By Gene Helfman

Special to the Islands’ Weekly

The Lopez Lobos Girls Track Team took 1B top honors at the nine school Northwest 1B,2B/1A League Championship Meet, held at Mt. Vernon High May 2. Lopez girls bested Grace Academy and Lummi in League 1B, and even scored above bigger schools such as Friday Harbor and Cedar Park Christian. Lopez Boys came in second behind Grace Academy and outscored bigger Shoreline Christian.

Lopez had several overall first place finishes: Senior Jamie Cummins won both the 800-meter run and 100-meter hurdles, and Senior Marina Steinbrueck won the shot put and took second in the discus, edged out by only two inches. Junior Solomon Bill continued his domination in the distance events, winning both the 1600-meter and 3,200-meter runs. Other outstanding performances included Ninth Grader Brianne Swanson, who tied for first overall in the 100-meter dash, and took first in 1B and was second overall in the 200-meter dash.

Several other Lobos rose to the occasion, setting personal records at the championship meet. Personal bests were posted by Josef Blanc-Ridings in the 200-meter dash, Eric Jonasson in the javelin, Jacob Simmering in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs and javelin, Solomon Bill in the long jump, and Mike Hobi in the discus and javelin. Girls setting personal record included Nia Bartolucci in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, Brianne Swanson in the 300-meter hurdles, and Marina Steinbrueck in the long jump.

Coaches Steve Wilbur and Mike Strom congratulated the teams afterward on their hard work and well-deserved results. The only regret expressed was that a few more runners would have allowed the Lobos to compete in the relays and lift their team scores even higher. The Lobos are now looking forward to the upcoming 1B/2B Tournament at Stanwood May 11, Tri-District Championship at Kings High May 19, and State Championships at Eastern Washington University May 25 to 26.