Ridgefield WA Senior Will Have A Final Go At Weight Throw Record

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

More than any other record, Trey Knight of Ridgefield WA would love to break the national record in the hammer. With one spring season left, he's in range of it. 

The indoor weight throw record would be nice, too, but Knight has a healthy respect for Conor McCullough's 2009 high school record mark of 93-3.25 (28.42m) and knows he doesn't have a lot of opportunities left to chase it. 

Last week at the Simplot Games in Idaho, Knight entered the competition with a throw that went 80 feet, 11 inches (24.66m) – and then made progress to 84 feet (25.60m) on his next two attempts. 

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In the finals, the USC recruit tried his best keep tacking on distance but all three of his remaining attempts overshot the sector line on the left side. 

A piece of tape had been placed at the 90-foot mark. Knight's final attempt sailed four feet out of bounds, but would have measured about 89 feet. 

"I still feel like I can catch a big one," Knight said. 

Saturday at the University of Washington High School Invitational, Knight gets six more throws – possibly the final attempts of his high school career in the 25-pound weight throw. He said he wasn't planning to go New Balance Nationals Indoor, where he won the event in 2018 and 2019.

The Washington High School Invite primarily serves athletes from Washington and Oregon – two states that have very little organized indoor track competition during the winter.

This meet, then, is for the dedicated programs looking for results to measure winter training. 

There are some intriguing matchups, and entrants from British Columbia, California and Colorado and elsewhere bring additional quality to the fields. 

One of the best races could unfold in the girls 3,000 meters. Two of the country's top freshmen, Lauren Ping from Arizona and Kate Peters from Oregon, are headliners in a race that includes sophomore Ava Parekh from Illinois, Kendra Lewis from British Columbia, Sofia Abrego from California, Julia David-Smith from Washington and Alexis Kebbe from Oregon.

Westview OR's Colleen Uzoekwe, who won three Oregon 6A state titles last spring, has a couple of competitive tests lined up. She'll race Jahzara Richardson of Oaks Christian CA, Faith Richardson from Seattle Speed (Renton WA) and Adaji Osaro-Igwe from Tacoma Track (Tahoma WA) in the 200 meters. 

Then, in the long jump, Uzoekwe will face Hannah Ganashamoorthy from Monroe WA.

In the 400, Takiya Cenci from Clovis North CA, a California state finalist as a freshman, takes on Angelina Shandro from Victoria BC. 

The mile includes North Central WA's Allie Janke, Fiona Max of Mondo Track (Summit OR), Taylor James of REAL Training Colorado (Niwot CO), Ella Borsheim of Bellarmine Prep WA and Parekh.

Rieko Wilford from Alpha Speed (Curtis WA) is in the triple jump, fresh off her PR 40-2.50 and victory at the Simplot Games.

In the boys sprints, Caleb Hagen from Step Ur Game Up (Sherwood OR) comes into the meet with a chance to double in the 60 and 200. 

Sophomore Erik Le Roux, a sophomore from Kokopelli Racing (Cheyenne Mountain CO) will come down from altitude to race the mile after placing second in 4:23.97 last June at the Great Southwest Classic. Brian Martinez from Tahoma WA and Narayana Schneider from McKinley HI are also entered.

In the 3,000 meters, Foot Locker finalists Ahmed Ibrahim (Parkose OR) and Mateo Althouse (Lincoln OR) are in a field that includes Alaska's Tristian Merchant, the 13th-place finisher at NXN.