5 Washington (WIAA) state track and field performances you should not have missed on Day 3

USC-bound Jacob Andrews repeated in the 100, 200 and 400 as Sehome repeated as 2A boys champs

TACOMA, Washington — The Washington high school 2A/3A/4A state track and field meet concluded on Saturday at Mount Tahoma stadium as 15 records fell across all classifications.

There was a mountain of highlights, standout individual triumphs and dramatic moments across the three-day event. 

Catch up on every state champion in Tacoma on Thursday, 

Friday and Saturday, as well as updates from the 1B/2B/1A meet in Yakima.

>> Every record broken at 2023 Washington (WIAA) state track and field championships

Three records fell on Day 1 in Tacoma. The nation's top pole vaulter broke another in her high school swan song on Day 2. And Day 3 did not disappoint. 

Here are 5 performances you should not have missed from the final day of WIAA state track:

Jacob Andrews puts bow on decorated prep career

Jacob Andrews pulls ahead of the pack in a 2A state meet record-setting performance / Photo by Andy Buhler

Jacob Andrews walked away from the high school stage a king on Saturday.

The Sehome senior and USC signee set news state meet records in the 200 (21.21) and 400 (46.89), won the 100 and ran the anchor on championship-winning 4x100 relay team on Saturday.

Sehome's 4x100 relay team's (42.53) edged out Clover Park (42.54) by one hundredth of a second.

"It kind of feels surreal," Andrews said. "That was obviously the goal coming in. I knew I had a pretty good chance. It feels pretty different actually achieving it."

His success helped Sehome win the 2A boys team championship, an utterly dominant program that could compete with any school in Washington, regardless of size.

As a junior, he won the 100, 200, 400 and 4x400, but his 4x100 team was disqualified.

He lowered his career-best 200 time down to 21.10 seconds and hit the nation's tenth best 400 mark (46.30) at the Arcadia Invitational in April.

Next, he plans to hit the national summer meet circuit, running in the Brooks PR and Nike Outdoor Nationals before heading off to South Central Los Angeles in mid-August.

Andrews and the Mariners lingered on the track after receiving the team trophy — an experience Andrews said he'll always remember. He shouted out his first-year relay teammates sophomore Andre Watson and freshman Porter Leak.

"We have a lot of new people," Andrews said. "To even win (the relay) alone, that would have been my highlight if we hadn't won as a team because it was both of their first years doing high school track."

Federal Way star makes good on year-old promise

All Saturday morning, Cassandra Atkins was poised. She was relaxed. 

She beat out Emerald Ridge sophomore sensation JaiCieonna Gero-Holt to win the 4A girls long jump in a rematch of the 2022 final, which then- Gero-Holt won by more than seven inches.

That completed Atkins' jump sweep after winning the 4A girls triple jump on Thursday (40-08.50).

"I told myself all the weeks leading up to state that I'm going to win, I'm going to come back, I'm going to redeem myself after what happened last year," Atkins said. Because I was just so sick of it. Going through all the articles and seeing I got beat, I got second, I got sick of it. And I was like, I'm going to win this year, I want to beat the state record. I was just pushing for it."

The Federal Way junior had quite the weekend. She finished second in the 200 with a 25.32, ran anchor for a 4x100 team that placed second.

Zack Munson completes 2A distance sweep

Sehome senior Zack Munson's hoisted four fingers up atop the podium when accepting his final first place medal for the 3,200-meter race to signify a rare feat. 

The Northern Arizona signee won the 2A state 5k cross country title in the fall, then followed it up with a spring sweep. 

Munson took the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 this week in Tacoma. His 9:07.38 in the 3,200 was well ahead of the second place finisher as he ran largely alone ahead of the pack.

When he rounded the final corner, the senior smiled from ear-to-ear and the crowd roared as he crossed the finish line.

"That was my last race in a Sehome jersey," Munson said. "Coming around that home stretch it was all about enjoying it. That was my last moment in my high school jersey. It's so amazing to do that here with this crowd and really amazing environment."

Fastest football player? Keenan Kuntz wears title proudly

There are high school football stars across Washington that may be fast enough to make noise as sprinters, but in 2023 the crown of the state's fastest football player/sprinter goes to Richland senior Keenan Kuntz. 

Kuntz's 10.80 was the second fastest 100 time of the day in Tacoma  (Sehome's Jacob Andrews' 10.56 in 2A was the fastest) and beat the field by more than two tenths of a second.

"I felt like I really hadn't have the chance to showcase my speed these last four years and this year was the time to do it," Kuntz said. "I definitely imagined I'd be here."

"I felt great, had a good start out of the blocks. Thought I'd be 10.4, 10.3, but looking at the wind (-3.0) it ended up being 10.80. But it felt like a great race."

On Saturday, Keenan merely added to the family pile of titles.

His father, Greg Kuntz, was a part of Mead's distance running dynasty under Pat Tyson in the 1980s and won a title in 1988 and his mom, Celeste Sutheit, set the Richland girls 100-meter record of 11.87, which still stands.

Greg Kuntz won state in the steeplechase and 3,200. Sutheit won in the long jump. 

On top of his 100 finish, Keenan also placed second in the 4A 200-meter dash with a 21.65.

Keenan is a Washington football commit and was an all-Greater Spokane League receiver in the fall. He donned the Bombers green and gold this spring after transferring from Mead in Spokane in the winter after his family moved. He started his high school career at West Valley of Spokane.

Last August, he earned All-American honors at the AAU National Junior Olympics with blistering PRs in the 100 (10.63) and 200 (21.67) — he usurped both this spring. 

Washington's top football recruit caps winning week

Photo by Andy Buhler

Brayden Platt hovered around the shot put pit after the 3A shot put competitors had finished and he was crowned champion and threw let out a couple extra throws.

Just to see if he could show himself a throw worthy of a meet record. 

Platt repeated as state champion with a 61-10.00 final throw, beating the second place throw from Bishop Blanchet's 56-01.50. Every one of Platt's throws would have secured the win by several feet.

"Good feeling for me and for our team," Platt said. "It was a good day, don't get me wrong, but I think there were some minor tweaks I could have made out there to maybe get a few more feet."

Two days earlier, Platt finished second in the 3A javelin despite uncorking a 216-foot personal best, the third best high school javelin throw in the country this spring (he was beat out by Roderick Schenk's 219-1, the No. 2 mark in the nation).

Platt is a four-star linebacker, the top prospect in Washington whose highly-anticipated recruitment is narrowed down to eight school. Next, he'll prepare to compete at Nike Outdoor Nationals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on June 15 before he sets out on a busy summer full of official visits.