Track and field athletes from Olympia, Capital and Yelm high schools braved the heavy rain at Olympia’s Ingersoll Stadium and competed at the Olympia Jamboree Wednesday afternoon to mark the start of the 2026 spring campaign.
Carson Godfrey, Olympia’s reigning 4A state shot put champion, started the season with a dominant victory, throwing 59 feet, 7 inches to win by over 22 feet. At last season’s Olympia Jamboree, he threw 58-8 and didn’t reach 59-7 until April 9. Olympia sophomore Tucker Downing, a state finalist in javelin last spring, threw 150-9 to place first Wednesday.
Yelm senior Isabelle Arena earned a convincing win in javelin, throwing 95-11 to cruise by over 31 feet ahead of the second-place finisher.
Capital junior Jae Walz cleared the finish line in the boys 800 meters in 2:03.59, four seconds faster than second-place teammate Malachi Cardona. Olympia senior Caden Durocher won the 1,600 meters in 4:27.14, while four Yelm runners — Marcos Andujar, Patrick Walsh, Peter Robbins and Ethan Stewart — made up the rest of the top five.
Yelm senior Jay Sumich, a ninth-place finisher in the long jump at state last spring, jumped 19-6 to win the event Wednesday.
Olympia girls won every non-hurdle track event during the jamboree. Sophomore Makenzie Bendiksen made an impressive varsity debut in the 100 meters, finishing in 13.66 seconds to take the first-place prize. Senior Audrey Leneker (27.98 seconds) took first in the 200 meters, while sophomore Annelise Jones secured the 400-meter title in 61.90 seconds. Junior Carolina Schilter dominated the 800 meters, winning in 2:27.73 and 10 seconds faster than anyone else, and freshman Leah Hennen dazzled in the 1,600 meters, finishing in 5:38.93.
Yelm senior Eliana Lewis and sophomore Klarissa Gurov earned titles in the 100-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles, respectively.
Olympia boys clinched the top four spots in the 100-meter dash, led by sophomore Rylan Thomas in first place at 11.70 seconds. Bears freshman Evan Molenda picked up his first varsity victory in the 400 meters at 61.29 seconds.
Capital senior Gus Valek collected a win in discus, throwing 127-6, better than any regular-season throw from his junior campaign. Capital sophomore Katelin Vance, a sprinter and javelin thrower last season, tried her hand at shot put and won the event with a throw of 33-2. Olympia senior Bennie Asomaning, a top-15 4A discus thrower at state last year, tossed 110-7 to earn a comfortable win.
Olympia boys won 10 of the 14 events, with Capital and Yelm each winning two. Olympia girls won nine events, while Yelm triumphed in three and Capital won one.
Olympia and Yelm will square off at Yelm High School on Thursday, March 19, while Capital will face Lincoln at home on Wednesday, March 25.
