The Langley Middle School track and field team finished its season on June 2 at the league championship meet at King’s High School in Shoreline.
The team of 85 seventh and eighth grade students finished in fifth place on the girls team, and sixth place on the boys team. There are six schools in the league: Granite Falls, Sultan, King’s, Lakewood, Langley and Coupeville. Granite Falls won the boys team title and Lakewood won the girls team title.
Divisions are decided by grade, with seventh grade competing in the junior varsity meet and eighth grade competing in the varsity meet.
Langley won three events at the championship meet. The 400-meter relay, the 800-meter run and the 1600-meter run. There was a common thread in those first-place finishes: eighth grade student Cole Zink.
“He’s a great runner,” said Langley head coach Don Zisette. “He’s just dedicated, he works really hard and he’s a great kid.”
In the 800, Zink ran his fastest time in 2 minutes, 14.06 seconds. In the 1600, he ran his second-best time in 4 minutes, 57.25 seconds. Coach Zisette said both times were close to matching the school records.
Zink, Brandon Chapman, Hunter Parrick and Andy Zisette ran the four legs of the 400-meter relay in 49.69 seconds. Zisette and Parrick are the only members of the relay team who also competed in the 100-meter sprint.
Chapman finished third in the long jump at 16 feet, 3 inches. Parrick finished second in the 110-meter hurdles in 17.43 seconds.
Zisette, in his sixth season as the head track and field coach, praised the team’s attitude and effort.
“We had a great group of athletes,” he said.
Mallorie Mitchem, a seventh grade Cougar, finished second in the 800. She ran her fastest time in 2 minutes, 46.3 seconds. Primarily a distance runner, she also ran the 1600 and placed fourth in 6 minutes, 20.4 seconds.
Zoe Tapert, also a seventh grade Cougar, finished second with her best jump of the season. She cleared 4 feet, 2 inches.
Another seventh grade Cougar, Hannah Douglas, finished in second place in the discus. She threw her season’s best mark for 56 feet, 9 inches.
Coach Zisette credited the coaching staff for progressing the team to set personal records throughout the season. The other coaches are Mark Bigger (throwing coach), Shauna Davies (hurdles) and Mark Eager (jumps and relays).
Zisette also wanted to thank the teams’ leaders: Audrey Neubauer, Chloe Huffman, Emma Lungren, Ellie Andersen, Kristen Schuster, Joe Neil, Hunter Parrick and Savannah Odle.