns to the Terrace line-up this season.
Hawk Hailee Malins has her sights set on the season-ending state meet already. Her goals: “Definitely to place at state in both shot put and discus.” Malins said. “I just barely missed the podium last year and that was a heartbreaker. So top six is where I want to be this year.”
Malins placed ninth in both the discus and the shot put at the 2014 state meet.
The Terrace junior enters this track season recovering from a broken finger on her non-throwing left hand, an injury suffered during the recently-completed wrestling season.
“I broke my finger twice,” Malins said. “I broke it in early December, waited the four weeks, got the okay to wrestle, wrestled for a week and then at practice the next Monday I re-broke it and tore a ligament in the finger – same finger in the same place.”
The second break ended Malins’ wrestling season early, but she used the time to train for the track season by lifting weights and working on throwing techniques in the school gym. “I’m all good now,” she said confidently.
Terrace fans will have plenty of opportunities to see Malins and her Hawk teammates this season as the boys and girls track teams will be in action multiple times at Edmonds Stadium this spring beginning with the Terrace Relays on March 28. To view the entire MTHS track schedules, click https://www.wescoathletics.com/index.php?league=3&page_name=game_schedule&school=40&sport=16 for the girls team schedule or https://www.wescoathletics.com/index.php?league=3&page_name=game_schedule&school=40&sport=7 for the boys team schedule.
The State Track and Field Championships will take place May 28-30 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.
– By Doug Petrowski
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