Lakewood throwers show consistency

Lakewood had strong performances in the shot put, javelin, and discus during an April 21 track meet between the Cougars, Anacortes, and Squalicum.

“Our throwers were our most consistent group,” Lakewood track coach Jeff Sowards said.

Seniors Rozlynn Rivera and Rockell Rivera placed first and second in the girls discus throwing 84 feet, eight inches and 82 feet, one inch, according to results on Athletic.net. 

In the boys discus, senior Jayden Riley placed first throwing 121 feet, 9 inches and senior Leonardo Sandoval placed third throwing 114 feet, 6 inches.

Senior Jacob Knoth also placed first in the shot put throwing 42 feet, 7.75 inches and Riley placed second throwing 42 feet, 3.5 inches. Sophomore Mia Barber placed first throwing 29 feet, 9.5 inches in the girls shot put and senior Elizabeth Aleo placed third throwing 27 feet, 1.5 inches.

Knoth placed first in the javelin throwing 136 feet, 9 inches. Sophomore Julie Chrisman won the girls long jump with a leap of 15 feet and ½ inch.

Overall Lakewood’s boys placed second scoring 60 points while Squalicum won with 80 points and Anacortes scored 29 points. Anacortes won the girls meet scoring 108 points with Lakewood and Squalicum tying with 40 points.

Sowards was pleased with Lakewood’s overall performance. He expects the Anacortes girls team and Squalicum’s boys team to compete for a state title. “We took on two of the best teams.”

He also highlighted an Anacortes runner in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. Junior Jessica Frydenlund ran a state best time of 7:21.52 for the Seahawks.

Senior Jarron Ransford shaved five seconds off his personal best in the 800-meter running in 2 minutes 9.99 seconds in a third-place finish. Sophomore Kylie Sahatdjian beat her personal record by 10 seconds in the 1,600-meter running 5:40.51 and placing third, Sowards said.

“We had some good performances. We’re just not deep,” Sowards said.

Sowards said the Cougars are a young team who are relatively inexperienced but have improved throughout the season. “There’s been great growth among the team.”

He said the students are also willing to learn new skills and they get to compete in a season with pre-pandemic normality.

COVID-19 prompted the cancellation of the 2020 season and an abbreviated season in 2021 that lacked any playoff competition.

“Only a few of the kids have experienced a full, normal season,” Sowards said. Many of the athletes have missed the rhythm of a track and field competition.

Following the April 21 meet, Lakewood participated in the Gear Up Eason Invitational in Snohomish, where more than 70 teams participated.

Lakewood travels to Oak Harbor April 27 to compete against the Wildcats and Meridian. The Cougars host the Sunny and 75 Invitational April 30 where 24 teams are participating.