TACOMA — No distance runner in the United States has ever had a freshman season like Olympia High School’s Quenton Lanese.
One week after he broke the national freshman record in the 1,600 meters by less than a second at the district championships, he splintered his own record at the state meet Thursday, crossing the finish line in 4 minutes and 4.59 seconds.
Lanese’s second-place finish in the event was also the third-fastest 1,600-meter time by a male runner in Washington state meet history, regardless of classification. One competitor prevented Lanese from adding a state title to his resumé: Amin Fidaar, a senior from Rogers High School in Puyallup.
After the two South Puget Sound League rivals exchanged leads in the first three laps, Fidaar took a sizable advantage in the fourth lap. As Fidaar began to slow down in the final 400 meters, Lanese turned up the jets, passing Camas’ Cohen Butler around the 200-meter mark with only Fidaar in front of him.
Fidaar, sensing Lanese gunning for the finish line behind him, picked up the pace while frequently looking behind him. Lanese got shoulder to shoulder with Fidaar in the final 50 meters, but Fidaar earned the edge at 4:04.57, just two-hundredths of a second ahead of Lanese. If it wasn’t for Anacortes senior Dylan Rowell running a time of 4:03.65 in the 2A race earlier in the day, Fidaar and Lanese would own the top two 1,600 times in state meet history.
The last time the two runners squared off in the 1,600 meters at the district championships in Kent last week, Fidaar defeated Lanese by nine-hundredths of a second as Lanese set the freshman record for the first time.
“It’s actually insane,” Lanese said of the back-to-back epic finishes against Fidaar. “It was definitely something special today. I wasn’t expecting to be able to go this fast at state. I didn’t feel that good in the warmup, but I knew that I could put myself in a place to be able to win. I got nipped by .02 at the end, but I’m super happy with the time today.”
Lanese is far from a stranger to the national spotlight. He’s won national championships and broken records since he started running competitively as a second grader. But in the past couple of weeks as he’s set the national freshman records in both the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 meters, the attention he’s received has been different. It started when he broke sub-9 minutes in the 3,200 meters at the Arcadia Invitational in California back in April, and he was the subject of a feature story on FOX 13 Seattle after last week’s record-breaking performance.
“It’s gotten pretty crazy. There’s a lot more media attention toward me. It’s been a lot, but it’s kind of cool,” Lanese said, adding teachers at Olympia High School have recognized him and praised him after seeing him on TV. “I don’t think students pay that much attention to the news nowadays, but the teachers do, so that’s cool.”
Olympia senior Caden Durocher was not far behind Lanese, taking fourth in the 1,600 meters at 4:08.82 to pick up his first state medal in the event. Thursday’s race was his first trip to state in the event since his freshman year in 2023, when he finished 14th.
Lanese will compete in the 3,200-meter finals on Saturday, looking to surpass his national freshman record time of 8:47.43 and secure a state championship. The last Olympia male distance runner to win a state title was Ethan Coleman, who took home the crown in both the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters in 2022.
While one Olympia Bear seeks state glory, another was tasked with defending it Thursday. Senior Carson Godfrey, the 2025 4A shot put state champion, faced a much tougher competition field than he did a year ago.
Last spring, 60 feet and 10.5 inches was enough to win the state title. This year, Godfrey stepped up his game, throwing 60-10.75 in his final shot put state competition, but it equaled a third-place medal. Lake Washington senior Angus Jones destroyed his previous PR on each of his final two throws to finish second at 62-11.75, and Mead all-world thrower Simon Rosselli hit 68-0.75 on his second attempt to clinch the state title.
“It was exciting. It always brings out something good in you when you’re going against good throwers,” Godfrey said. “It shows that track’s just getting better. It’s ‘trackflation.’ I wasn’t able to get it done today, but I’m confident I can do something better than that at [Nike Outdoor] Nationals. It was somewhat disappointing today. I expected much bigger this year, but the season’s not over.”
Godfrey, rocking dyed blonde hair for the state meet, came out of the gates swinging, clearing 60 feet on his first throw of the day. Rosselli launched his first throw 63 feet, 11.25 inches, to storm into the lead, and after the University of Oregon commit stunned the packed stands with 68-0.75 on his second toss, it seemed to be a fight for second place among the rest of the field.
The field brought its best during the finals, with all nine surpassing 50 feet at least twice and the top three hitting 60 feet. Godfrey’s fifth toss landed at 60-10.75, and upon its demise in the dirt, he knew it was his best of the day.
After he fouled his final throw, the emotions of his final state meet began to seep in. Godfrey hadn’t felt them walking into the stadium, but the reality that he had just one more trip to the Mount Tahoma throwing field left — discus on Saturday — and one more meet in an Olympia uniform was heavy on his mind. Still, he has plenty of throwing ahead of him after high school, as he’s signed to the University of Montana.
“It’s been a place where I could call home. They just mean everything to me,” Godfrey said of Olympia and throwing coach Justin Christiansen. “I’ll miss them. I’ll make sure to come visit in college.”
Timberline senior Carmelo Roper earned his third career podium finish in the 3A boys triple jump and his best one yet, taking second place at 45-8.75. He is the second consecutive Timberline male jumper to finish as the triple jump runner-up as DJ Falco took second in 2025.
Roper entered the finals in third place, and after fouling on his penultimate attempt in the final round, he stuck the landing on his last jump to secure second place.
Similarly to Godfrey, Roper felt slight disappointment with his performance as he fell short of his goal of a school record, which stands at 47-6.75. But after a fifth-place finish in 2025 and a third-place medal in 2024, he ended his triple jump career on a high note.
“It still felt good securing second place. I have a lot of people at home watching, and I know that they’re proud of me,” Roper said. “There isn’t anything to be upset about.”
Roper is part of an elite history of triple jumpers at Timberline. The last state champion was Jamarcus Graham in 2019, and Jaylen Taylor, the school record holder, was a state runner-up in 2017. Austin Parker also finished second in 2015. Back in the 1980s, Johnny Taylor won three consecutive state championships from 1984 to 1986, and Richie Taylor followed it up with a title in 1987.
Above all of the records and state medals, Roper is proudest of the impact he’s made on those who will follow in his footsteps.
“I’m proud to be looked up to. I feel really blessed to have that impact on people and to have people look up to me,” he said.
On Friday, Roper will compete for a state medal in the long jump for the first time. His goals are to reach a new PR and have fun in his final event as a Timberline Blazer before he moves on to Texas State University.
“I’m so used to being in green and gold. I’m one step away from being in red and gold,” Roper, who started competing in track as a sophomore, said. “Two years ago, I saw myself being the absolute best that I could be. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my coach [Zandrea Edenstrom]. I feel grateful to be here.”
Fellow Timberline senior jumper Paityn Gagnon picked up her first state medal of her career, tying for sixth place in the 3A girls high jump at 5-2. The reigning District 3/4 3A champion was rolling to start the competition, flying through the first three heights (4-8, 4-10 and 5-0) with ease before clearing 5-2 on her second attempt to match her PR.
“I had a good mindset and trusted my mark. We’ve been working to make sure it was perfect,” she said. “I felt good and made sure I was resting my body beforehand, and it worked.”
The 5-4 height played the role of the Grim Reaper during the competition, halting nine jumpers out of the 11 who attempted it, including Gagnon.
“My second attempt was definitely my best attempt,” she said. “Very unfortunate. I’m very hard on myself. I expect a lot out of me. I jumped 5-4 at practice on Monday. I knew I could clear it, but it just didn’t happen. Coming in as the district champion and having all that pressure on me, I think it could have affected me a little bit, but it is what it is.”
Still, Gagnon earned her first spot on the state podium, which was much more packed than she anticipated. She was part of a four-way tie for sixth place, as she and three other jumpers all matched the same trajectory through the high jump obstacle course.
Olympia junior Kam Kronmeyer notched a spot on the boys 4A high jump podium with an eighth-place finish at 6-3, matching his PR. After nailing 5-11 on his first jump, he squeezed past 6-1 on his third try and cleared 6-3 on his second attempt before coming up short at 6-5. Eight competitors failed to reach 6-5 while three needed three attempts, and state champion Jackson Battistoni of Issaquah needed two.
Outside of the 4A boys 1,600 meters, it was a tough day for local runners at state. Capital sophomore Quinn Sebring punched his ticket to the state finals in the 110-meter hurdles with a new PR time of 14.94 seconds. It was the first time he ran under 15 seconds, and his best run was rewarded with a trip to Friday morning’s finals.
Timberline junior Christian Prince was as painfully close as one can be to qualifying for the finals in the 3A 100-meter dash. He ran a new PR of 10.967, but he was the last runner outside of the final pool as the eighth-place runner crossed the finish line in 10.962.
Olympia freshman Leah Hennen capped off an impressive debut prep season with a 15th-place run in the 1,600 meters at 5:20.58.
River Ridge sophomore Akela Brooks matched her PR in the high jump at 5-0 but couldn’t continue due to an ankle injury, finishing in 15th place.
Yelm senior Samuel DeJiacomo advanced to the 4A boys shot put finals and took ninth at 50-11.5 in his first trip to state. Timberline senior Devin Rohrback, the District 3/4 3A javelin champion, earned 18th at state at 144-11.
The Olympia girls 4x200 relay team, which qualified for state for the first time since 2010, recorded a 13th-place time in prelims at 1:44.61, while the 4x400 relay team finished in 16th at 4:08.13.
Olympia’s boys 4x400 relay team took 17th in the 4A prelims at 3:30.40, and Timberline’s 4x400 relay quartet posted a time of 3:31.48 to finish in 21st in the 3A prelims.
Capital junior Pippin Crump, in her state debut, notched a 14th-place run in the 100-meter hurdles prelims at 16.11 seconds, and Yelm senior Collin Davis was 15th in the 110-meter hurdle prelims at 15.39 seconds.
Three local female sprinters competed in the 3A 100-meter dash prelims: Timberline junior Hannah Jackson, 17th at 12.54, Timberline sophomore Joyce Izuagbe, 21st at 12.64, and River Ridge senior Iliana Cross, 27th at 12.97.
