In battle of state’s top javelin throwers, Olympia’s Jack Olsen claims 4A SPSL crown
Four years ago, when Jack Olsen was a freshman at Olympia High School, he was planning to turn out for soccer.
But, physical science class convinced him otherwise.
When Olsen and his classmates were studying acceleration, they spent a period collecting data out at Ingersoll Stadium.
As part of one activity, Olsen threw a softball, and it traveled about 50 yards, catching the eye of his teacher Jesse Stevick, who also coaches track and field at Olympia.
Stevick convinced Olsen to trade in the spring soccer season for throwing the javelin and the rest, Olsen said, was history.
“Ever since then, I went out for track,” he said. “I met Papa Stevick, his dad (and Olympia’s throws coach), and just threw with them and fell in love with the sport.
“You can truly be anyone and do anything in track. You’re not limited to just running or just throwing a bit shot put or whatever it is. You can pretty much do anything and be part of a team at the same time, and I just love that about track.”
Over the course of his freshman season, Olsen improved by more than 30 feet in the javelin, throwing a season-best 159-5 3/4 in his final appearance.
By the end of his sophomore season his best mark jumped to 175-6, and he ended the year with a 12th-place finish at the Class 4A state championship meet.
His junior season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Olsen opened his final campaign this spring by unleashing a personal-best 199-3 in the second meet of the season — a mark that not only leads the state this spring, but ranks sixth among high schoolers nationally.
He capped his senior season with a 4A SPSL title on a warm afternoon Thursday at Sunset Chev Stadium in Sumner.
“I knew it was something I loved to do, and I could be pretty good at it if I just put in some hard work,” Olsen said of his consistent improvements throughout his high school career.
“Especially over COVID, with everything being canceled, it just motivated me to go out to the elementary school grass, or out to our home Ingersoll Stadium, and really just throw to get better and throw further, because I hoped that this day would come, and it did, which I’m super happy about.”
Olsen entered Thursday’s competition as the top seed and was the final competitor to throw in both his flight and the finals, but this meet applied more pressure than contests earlier in the season.
For the first time, another javelin thrower, Gig Harbor senior Jake Jennings, was testing his marks.
Jennings won a 3A state title for the Tides as a sophomore in 2019 at 186-4, and with Gig Harbor joining the 4A SPSL as a temporary member this spring, his meeting with Olsen made for an intriguing duel.
“Just to have a season is great,” Jennings said. “There is a little bit of a frustrating side. I’m just getting back into throwing shape, so I feel like I was just about to get there, but I’m just happy I had the opportunity when a lot of people didn’t.”
Jennings said he did start to feel back in rhythm Thursday, took the lead during their flight with a career-best 192 — which ranks third statewide — but Olsen topped it on his throw of 193-0 moments later. Olsen tossed the winning throw of 196-11 in the finals.
“This is the first meet this year I’ve had someone throw further than me, and that was just such a motivating factor,” Jennings said. “I’m really happy that he was here and I’m pretty sure we pushed each other.”
They could continue to push each other moving forward. Olsen recently committed to Washington and Jennings plans to walk on with the Huskies.
But, both noted Thursday how enjoyable it was to be able to compete in the final spring of their high school careers competing against some of the South Sound’s best.
“It felt like a state championship in a way, and I’m just so glad that it could come together,” Olsen said. “There’s 12 schools here, and all season it’s been two, so I think today was perfect.”
Here are a few more notes from the 4A SPSL meet, which ran Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Sunset Chev:
▪ Olympia junior Ethan Coleman won both the 800 (personal-best 1:54.75) and 1,600 (4:12.28), and now ranks third and fourth in the state in those events, respectively.
He also continues to hold the top time in the state in the 3,200 (personal-best 8:49.57).
▪ Emerald Ridge senior Cantrell Thomas was the only runner in the 400 to finish in sub-51 seconds, posting a personal-best 50.15 that ranks fourth in the state.
▪ Bellarmine Prep junior Ella Borsheim ran a season-best 2:13.11 to win the 800, and leads the state in the event, just ahead of Olympia junior Katelyn Rigg (second, personal-best 2:13.36) and South Kitsap senior Evelyn Collins-Winn (fifth, personal-best 2:17.11).
Borsheim also ran a personal-best 4:48.27 in the 1,600, and leads the state in that race ahead of Collins-Winn (fifth, personal-best 5:04.75).
▪ Peninsula senior Linsey Lovrovich ranks third in the state after winning the 300 hurdles with a personal-best 47.2.
▪ The Curtis 4x200 relay of Hazel Gaspaire, Ava Simms, Tamia Ramos and Rieko Wilford now ranks second in the state after a season-best 1:45.74, ahead of the Rogers relay of Skye Johnson, Roslyn Zentz, Jenai Ancheta and Kayleigh Acree (third, 1:47.01).
▪ Olympia’s 4x400 relay of Kate Herrick, Katelyn Rigg, Jenna Rigg and Ava Wolin now leads the state after a season-best 4:02.7, just ahead of the Curtis squad of Simms, Noelle Lordahl, Gaspaire and Wilford (second, 4:04.06).
▪ South Kitsap senior Danae Hughes won the javelin with a personal-best mark of 136-8 which ranks third statewide.
▪ Gig Harbor won the boys meet with 251.5 points, ahead of Olympia (210.99) and Sumner (166.99). South Kitsap won the girls meet with 221.8 points, ahead of Curtis (209) and Peninsula (198)
This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
