When junior Caila Tongco and sophomore Jaleesa Taylor became friends at Kent-Meridian High School last year, neither realized they were both among the top hurdlers in the state.
As of Monday, Taylor was second in the Class 4A state rankings for the girls 100-meter hurdles and Tongco third, their times .01 seconds apart – 14.96 and 14.97 seconds respectively, according to Athletic.net.
The pair met on Kent-Meridian’s gymnastics team last school year and became fast friends.
“I started late and I didn’t know anyone because I came from a different school district,” Taylor said.
When the duo turned out for track last year, they started pushing each other on the hurdles.
“When I ran my freshman year, I was running like 17 seconds,” Tongco said. “Then when Jaleesa came she pushed me a lot and we both just started PRing (setting personal records) meet after meet.”
The girls said they hope to place in the top three at the 4A state meet this year in Tacoma. When asked what order they will place at state, Taylor replied, “We don’t know.”
Tongco started running track in seventh grade, but didn’t take up hurdling until high school.
“I always wanted to do hurdles, but in middle school the sprint coach was like, ‘Stay with me because you are really fast,'” Tongco said. “Toward the middle of my freshman year, I was just doing sprints, but I kind of wanted to try hurdles just for fun. I picked it up pretty quickly.”
Taylor has been running since fourth grade.
“In my middle school, sixth-graders weren’t allow to do hurdles, …” Taylor said. “We just went into hurdles when we got into seventh grade because we thought it was cool watching everybody do it before.”
The pair trains together during the offseason with Xtereme Speed in Covington, and competed in the USA Track and Field regional junior Olympic championship in Portland, Ore., and the national championship in Florida last summer.
Tongco ran with Xtreme Speed the past two summers and persuaded Taylor to join her last year.
“She (Taylor) was going to go to for Louisiana for the summer,” Tongco said.
“She (Tongco) was like ‘No, you should do summer track,'” Taylor said.
Tongco and Taylor bring a lot to Kent-Meridian’s track team, coach Michael Christiansen said.
“They work hard,” he said. “They push each other. They are both kind of jokers, so they keep things light. The thing I like the best is that they are leaders. They’re helping the younger kids.”
Christiansen said he looks forward to seeing how both girls do as the season progresses.
“The times they are running now I am ecstatic about, especially in the early season,” he said. “They are running really good times. The hope is that they continue to improve every week…. As long as they stay healthy and keep improving, I think they will have a great state season.”
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