As Kentridge High’s Kevin Hall crossed the finish line, he looked over to see his teammate, Bralen Westendorf, looking back at him with the same face of shock and excitement.
“We would always joke at the beginning of the season how we would get one and two at state,” Hall said, “but I never thought we could come out here and actually do it.”
Last Saturday, their senior dreams came true as Hall won in 38.28 seconds and Westendorf took second (38.30) in the 300-meter hurdles at Star Track XXXI, the state Class 4A track and field championships.
Both hurdlers helped Kentridge tie for fifth place with Garfield following the three-day showcase at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma.
Nervous after attending prom the night before, Hall thought it would be a day of defeat.
“I thought by going to that I was sacrificing all hope of doing well today,” Hall said. “To go out and have prom and come the next day and win state in the 300s, oh my goodness, it’s the best feeling I’ve ever had.”
For the last few week’s Hall had trouble getting the first hurdle in time so right before the gun sounded, he made a risky move that ended up paying off in the end.
“I switched up my blocks,” Hall said. “I put my other leg in front, and I ran an amazing race. (I’d) never even practiced it. It was ridiculous, completely spontaneous and impromptu.”
But it was well worth the risk for Hall. What made the victory even sweeter was the fact that four out of the eight boys running in the 300 hurdles were South Puget Sound League athletes and Hall’s friends.
“All these guys are top quality guys,” Hall said. “We’ve raced against these guys since the beginning. It’s just so great to come out here and beat them because we kind of have a rivalry going on, but it’s so much of a friendship, too. It’s ridiculous how close we get just over the last few weeks of track.”
Right on his heels, Westendorf had one thing on his mind as he rapidly approached the finish line: to beat Hall. And although trailing by two-tenths of a second, Westendorf is still happy with the results.
“It’s kind of just crazy,” Westendorf said. “Sophomore I got seventh so it’s good that I did better, and I had a good race.”
The Kentwood boys’ 400-meter relay team placed second last Friday while the Kent-Meridian girls came in fifth in the 400 relay. Kentlake’s Tori Lanza took third with a time of 44.32 in the girls’ 300 hurdles last Saturday with Kentridge’s Lexi Klinkenerg settling for fifth in 44.86.
Kentwood’s Beth Parrish came in second in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet, 3 inches.
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