South Kitsap track and field relay team aiming for state sweep: ‘Knock on wood!’

When asked to describe relay racing in one word, South Kitsap seniors Savannah Kambich, Marissa Crane and twin sisters Ella and Elise Hopper connected four different answers together: trust, intensity, confidence and team.

Based on how the Wolves' times in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relays stack up with the rest of the state, South Kitsap could be a serious contender to sweep all three events at the Class 4A state track and field championships, held May 26-28 at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

The next hurdle for the Wolves to clear is state qualification. South Kitsap will participate at the 4A West Central/Southwest Bi-District championships at French Field in Kent on Wednesday and Friday. The top six finishers in each relay event move onto state.

"Knock on wood!" Kambich said while tapping on a bench during a recent practice at the high school.

Two weeks ago, the Wolves ranked as the top team in the state in all classifications in all three relay events. Richland has since passed South Kitsap for No. 1 in the 4x100 with a time of 49.19 seconds (the Wolves ran 49.29 at the South Puget Sound League championships May 14).

In the 4x200, South Kitsap's 1:42.71 — the winning time at the Nike/Jesuit meet in Oregon on April 29 — is more than a half second ahead of No. 2 Redmond. The Wolves ran 3:55.67 in the 4x400 at the SPSL championships, which currently puts them two and a half seconds clear of No. 2 Redmond.

South Kitsap girls track and field coach Paul Zimmer said it's pretty rare for four runners to contend for three relay titles at state.

“It’s a pretty wide range," Zimmer said. "You are going from the 100 all the way to the 400.”

Kambich, Crane and the Hopper sisters didn't even start competing in the 4x100 until mid-April. None of the four runners would consider themselves short sprinters, so the race almost seemed like an afterthought until they combined forces and saw the results.

"The first time we ran it was on senior night, we broke the school record," Ella Hopper said.

The 4x100 features three "blind" exchanges, where the receivers are focused on getting up to speed in the exchange zone and reaching back blindly while awaiting the passing of the baton.

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Since the 4x100 is the shortest of the relay races, any sort of miscue in the exchange zone is magnified. One tenth of a second slowdown can be costly at a state meet.

"There's just a whole lot (less) room for error," Zimmer said.

The Wolves use the same order in the 4x200 as the 4x100: Kambich leads off, followed by Crane, Elise Hopper and Ella Hopper. The 4x200 is the only relay race featuring a staggered start, where runners on the inside lanes start farther back than those on the outside lanes.

South Kitsap uses open handoffs in the 4x200 and 4x400, so receivers look the baton into their hands during exchanges. In the 4x400, Crane leads off instead of Kambich.

If the Wolves could choose to win any race at state, it'd probably be the 4x400.

“In my opinion, it’s the most entertaining and the hardest," Crane said. "It’s a longer race, so there’s more time for people to move. It’s fun to watch.”

Runners' abilities to handle the different race lengths is one thing. Managing schedules on the last day of the state meet is another. The finals of all three relays are scheduled for May 28 with the 4x200 at 10:45 a.m., the 4x100 at 1:35 p.m. and the 4x400 at 5:45 p.m.

In between the relays are individual events, so Zimmer said he'll need to be mindful of his athletes' workload at state. Ella Hopper is the top 4A competitor in the 300 hurdles and in the 400, so she could be in for a busy Saturday. Zimmer said freshman Lauren Laws would serve as a 4x400 relay alternate if needed.

The fact that the Wolves competed in all three races on the same day at the Nike/Jesuit meet gives the team confidence it can handle another 3-in-1 scenario at the season's culminating event.

"It was exactly how state is going to go for us," Elise Hopper said.

As four seniors, Kambich, Crane and the Hopper sisters are excited to know they'll graduate as school record-holders in all three relay events — and possible state champions in all three.

“That’s what makes the season so exciting," Crane said. "We all get to do it together for our last year, accomplish all this together and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: High school track: South Kitsap aims for Washington state sweep