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Pole vaulters tend to be a very congenial group.
So when Mercer Island junior Bryce Borer needed a pole for Friday's 3A competition at Star Track XXVI, he turned to 4A champion Ian Quinn and asked to borrow one of his.
No problem. Borer then used Quinn's pole and beat out a deep field to capture the state title at Edgar Brown Stadium by clearing 15 feet, 3 inches.
"The key was I was able to stay relaxed," said Borer, who finished eighth at state a year ago and set a 9-inch personal-best. "That was the difference between this year and last."
Borer was one of nine 3A champions crowned on the first day of the two-day state meet.
Mount Rainier, led by 3,200 titlist Ryan Prentice, leads the boys standings after Day 1 with 15 points, but looming right behind is West Seattle, which got 14 points from long jump champion Christian Crain and fifth-place jumper Brandon Brown.
"We don't have a lot of people here, so we're all trying to get as many points as we can," Crain said.
Defending champion Everett as well as Union also did well in Friday's prelims on the track and should be in the title hunt.
Kamiakin leads the girls standings with 31 points. The Braves also are in good position to at least take home a trophy, with Elise Jepsen going in today's triple jump and Olivia Johnston having made the finals in both hurdles races.
"Not bad for just sending five girls here," Johnston said.
Boys
Crain took over the lead in the long jump on his final jump in the prelims, going a state-leading 23-7 3/4.
It turned out to be perfect timing. He had to immediately race off to run a leg in the 4x100, and when he returned, he couldn't find the board and scratched all three of his jumps in the finals.
Prentice came in a big favorite in the 3,200, with a season-best of 8:59.76 that was 15 seconds faster than anyone else in the field.
But Lakes' Seth Bridges made Prentice, the reigning cross country champion, work for his first track title, taking the lead on the seventh lap and holding it until the final 200 meters, when Prentice blew by him to eventually win in 9:16.42.
"He did the same thing last week (at districts), and he didn't have enough to take it home the last 200," Prentice said. "So I figured if I do the same thing again, it would work for me again."
Enumclaw senior Conner Larned showed why he was the overwhelming favorite in the discus, going 177-6 on his first throw of the day and winning by more than 11 feet.
"I was looking for a PR (personal record), but it's still satisfying," he said. "Obviously, there a little bit of pressure, but I knew if I could just throw to my potential and not choke, I'd be all right."
Girls
Everett senior Kirsten Smith and Arlington senior Kjirsten Jensen have faced each other in numerous shot put competitions the last couple of years, and Smith had come out on top only one time -- until Friday.
Smith had the best throw in the prelims and then popped her winning throw of 39-0 1/4 on her first throw in the finals to beat Jensen, the defending state champion.
"I thought this was a possibility, but I'm still kind of shocked right now. Discus is the one I thought I had a better chance to win," said Smith, who now hopes to dethrone Jensen in the discus today, coming in as the No. 1 qualifier.
Smith's victory was one of three by Northwest District athletes on Day 1.
Sedro-Woolley senior Emily Warman jumped a personal-best 18-2 1/4 on her first attempt of the day to win the long jump.
"That's what I always try to do, come out and get a first big jump," said Warman, headed to Western Washington next fall for soccer and track. "I was hoping to get into the 18s today, and winning never hurts."
Squalicum senior Bronwyn Crossman, the reigning cross country champion, held off Natty Plunkett of Newport (Bellevue) to win the 3,200 in 10:59.37.
Crossman, the runner-up at state in the 3,200 a year ago, sensed Plunkett closing on her as the crowd roared for the close finish.
"The atmosphere got really thick there, and I just had to find that kick," Crossman said. "I made it happen today, but just barely."
Enumclaw senior Mileka Grager went 134-9 on her third throw in the javelin prelims to claim victory a year after placing third here. She used her sixth-place finish in the shot earlier in the day as inspiration.
"I'd been here all three years in the shot and finally placed, so I had a lot of confidence coming into this," she said. "I just hoped for the best and it happened."
