t KW’s Nilles, Morris break school marks.
Lady Warrior seniors Lakiesha Nilles and Megan Morris left their marks on the competition last weekend at the Crescent Invite track meet, setting school records in the javelin and high jump respectively.
“Both (Lakiesha and Megan) are super kids,” King’s West track coach and athletic director Dan Dittmer said. “Each has a different personality, but they share a strong desire to give their best effort.”
Nilles, the reigning 2B javelin state champion, broke her previous best 125-foot-6-inch throw — set last year at the state championship — on a mammoth 132-foot-2-inch hoist.
“Lakiesha is one of the top female javelin throwers in the state in all classifications,” Dittmer said. “If she can correct a few kinks in her last three steps, who knows how good she could become?”
Morris meanwhile, not to be outdone by her teammate, broke former KW track star Heidi Grey’s school record in the triple jump with a 32-foot-half-inch lunge.
“Megan, between volleyball, basketball and track, is having a spectacular senior year,” Dittmer said.
And while Nilles and Morris were the only athletes to break records at the invite, Dittmer sees improvement and limitless potential in nearly all his athletes.
“Many of the student-athletes are learning that how much effort and time one puts into a turnout equates to success on meet day,” he explained. “I would estimate that ninety percent of our students improve every week.”
In team competition, the girls finished in fourth place with 94.5 points, while the boys earned eighth place with 24 points.
“The team is continuing to improve,” Dittmer said of his team’s status midway through the 2008 season.
Junior Irene Moore earned first-place finishes in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles and also joined the girls 1,600 relay team en route to a first-place finish.
“We have enough sprint (and) hurdle depth to be running several relay teams,” he explained. “We hope to continue our relay success thoughout the season.”
Helping to coach the team, Sarah Farber and Lesley Doyle have stepped in as assistant coaches.
“(They) have done an exceptional job working with our students,” Dittmer said.
The Warriors took the track Thursday at a SeaTac League meet in West Seattle, but results were not available at press time. The team will compete again in West Seattle this Thursday, before traveling to Shelton High School for the Shelton Invitational, beginning at 10 a.m. next Saturday.
