Federal Way triple jumpers finish 1-2-3 on podium, add to 4A boys team lead

Lauren Smith
·6 min read

Federal Way High School seniors Roman Hutchinson, Jaylon Jenkins and Julian Gene Fortin broke out the brooms and started sweeping the runway early Friday afternoon at Mount Tahoma Stadium in Tacoma.

Minutes earlier, the three teammates completed a convincing performance in the Class 4A boys triple jump on the second day of competition at the track and field state championships.

The Eagles had three competitors in the field in the event — and they finished one-two-three to add 24 points to their lead in the 4A boys team race.

With six of 17 events scored, Federal Way sits atop the 4A standings with 40.5 points. Kamiak (40), defending champion Lake Stevens (17) and Kentridge (14) round out the top four.

The Eagles, after finishing second in the team race last spring, are determined to keep their lead out of reach throughout Saturday’s final day of competition.

“We’re going for the top, for sure,” Hutchinson said. “Very motivated. We’re all excited and ready to run.”

Jenkins and Fortin were the first to tally team points for the Eagles on Thursday’s opening day. Jenkins, the statewide leader in the high jump this spring, won the 4A championship at 6 feet, 8 inches. Fortin also reached the podium, placing third at 6-2.

That gave the Eagles an early lead in the team race, and Friday morning’s stellar results in the triple jump significantly extended it.

Federal Way’s Roman Hutchinson leaps to a state title in the 4A boys triple jump competition during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Federal Way’s Roman Hutchinson leaps to a state title in the 4A boys triple jump competition during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Hutchinson won his first individual state title in the event, posting personal-bests on two of his attempts, jumping 47-5 1/2 on his third attempt and the winning distance of 47-7 1/4 on his sixth.

He led the competition from the second jump on, but the final jump was his career-best.

“My first couple jumps I wasn’t attacking my second phase, I wasn’t getting my foot down, and so I wasn’t getting the propulsion that I needed,” Hutchinson said. “I came back to the sideline, talked to my coach a little bit. He was like, ‘If you just get your foot down, use your arms, you’ll hit a mark,’ and that’s what happened.

“I hit that first 47-5 I think it was, and after that, I was just trying to go for 48. Trying to chase it. My last one I tried to put everything into it, and popped up with another PR, so I’m happy.”

Federal Way’s Jaylon Jenkins jumps to a second place finish in the 4A boys triple jump competition during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Federal Way’s Jaylon Jenkins jumps to a second place finish in the 4A boys triple jump competition during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Jenkins placed second, with his best jump of 47-2 also on the sixth attempt. Fortin took third with a 45-10 1/2 on his fourth jump.

All three surpassed 45 feet on at least four of their six attempts during the contest.

“To come out here and have all of us be top-three, it felt amazing,” Hutchinson said. “We put in a lot of work. We came in here thinking that we could get top three if we all perform … and to have it come true is great.”

Hutchinson’s win completes Federal Way’s sweep of the 4A triple jump this spring, after junior Cassandra Atkins repeated as champion in the 4A girls competition on Thursday.

Jenkins’ win in the high jump and Hutchinson’s in the triple jump also have Federal Way in position to sweep the 4A boys jumping events Saturday afternoon, with only the long jump remaining. The Eagles have talked about the possibility all season.

“It’s crazy to believe actually, but I do think we can pull it off,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson is the overall state leader in the event — he jumped a personal-best 24-3 at the Shoreline Invitational in late April — while Eagles senior Andre Jordan ranks fourth statewide and third in 4A (23-2 1/4) and Jenkins ranks eighth in the state and fourth in 4A (22-9).

Atkins could also add another title in the long jump, entering Saturday’s 4A girls competition with the top jump in the state this spring (20-0 3/4).

Federal Way junior Sam Wah also added to the Eagles’ points total in the 4A boys team competition with a podium finish in the 110 hurdles (eighth, 15.46).

The Eagles will get the chance to continue piling up points in several more races on the track Saturday.

Jordan qualified for the finals in the 100 and 200 on Friday, and freshman Alex Thach qualified in the 800. Federal Way’s 4x100 relay team of sophomore Austin May, Jordan, junior Xavier Garms-Huricks and Hutchinson takes the No. 3 seed into the finals.

Yelm’s Trevontay Smith leaps to a second-place finish in the 3A boys long jump competition during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Yelm’s Trevontay Smith leaps to a second-place finish in the 3A boys long jump competition during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Yelm also has a commanding lead in the 3A boys team race with seven of 17 events scored. The Tornados have 49 points — including three titles — after two days of events, well ahead of current second-place team Eastside Catholic (18 points).

Senior Trevontay Smith scored a quick 10 points for Yelm on Thursday, setting a meet record to repeat as 3A boys triple jump champion (personal-best 50-4 1/2), and added a second-place finish in the long jump (22-4) on Friday afternoon.

Junior Isaiah Patterson won title for the Tornados in the discus (personal-best 177-4) and junior Jordan Lasher added another in the pole vault (15-6). Lasher also picked up a podium finish in the 110 hurdles (sixth, 15.04).

Junior Brayden Platt finished second in the javelin (personal-best 216-0) on Thursday, and is the top-ranked thrower in the state in the shot put (63-11 3/4) this spring entering Saturday’s competition.

Lynden (33 points) leads the 2A boys team race with seven of 17 events scored.

Emerald Ridge’s JaiCieonna Gero-Holt clears the bar en route to a state title in the 4A girls high jump during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023. Gero-Holt followed up the high jump victory with a state championship in the 4A girls 100-meter hurdles, her third state title of the weekend so far.

Emerald Ridge leads the 4A girls team competition following seven of 18 events with 41 points, including three individual championships from JaiCieonna Gero-Holt.

The Jaguars sophomore won the javelin (personal-best 139-3) on Thursday, and added two more titles Friday, repeating in both the high jump (5-10) and 100 hurdles (14.45).

Gero-Holt has one more event Saturday in the long jump, and has the second-ranked jump in the state this spring (18-9 3/4), trailing only Atkins. Gero-Holt is the defending champion in the event.

Emerald Ridge’s JaiCieonna Gero-Holt runs to a state title in the 4A girls 100-meter hurdles during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023. Just minutes earlier, Gero-Holt won the high jump state title, giving her three state championships in two days.

Jaguars senior Emme Bates also added to Emerald Ridge’s team-leading total in the 1,600 (fourth, personal-best 4:57.36) on Thursday, while junior Emma Morrison reached the podium in the shot put (eighth, 36-0 1/4) and junior Grace Wesenberg in the high jump (fourth, personal-best 5-2) on Friday.

Bates also qualified for Saturday’s final in the 800, while junior Mikayla Gardley qualified in the 300 hurdles.

Kelso (23 points) is the current leader in the 3A girls team competition with seven of 18 events scored, just ahead of Spanaway Lake (22).

Bellingham (27) leads the way in the 2A girls standings with six events scored, with Orting (24) not far behind.

Squalicum’s Andre Korbmacher runs to a state title in the 2A boys 110-meter high hurdles during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Squalicum’s Andre Korbmacher runs to a state title in the 2A boys 110-meter high hurdles during the second day of the WIAA state track and field championships at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington, on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Three athletes successfully defended their state championship wins from last spring on Friday’s second day in Tacoma.

Bothell senior Haedyn Bambolo, an Arizona signee, repeated as the 4A girls shot put champion with a winning throw of 47-1 on her second attempt.

All six of Bambolo’s throws would have won the event. Her personal-best 48-7 during a league meet in late April still ranks eighth in the nation this season.

Gero-Holt repeated in both the high jump and 100 hurdles with less than an hour between the two events.

Squalicum senior Andre Korbmacher, who is headed to Florida State, wrapped up his career with a second consecutive title in the 2A boys 110 hurdles, resetting his own meet record — for the second time in as many days — with a winning time of 13.74.