Close Call for Lakes' Marquin Russell

Lakes' Marquin Russell went from dejection to elation.

The top-seeded 400-meter sprinter felt an overwhelming sense of disappointment when the leaderboard showed a second-place finish against Marcus Chambers of Foss. But closer analysis by timing officials proved he captured the championship at the Class 3A state track & field meet at Mount Tahoma on Saturday.

Russell led the race, but Chambers closed the gap with a longer stride down the stretch. It was neck-and-neck at the finish-line with Russell winning with a time of 49.11-seconds, edging Chambers by 5 one-hundreds of a second (49.16).

It was the only individual championship the Lancers boys team captured as they finished seventh overall with 27 points. North Central was the 3A team state champions.

"I thought I got him but on the board it said second," Russell said about the emotional rollercoaster thinking he lost then discovering he won. "I feel better knowing I won the state championship."

Earlier in the season, Russell was the team's 200 runner. He placed eighth at the state meet last year, but Lakes coach Willis Freeman felt he might be an even better competitor in the 400.

Turns out he's the Lancers' strongest runner with a first-place finish.

"I told myself I'd be here one day but I didn't know I'd be first," he said. "I thought I'd be top five."

Russell and Chambers have developed a small rivalry over the course of the season. At the Tacoma Invitational, the Lakes runner edged Chambers and then again at the West Central District Meet this past weekend.

Both sprinters spoke after the state championship race about how close it was and how they're going to see each other over the next couple of years, Russell said.

Freeman has praised Russell's worth ethic as it showed in the state finals.

“He’s still getting a feel for the 400,” he said, “but he’s starting to find out that’s his race.”

In fact, Russell has discovered that the 400 is his race as he was unable to qualify to the finals in the 200.

Lakes junior Izaic Yorks

The Lancers boys team received two solid performances in the distance events from Lakes' Izaic Yorks.

The Lancer junior placed fifth in the 3,200 on Thursday with a finish of 9:18.19, a lifetime-best performance by nearly 10 seconds. He made considerable improvements over this year after placing 16th last year (9:44.92).

"I'm satisfied but not happy," Yorks said. "I just wanted to place on the podium and PR."

Yorks matched his performance on Thursday with another fifth-place finish in the 1,600 on Saturday with a time of 4:17.02.

Freeman said Yorks is a tremendous kid.

“When you talk about a kid with a work ethic – he doesn’t back down at workouts; he’s the kind of kid you want on your team," he said.

Lakes boys relay

The Lakes 400 relay squad consisting of sophomore Kevin Thompson, Russell, junior Levonte Littlejohn and sophomore KeyShawn Lee placed third with a lifetime best performance of 43.34.

Thompson said he was surprised to have done so well considering how much talent was out there.

"It was great," Thompson said about finishing as the third-best relay team in the state. "We just came in as a bunch of underclassmen and did pretty well with that."

Lee, who was the second leg of the race, said he received the baton from Thompson a little early in his first-ever state event.

"I'm just excited to be out here," Lee said. "I barely know these dudes. I just have to get to know them better and see what goes down. I think we can do better over the next couple of years."

Lakes coach Willis Freeman has said that the team is coming back to the glory it experienced in the 1990s. That effort was led by Russell and Yorks.

“They’re game," he said. "They’re ready for it.”

Later in the 1,600 relay, the team of Russell, sophomore Sammie Long, junior Chris Edgecomb and Lee placed seventh with a time of 3:27.94.

For complete results of the state track & field boys championship click here.

Lakes girls

Lakes junior Sydney Spoja had a solid performance in the state meet with a second-place finish in the discus event with a heave of 123-5 on Friday. She won the district meet this past week with a toss of 126-1 and represented Lakes well as the girls' lone state medalist.

Kaityln Coleman, a senior at Kennewick, won the discus in 124-11.

For complete results of the state track & field girls championship click here.