Black Hills' Williams, Timberline's Romain second in jumps on opening day of track and field state championships

Black Hills High School junior Maisy Williams entered the finals of the Class 2A girls high jump at the state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma in Tacoma on Thursday ranked No. 2 in the state in her classification.

And that’s exactly how she finished.

Williams' jump of 5 feet, 2 inches, earned her a runner-up finish in the event, behind Lakewood senior Yareli Ochoa, who cleared 5-4.

“I’ve been chilling at second place all season long,” Williams said. “That’s where I was expected to land. Basically, it’s bittersweet. Second place is a really good place to be, but nothing like being first."

Williams easily cleared 5-2 on her first attempt and had a chance to match Ochoa at 5-4, which would have tied her personal best, but came up short.

“That (last) jump was my closest,” Williams said. “Sometimes it’s just the way the bar falls, and it didn’t exactly fall for me this time, and that’s OK.”

Williams was one of six girls to clear 5-2 but placed second because all of her jumps prior to her attempts at 5-4 were clean, while her other competitors needed more attempts.

Williams still has a chance to earn an individual state championship on Saturday in the long jump. She enters that event ranked No. 1 in the state.

“I’ll have to bring it,” Williams said. “Just like high jump, the competition is really tight.”

Coming into both events with such a high ranking could be a lot of pressure, but Williams said she feels it differently depending on the event.

“Long jump has always been a fun activity, but high jump is where I feel the pressure,” she said. “Long jump is a lot more fun for me, maybe because I don’t take it as seriously, as bad as that sounds. High jump may mean a little bit more, but sometimes the things that mean the most you’re not the best at.”

Timberline senior Keshara Romain also took second place in the 3A girls long jump, finishing with a mark of 37-4 1/2. Romain, who is battling a sore hamstring, marked on her first two attempts and passed on three of her final four.

1A/2B/1B CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Northwest Christian senior Eliana Summers blew by the field in the 2B girls 1,600, running a 5:17.58 — a personal best by more than four seconds — to claim her first title in the event.

Rainier junior Eliana Hansen was the runner-up at a personal-best 5:26.43.

This was the second state-title win of Summers’ track-and-field career. She is the defending 2B champion in the 3,200, and enters as the top seed in that event Saturday.

A pair of runners from Pope John Paul II finished in the top three in 1B in the 1,600. Senior Jack Farrell (4:38.65) was the runner-up in the event, while freshman Kobe Deutscher (4:43.86) followed in third.

Northwest Christian senior Megan McSheffrey nabbed the No. 3 seed into Saturday’s girls 300 hurdles final with a personal-best time of 46.16.

Staff writer Lauren Smith contributed to this report.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 11:45 PM with the headline "Black Hills' Williams, Timberline's Romain second in jumps on opening day of track and field state championships."