Pope John Paul II High School senior Lathan Piper narrowly broke the school record in the boys 400 meters Thursday at a SeaTac League Meet at Muckleshoot Tribal School. He beat the mark by .01 seconds, finishing in 53.39 seconds to win the event during the meet.
Piper, a transfer from John S. Burke Catholic High School in Goshen, New York, also won the 110-meter hurdles with a new personal record of 17.24 seconds and took fifth in discus with a new best throw of 88 feet, 11 inches.
Junior Kevin Hu took first in the 800 meters with a PR of 2:04.27, now ranking fourth in school history. He also won the 1,600 meters at 4:40.02. Freshman Francis Cooper earned a first-place finish in the 3,200 meters at 11:27.00 for a new lifetime best.
Junior Samuel Leblanc impressed in both the shot put and discus, finishing in second in both events. He established a new best throw in discus at 95-10 to rank fourth in school history and threw 34-3 in shot put.
For the girls, the Eagles won four running events, highlighted by junior Isla Valpiani winning both the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters. Junior Zoe Green won the 800 meters with a new PR of 2:57.26, and sophomore Shaina Verona took the top prize in the 100-meter dash at 14.29 seconds.
Pope John Paul II competed in the meet against Concordia Christian Academy, Crosspoint Christian, Evergreen Lutheran, Muckleshoot Tribal, Puget Sound Adventist, Redeemer Christian, Summit Atlas and Willows Prep. The Eagles’ next meet is scheduled for Thursday, April 16 at Muckleshoot Tribal School, and they’ll also have competitors at the Mount Tahoma Track Festival on Saturday, April 18.
