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The statement startled Union sophomore Kinsley Ojukwu for a second.
Ojukwu had just won the 100-meter 3A final Saturday in a wind-aided 10.73 seconds at Star Track XXVI at Edgar Brown Stadium when it was pointed out that he was the first state champion in the school's history.
Granted, the Vancouver-area school only opened this year, but still it was an historic moment.
Ojukwu quickly recovered. "It feels great," said the Evergreen transfer, who took second in the 4A 100 last year.
It was perhaps the only time during the day in which Ojukwu wasn't in complete control. He came back later to win the 200 (21.79) and the triple jump (46 feet, 43/4 inches), helping his team finish second in the team standings with 44 points.
"I had bad memories of this place," said Ojukwu, who suffered a shin injury at last month's Pasco Invite and had to withdraw from the 200 after failing to place in the 100. "But they're gone now. Now it's fun."
Ojukwu's three titles highlighted a day of big performances on the second day of the state track and field championships.
Mount Rainier's Ryan Prentice came back after winning Friday's 3,200 to outkick a trio of rivals and win the 1,600. J Hopkins of Everett repeated as 300 hurdles champion, while a pair of Pac-10 football recruits -- Bellevue's David DeCastro (Stanford) and O'Dea's Johri Fogerson (UW) -- won field event titles.
North Central, with senior David Butler's victory in the 110 hurdles, won its first-ever team title with 51 points.
In the girls meet, Eastmont senior Morgan Clem repeated her unique double wins in the 100 and the 300 hurdles, while Charnay Combs of Rainier Beach became a three-time champion in the 200. Two athletes repeated in the field events -- Kjirsten Jensen of Arlington in the discus and Olivia Ward of Cleveland in the triple jump.
Clem also ran on a pair of placing relays to help Eastmont win its first title since 2002 with 51 points.
Boys
Prentice wasn't sure he'd have enough in reserve after using a big kick to win the 3,200 the previous evening.
But with 200 meters left, he made his move to the front of the pack and had three runners -- Seattle Prep's Erik Berg, Skyline's Simon Sorensen and NC's Leon Dean -- trailing in his wake.
Berg looked for a split second as if he would catch Prentice, who came up with one last surge to pull out a half-second victory in 4:18.64.
"Those last 200 felt so bad," Prentice said. "My calves felt like they were 10 pounds heavier today."
Hopkins was upset after Butler's dominating victory in the 110 hurdles, where he ran 14.22 to Hopkins' 14.50. "Oh man, I wanted the gap to be 10 times farther (in the 300s)," he said.
It was close. Hopkins ran a 37.68 in the 300 final, just .03 off the meet record and No. 16 all-time in state history.
"I wanted that state record," Hopkins said, jumping in frustration and spilling his cup of water. "That's been one of my goals all season."
DeCastro won the day's first title, dominating the shot put with a throw of 58-9 3/4 -- a personal best by 5 inches for the 6-4, 285-pound offensive lineman.
"I always thought of the shot put as a hobby," he said. "This raises it to another level. It makes it a little more exciting."
Fogerson, the state's player of the year in football as a running back, won the high jump by clearing 6-8 on his first attempt, just brushing the bar on his way over and sprinting away from the mat as if it were a linebacker, looking over his shoulder to make sure it stayed up.
"I've just been out here for fun the whole time," he said. "But I'm also out here to win."
Girls
Clem sat out the first month and a half of the season because of a stress fracture in her left shin. She wore a protective boot for several weeks and didn't compete for the first time until the Pasco Invite.
"I was getting pretty emotional, not being able to work out. I was scared I wouldn't be able to come back," she said. "I was depressed. I felt I would be out of shape. Once I was back on the track, my coaches had to tell me to slow down, because I was so excited to be back."
The past two weeks she showed that she was rounding into shape just fine, and she dominated both her races Saturday. She won the 100 in 11.90, moving into a tie for 15th on the all-time state list, then came back and won the 300 hurdles by almost two seconds in a state-leading 43.10.
"I was shooting for a 41, though. I wanted it so bad," she said.
Combs again came into the state meet not among the leaders in her event -- her season-best of 25.52 was seventh in the 3A ranks. But something about Edgar Brown suits her.
"I just love this track. The corner seems wide here," said Combs, who won in 24.84. "It's my favorite track, the 200 is my favorite race, and this is state. It's a different feeling here. I just push harder when I get here."
Jensen was denied a second straight shot put title by Everett's Kirsten Smith on Friday, but she got her revenge in the discus, winning for the second straight year with a throw of 133-3 in the event in which Smith was the 3A state leader.
"Yesterday, I was feeling sick, and I'm still not 100 percent," Jensen said. "But I knew that this was it. I had to bring something home from here. This was my last chance."
Ward won the triple jump with a best of 38-5 -- a foot farther than she jumped last year to win but well off her season- and career-best of 39-3 1/4.
"Yeah, I'm happy I won state, but I'm disappointed I didn't get a 40-footer," she said.
West Valley junior Lisa Olander also was disappointed she couldn't crack 2:12 in the 800, but considering two months ago she was sidelined with a severe groin pull, winning in 2:14.18 was sweet consolation.
A two-time champion in the 1,600, she decided against the longer race to focus on the 800.
"It was the right thing to do this year," she said. "Next year, though, who knows?"
