Kentridge’s Cronk wins state high jump title

After narrowly missing a state berth last season, Kentridge junior Tyler Cronk is the Class 4A boys state high jump champion.

His jump of 6 feet, 9 inches earned him the top spot on the podium last Friday in the state high school track and field championships at Tacoma’s Mount Tahoma High School.

“I was kind of disappointed I didn’t reach the higher heights today,” the 6-foot-8 Cronk said after his win, an effort that was two inches higher than the nearest competitor, Walla Walla’s Mitchell Jacobson. “I thought I was going to go higher. Taking first feels good. It feels way better than last year not being able to go (to state).”

Cronk qualified for state this year with a 7-2 jump at the West Central District meet on May 18, taking first place and breaking his own school record of 7-1 he set earlier in the season.

Nerves got the best of Cronk at the state meet.

“My hands were sweaty. … My hands were just shaking,” he said. “My legs were just tightening up. I had to do some buildups to just calm them down, calm myself down. When I missed the first height at 6-3 – I don’t know what I hit (the bar) with – but it was getting to my head. I just got to calm down and stay calm and jump.”

With state experience under his belt, Cronk is already looking forward to defending his title next year.

“I know next year will be way better,” he said. “I know that for sure.”

Kentridge coach Al Waltner said Cronk will continue to be an athlete to watch. Cronk entered the state meet as the third ranked high jumper in the country, according to Athletic.net.

“How often do you get kid who is ranked nationally?” Waltner said. “Now people are going to know about him because going 7-2 is a decent jump. Colleges are starting to write him letters, and in July, they can start calling him. It opens up a lot of opportunities for him.”

Making a comeback

After battling through injury, Kentridge’s Lauryn Ford was thrilled to compete in her first state meet.

“Last year, I tore my left hamstring at leagues, so that took me out for pretty much the whole summer,” the sophomore said. “This year I came back super strong and ready to go. … I pulled my hamstring – the opposite side – in the first few weeks of practice. That was pretty upsetting. It took me out pretty much the entire season. I came back the week before leagues.”

Ford made it to the league meet, then qualified for districts and state, taking sixth place in both the 100 and 200 meters in the 4A championships last Saturday.

“I wasn’t even really expecting to get to state in the first place,” Ford said. “That has been my dream since middle school, and after last year’s devastation, I was like I need to come back. I have been fighting and putting everything into this comeback, and I am here. It is so exciting. I am not even worried about the places or anything.”

Ford had a personal-best time of 12.18 seconds in the 100 in Friday’s preliminaries, besting the school record she set last year by .01 seconds. She improved on that time in the finals, finishing in 12.09 seconds. She ran a 25.21 in the 200 finals.

She also anchored the Charger’s 4×100 relay team, which finished third at state (48.72). The relay team – which also includes Adama Bojang, Makayla Williams and Kiarra Scott – set the school record in the preliminaries last Friday, with a time of 48.58. The previous record of 48.94 was set in 1980.

Ford hopes to stay injury-free next season and return to state.

“Hopefully, next year I can come back super strong, just work really hard all season and just come out and do my thing,” she said.

First-year success

Kentwood junior Destiny Capers took third (126-10) in the girls discus last Friday – her first year competing in the event.

Alexia “Bebe” Thomas, Capers’ cheer squad and track and field teammate, got Capers started in the sport.

“Throughout our season for cheer and up to track, she has been motivating me,” Caper said. “(She thought) ‘I might as well try it,’ and I guess this is me trying it.”

Capers wasn’t sure how she’d do in the state meet.

“I guess it was just coming in here worrying about myself and not worrying about other people,” she said. “I definitely hoped I would place but I wasn’t going to think, ‘Yes. I am going to win.’ It was definitely fate right there.”

Capers took seventh place in the discus in the district meet last week. She also qualified for districts in shot put and javelin.

In addition to cheer and track and field, Capers is involved with Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) and plans to try out for volleyball in the fall.

Capers hopes her first-year success carries over to next season.

“I am definitely going to see how next year’s season goes, and hopefully, it brings back a first (place),” she said.

Elsewhere

Senior Harsimran Singh, from Kentwood, took seventh in the 800 (1:55.7). His teammate, senior Keetaan DeWitz, finished fifth in the 110 hurdles (15.0).

The Kentridge boys 4×100 relay team of Nathan Peak, Jimmie Stennis, Solomon Hines and Miguel Punsalan took third (42.97).

The Kent-Meridian girls 4×100 relay team of Brittany Tellis, Olivia Carter, Bri Kamran and Jaleesa Taylor finished sixth (49.14).

In field events, Kentlake junior Jordan Fong was a three-time placer, taking fourth in the girls shot put (40-6) and javelin (129-4) and sixth in discus (121-5). Marylinn Auelua, a freshman at Kentlake finished eighth in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 38-5¾.

Kentridge’s Kierra Scott delivered a personal-best 37-3½ to finish sixth in the triple jump.

For the boys, Kentwood’s Christian Duenas-Palaita, a senior, took third in discus at 156-09, a personal best.

In the ambulatory division, which is open to athletes with physical disabilities, Kent-Meridian’s Jaleen Roberts, a senior, took first in the girls 100 (13.56), 200 (27.49) and 400 (1:08.15). Careese Allen, a junior at Kentridge, took second in the 100 (22.06) and added first-place finishes in the shot put (15-7¾) and the javelin (27-2).

For the boys, Kent-Meridian senior Adonis Rosabal won the 100 (12.88), 200 (26.77) and 400 (59.23). Kentridge’s Omar Ahmed, a junior, took second both the 200 (27.88) and 400 (1:06.48).

In ambulatory field events, Kentridge senior Stephen Glover won the shot put (30.5¼) and the discus (86-5) and added a second-place finish in the javelin (71-8).

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Kentridge’s Tyler Cronk stretches over the high jump bar, a state champion. RACHEL CIAMPI, Reporter

Tyler Cronk atop the podium. HEIDI SANDERS, Kent Reporter

Kentridge’s Lauryn Ford, center, runs in the preliminaries of the 100 meters last Friday at the Class 4A state meet at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma. Ford finished sixth in the finals on Saturday. RACHEL CIAMPI, Reporter