Mead boys win 4A state championship behind Simon Rosselli's arm, strong finish in relays | Track and field

May 30-TACOMA - The national discus record of 237 feet, 7 inches, was dangling in front of Simon Rosselli all spring.

To be honest, the mark has been on his mind going back to last season when he burst onto the national scene and had dozens of NCAA Division I schools pursuing him.

The Mead senior's season ended short of his top goal. But the University of Oregon-bound thrower has plenty to be proud of.

For starters, he's a three-time 4A state discus champion, 2026 shot put champion and key contributor on two state championships in the last three years.

Rosselli won the discus title on his first throw Saturday, but his final attempt was his best at 223-11, nearly 14 feet short of the national record as the 4A/3A/2A state meets ended at Mount Tahoma High School.

It makes one wonder how Rosselli could be disappointed, considering he broke the overall state-meet record he set last year by more than 18 feet.

"I'm emotional, not because it's my last meet or whatever, but I didn't do anything that I wanted to do this year," said Rosselli, heavy emphasis on personal accomplishments not team. "I was far off from what I know I can do and hopefully I can get it at nationals. But it won't be in a Mead jersey, which will suck."

It's believed that if Rosselli breaks the national mark at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, in mid June, it will stand as a record since he doesn't step on the Oregon campus officially for school until the fall.

Rosselli was asked to critique his series of throws. No athlete in Washington has done anything close to what he has done as a body of work. A few athletes, including Vinnie Pecht of West Valley, have thrown more than 200, but none has a resume that can be measured against Rosselli.

Rosselli's six throws Saturday were 209-8 and beyond. His 225-6 at the Arcadia Invitational in Los Angeles in April remains the top throw in the nation this season.

"I just didn't feel explosive is the best way to say it," Rosselli said. "It was there. It was close, but in the end of the day I didn't get it. ... That stings deep, knowing that not only I can do it, but it was there."

The national record was set in 2011 by Ryan Crouser of Gresham, Oregon. He went on to throw at Oregon.

"(Simon's) goals were out there," Mead coach James Lehr said. "Anytime you're chasing a name like Ryan Crouser and you get that close, you really can't be that upset. It's really cool for (Rosselli) to never be satisfied and to want to achieve that, but kudos to him because it takes courage, dedication and hard work."

Family, friends and people who just came out to watch because they had heard or read about Rosselli posed with him for photos afterward. Two men were heard telling Rosselli they came to the meet just to watch him.

Rosselli didn't disappoint - except for himself.

Five hours later, Rosselli and his teammates celebrated a state championship. Mead trailed Olympia by six points going into the final event, the 4x400-meter relay.

To win the title outright, the Mead relay foursome of Trevelle Jones, Carter Williams, Jonah Wiser and Aaron Pooler had to finish second or win. Third and the Panthers would share the title with Olympia.

A gutty final lap by Pooler allowed Mead to go from third into second in a time of 3 minutes, 18.61 seconds. Issaquah, which lost to Mead at the Oregon Relays in April, got a measure of redemption, winning with a time of 3:17.59.

Mead earned its 10th state title with 55 points, edging Olympia by two. The Panthers have finished runner-up eight times.

"We definitely felt the pressure, but we've had it plenty of times," Williams said. "We knew what to do."

Said Jones, who transferred to Mead from North Central: "We knew it was going to be a dogfight. It came down to who really wanted it."

Wiser was part of Mead's state cross country title last fall. He was thinking of his track teammates Saturday.

"We wanted to come out here and get it for our track brothers," Wiser said.

The Panthers were wearing new jersey tops that Lehr handed out for the postseason. Lehr developed a symbol that he had printed on the back near the neck top. It was a circle of 10 stars around a capital M. Nine of the circles were filled in, leaving the star at the top empty.

Mead filled in the 10th star Saturday.

"We were ready for it to come down to (the relay)," Lehr said. "Everybody that contributed is amazing. What a great team."

Bounce-back season

Nikko Alexander won the 4A state 400 title two years ago as a sophomore.

Then he was plagued by injuries last year. He qualified for state in the 400 but didn't make the finals.

So Saturday was redemption for Alexander, who won in a time of 48.25. He took second in the 200.

"It felt amazing," said Alexander, who is going to Eastern Washington University for track. "It's been two years since that sophomore state title. I've just been praying about it every day and working for it. It's an overwhelming feeling, you know."

A rough start hampered Alexander in the 200 (21.78).

"That was a bad start for me," Alexander said. "I just didn't get out hard enough. I had too much to make up the rest of the way."

A dedicated victory

Mt. Spokane junior Brycen Phillips captured the 200 ambulatory state title (26.94).

Phillips dedicated the title to his wheelchair basketball coach Bob Hunt, who passed away earlier in the week.

"That was all for him," Phillips said.

A blur of Wildcats

The Mt. Spokane 4x400 relay of Kale Lemecker, Andrew Thomas, Javin Michaelsen and Gaitlin Michaelsen combined to win the 3A state title (3:20.19).

It was an interesting combination. Lemecker and Thomas are hurdlers and the Michaelsen brothers do cross country.

"Dude, this is unreal," said Gavin Michaelsen, who locked down the win with a brilliant anchor leg. "I'm in tears right now."

Javin Michaelsen was the third leg, handing the baton to his brother to finish the pursuit of the title.

"This just feels unreal," Javin said.

Said Thomas: "This is a reflection of the hard work we put in all season, shaving off 11 seconds throughout the year."

Pirate takes 2A hurdles

Preston Kaesemeyer of Rogers won the 300 hurdles (38.26).

Winning his first title, the junior finished 0.6 seconds ahead of the runner-up.

-Other area medal winners Saturday were: Mead's 4x100 took second (41.93); Parker Lemmon of Ferris, third in the 4A 800 (1:52.20); Elijah Tobin of Lewis and Clark, fourth in the 4A 800 (1:53.15); Mead's Pooler, fifth in the 800 (1:53.35); Mt. Spokane's Gaitlin Michaelsen, fifth in the 3A 800 (1:56.65); Ethan Martin of Cheney, eighth in the 3A 800 (1:58.65); Israel Manfreda of Pullman, fourth in the 2A 400 (49.65); Andrew Houndonougbo of Cheney, seventh in the 3A 100 (11.01); Adie Wright of North Central, fourth in the 3A 200 (22.11); 2A Rogers' 4x100, fifth (42.65); West Valley's 4x100, seventh (42.88); the Cheney 3A 4x100, sixth (42.69); Jacob Gering of LC, sixth in the 4A 400 (49.63); Gering sixth in the 200 (22.20); Clinton Maddalena of WV, fifth in the 2A triple jump (43-5 1/2 ); Juleon Horyst of Cheney, fourth in the 3A high jump (6-4) and Miles Spencer of North Central, seventh (6-2); Becks Bird of Shadle Park, seventh in the 3A 3,200 (9:10.60); Mead's Stejer Franklin and Jovanny Lieb, fifth (8:57.80) and eighth (9:05.90) respectively in the 3,200; Miro Parr-Coffin of Gonzaga Prep, sixth in the 3,200 (8:59.25); Feso Ogbozor of G-Prep, seventh in the 4A long jump (21-8 1/2 ); Adam Judd of Central Valley, fourth in the 3A shot put (54-2 3/4 ); Kale Lamecker of Mt. Spokane, sixth in the 300 hurdles (39.18) and Colton Halert of Cheney seventh (39.39).

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 11:42 PM.