Pole vaulters lead track pack into state meet

The pole vault and the javelin might be the events where student-athletes from south Pierce County have the most success in the state high school track and field meets this weekend.

Tucker Buffington of Eatonville and Chad Simonson have the fourth-best marks this season in the 2A and 4A classifications entering the state competition, which will be held May 25-27 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Buffington, a senior, has cleared 13 feeet 9 inches. Thomas Janicki of Sedro-Woolley leads the 2A vaulters at 15-1.

Simonson, a junior, has scaled 14 feet. That’s a foot shorter than the 15 feet state-high of senior Clay Somes of Ferris.

Rock Gray, a Spanaway Lake junior, is leading the pack in the javelin at 173-10.

Here are the other south Pierce competitors and how they stand going into the state meets:

Eatonville

Ryan Antonson, a senior, has the 10th-best mark in the javelin at 162-1. Brandon Bach, a Mountlake Terrace sophomore, is the clearcut leader at 182-5.

On the girls’ side, senior Audrey Madison is 10th-best in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.42 seconds. The runaway leader is Ephrata sophomore McCall DeChemne at 15.15.

Madeline Madison, also a senior, is in the pole vault field with a season-best of 8-9. Kelsey Bassett of Granite Falls is the clearcut favorite with a mark of 11-6.

Jaelin Hotz, a sophomore, shares the eighth-best effort (33-5) going into the triple jump. Sophomore Mykah Okoro of Clover Park is the season leader at 37-2.

Junior Samantha Swartout, at 119 feet, is seventh this season in the javelin. Chloe Chalfant of East Valley in Spokane is tops at 141-7.

Bethel

Kaden Ackerman, a sophomore, is in the boys 110-meter hurdles with a season-best 15.32.

Spanaway Lake

In addition to his high standing in the javelin, Gray has the sixth-leading shot put effort of 51-11. Dillon Lionello of Mount Spokane is the frontrunner at 60-1.