Mead's Simon Rosselli, Central Valley's Joseph Hilton win state titles | Track and field

May 28-TACOMA - For his school's blue-and-yellow colors, Mead's Simon Rosselli was overjoyed to score 10 points for securing an individual state championship Thursday.

For himself, though, Rosselli fell short of his expectation.

Second a year ago in the 4A shot put, Rosselli threw 68 feet, 3/4 of an inch as the 4A/3A/2A state track and field championships began a three-day run at Mount Tahoma High School.

His five throws were well beyond 63 feet. Nobody has been consistently in the mid-to-upper 60s in 40 years.

Still, Rosselli wanted more.

"I came in wanting to get 70 (feet), knowing I can get 70," Rosselli said. "I don't know what exactly went wrong in my technique. I don't know what I was doing in the technique overall that I could have done better. I'm gonna have to go back and watch the videos. But I am overall upset that I wasn't able to get what I came for."

Rosselli didn't break 60 feet until this season. Shot put had been an afterthought before.

Had Rosselli reached 70, he would have exceeded the all-time best throw by Vince Goldsmith, who did 69-11 in 1977.

"This is still very new for me," Rosselli said. "I never even looked at his record and said that's something I can do. A year ago, when I got second, I thought that was it. I thought that was the best I could do."

Upon more contemplation, though, Rosselli was happy to help his team.

"I got my team points, so we've got to work towards that state title," Rosselli said. "I'm not going to complain about 10 points, but without the record the win is more for the team than anything. We came to show people what we can do and I'm just happy I can bring home some points."

Rosselli is seeking a threepeat in the discus on Saturday. But what he wants more than anything is the national record (237-6). To do so, he'll have to extend his personal best by 12 feet.

Mead senior Jacob Cook added eight unexpected points when he took second in the high jump, eclipsing his personal best with 6-5.

"I wasn't expecting it," Cook said. "I was expecting top eight."

Cook made 6-5 on his final attempt.

"I scraped (the bar) a little," Cook said.

Mead coach James Lehr wasn't surprised in the least with Cook.

"We knew that was in there," Lehr said.

3A: Joseph Hilton of Central Valley didn't get the number he wanted, but he had the finish he envisioned.

Hilton captured a state championship in the triple jump, going 47-3 3/4 and extending his school record by two inches.

His winning jump came on his first attempt in the preliminary heats.

"I came in feeling really good but obviously deteriorated a little," Hilton said. "The first one is all I needed. I can't complain."

Hilton said his opening jump should have been better.

"I dropped my foot back like an extra foot and a half behind me, so I lost about 18 inches," Hilton said.

Hilton has dealt with a sciatic issue for much of the season.

"My body hurts," Hilton said, smiling. "(The state title) is something I've been building towards for a long time. Now that I'm here it feels like I always was here. So I'll get to celebrate once I'm on the (awards) podium. I'm happy to do what I've done and excited for long jump (Friday)."

Hilton said he wouldn't mind a shot of adrenaline in the long jump.

The triple jump was delayed for more than 30 minutes when a jumper broke an ankle. The long pause was caused because an ambulance was slow to respond.

"The delay in the warmups hurt everything," Hilton said. "I was feeling really good, but then having to sit hurt my back. I'm praying for (the injured jumper).

"The goal was to win before any distance. So I'm happy."

-Other medal winners were: Brycen Phillips of Mt. Spokane took second in the 100 ambulatory (13.53 seconds); Quinn Lipke of University took third in the 3A javelin (179-10), Owen Beal of CV was fourth (178-11) and Jackson Randall of Cheney placed fifth (174-1); Elijah Tobin of Lewis and Clark took sixth in the 1,600 (4:11.44); Sam Keevy of East Valley was eighth in the 2A discus (146-10); and James Grainger of Gonzaga Prep took eighth in the 4A shot (51-9).

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This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 11:52 PM.