First look at the top girls competitors in field events in the 2023 track and field season.
A new era begins this year as we welcome field events.
It's been a long time coming from the day The Runner WA started, but the 2023 season will now have a focus on jumps and throws coverage, completing the whole line up of events and athletes to keep an eye out on this spring.
Here's a look at the top girls competitors in field events to watch for this season.
Cassandra Atkins, Federal Way
This is going to be the season where we really see Cassandra Atkins take off in the long and triple jump. The Federal Way rising star had an incredible sophomore season, jumping marks of 18-11 in long jump and 38-09.75 in triple jump to rank second in the state in both events. Atkins advanced to the 4A state meet for first time in her career and came away with a state title in triple jump and a runner-up finish in long jump, leading the Eagles one spot away from bringing home a state trophy. Atkins also qualified for Nike Outdoor Nationals in triple jump and finished 16th overall. With her junior season underway, Atkins has gone well beyond her triple jump mark from last season, jumping 40-00.75 at the Simplot Games back in February. Atkins opened her outdoor season with a 18-08.5 mark in long jump in a dual with Kent Meridian.
Haedyn Bambolo, Bothell
As far as returning throwers, no one was as dominate as Haedyn Bambolo was in shot put last spring. The University of Arizona commit had herself quite the junior campaign, throwing a personal best mark of 45-07.75 to eclipse her sophomore personal best throw by almost three feet. Bambolo battled it out with Hermiston's Bailey Young in the 4A shot put state final to come away with her first state title victory, winning by over nine inches. She also finished third in discus, which she's thrown a personal best mark of 134-06. Bambolo concluded her season with an all-American finish at Nike Outdoor Nationals in shot put, finishing fourth overall with another personal best throw of 45-10.75, and an 11th place finish in discus. Bambolo opened her senior season at the UW High School Invitational, winning the shot put with a throw of 44-07.75.
JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, Emerald Ridge
It's no secret JaiCieonna Gero-Holt is the best athlete in the state. Her freshman marks speak for themselves, ranking in the top 10 in the state in four of her field events. Highlighted by a No. 1 ranking in high jump with a clearance of 6-00.75, Gero-Holt also jumped 18-05.25 in long jump, threw 135-00 in javelin and threw 40-02.5 in shot put. Gero-Holt took home three 4A state individual titles last spring, with two of them from field events in long jump and high jump. A week later, she'd go on to win the Washington State Combined Events Championships with a scored of 5,108 points for the heptathlon. Gero-Holt saw more success in the summer, winning a Nike Outdoor National title in high jump and earned a spot on the U.S. U20 World Championship team in the heptathlon, where she finished 17th overall in Cali, Colombia.
Amanda Moll, Capital
The greatest era of track and field in Washington state history wouldn't be possible without the achievements of Amanda Moll. The University of Washington commit had a historic junior season last spring with record setting clearances in pole vault that included a high school national record of 14-09.5 set at the Texas Relays in Austin in her first competition of the outdoor season. She remained consistent throughout the season, going over 14-00 a few more times and eventually went on to win the 3A state title later in May. Moll also excelled in the long jump and hit a mark of 18-00, setting her up to eventually win another state title in the event. During the summer, Moll won a pair of national titles in pole vault, with the first one coming at Nike Outdoor Nationals and the second at the U.S. U20 Championships. She qualified for the U20 world team and finished fifth in Cali. Earlier this year, Moll's second outing of her senior season was another record setting performance, becoming the first high school girl ever to clear 15 feet in pole vault with a mark of 15-01.5.
Hana Moll, Capital
Like twin sister Amanda, Hana Moll continues to make history of her own with her achievements in pole vaulting. Moll, arguably the second greatest high school pole vaulter of all time, cleared 14-05.25 in her junior season to set a new personal best mark that ranked third in the nation behind sister Amanda and Margaretta OH's Kenna Stimmel. Moll concluded her school season with a 3A state runner-up finish in pole vault, as well as a state title in the 100 hurdles, to help Capital clinched the team title. During the summer, Moll earned two more runner-up finishes in pole vault at both Nike Outdoor Nationals and the U.S. U20 Championships. She then qualified for the U20 world team and went on to win the world title in the pole vault in Cali, defeating Germany's Chiara Sistermann. Moll, another University of Washington commit, continues to shine in the early part of her senior season, having already cleared 14-10.75 at the UW Invitational to set another personal best.
Others to watch:
Adrianna Coleman, King's
- Threw personal best marks of 35-09.25 in shot put, 128-02 in discus, 106-08 in javelin and 134-04.5 in hammer. Placed second in discus, third in shot put and fifth in javelin at 1A state.
Braelyn Baker, Bear Creek
- Jumped a personal best mark of 18-07.5 in long jump. Placed first in long jump at 1A state.
Ella McRitchie, Bainbridge
- Cleared a personal best of 13-0 in pole vault. Placed third in pole vault at 3A state.
Josie Settle, Kelso
- Jumped personal best marks of 5-05 in high jump, 17-10 in long jump and 37-10.75 in triple jump. Place first in triple jump, third in high jump and sixth in long jump at 3A state.
Morgan Thomas, DeSales
- Threw personal best marks of 34-11.75 in shot put and 131-05 in discus. Placed first in shot put and discus at 1B state.
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