For the second year in a row, the 3A girls high jump state title is staying in the Tri-Cities.
A year ago, it was Kamiakin's Elise Jepsen who stood atop the medals stand. Friday afternoon at Edgar Brown Stadium, Jepsen was bested by Hanford junior Taymussa Miller, who won at Star Track XXVI with a jump of 5 feet, 5 inches.
"This feels really good," Miller said. "It's how I imagined it feeling."
Miller was the lone area champion on the first day of the two-day 4A/3A state championships. Kamiakin, though, took a big step toward bringing home team hardware in the 3A girls, scoring 31 points thanks to a trio of jumpers and javelin thrower Richelle Stewart.
Day 1 ended with controversy as Bellarmine senior Nicole Cochran was disqualified in the 4A girls 3,200 after her apparent victory.
She was ruled to have run on the inside line of the track on the far curve of Lap 7 of the race, right at the moment she made her decisive move.
In a touching display following the awards ceremony, Shadle Park sophomore Andrea Nelson -- awarded the victory after the disqualification -- found Cochran in the infield and put the first-place medal around her neck.
"It's your medal," Nelson said. "You're the state champion."
Despite Cochran's disqualification, Bellarmine still is in good shape to win the team title. The Lions still have Cochran in the 800 and 1,600 finals today and advanced seven runners and two relays.
Shadle Park leads the 4A girls standings with 20 points after Day 1.
Mead leads the 4A boys with 15.5 points, and Mount Rainier -- paced by 3,200 champion Ryan Prentice -- leads the 3A boys with 15 points.
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