Lynden claims second place at 2A state championships

Lynden’s jumpers set the Lions up during the first two days of the Class 2A State Championships, and Christian Payne and his fellow sprinters finished the job on championship Saturday.

Payne placed fifth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.62 seconds, the Lions’ 4x100 relay team of Travis Marquez, Grant Scarlett, Brandon Swarthout and Payne took second place with a time of 42.88 and Lynden’s 4x4 team finished fifth to help the Lions finish with a second-place trophy, earning 41 points at the 2A championships Saturday, May 28, at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Payne, who was just hoping to qualify for the 100-meter finals, got Lynden rolling early by finishing fifth running into a strong head wind.

“I came in and felt sluggish because I ran it yesterday and it kind of took a lot out of me,” Payne said, “but I came and got fifth place. That’s great, fifth in the whole state. I feel like I exceeded what I went into the season expecting to do.”

Less than an hour later Payne helped his 4x100 team run a 42.88, which was 0.01 off Lynden’s school record. The second-place finish matched the best placing of any county boys’ athlete Saturday.

The other runner-up finish went to Sehome’s Colton Johnsen, who suffered defeat in heartbreaking fashion during the 3,200 meters.

Johnsen and league rival, Anacortes’ Dylan Holland, were running stride-for-stride most of the race, but with 500 meters to go Johnsen took off, building at least a 15-meter lead.

But just when it seemed Johnsen was poised for a title, Liberty’s Andrew Cooper chased him down during the final 100 meters, denying the Sehome senior.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t win, but I’m happy because it’s my last race and I think I gave it all I had,” said Johnsen, who recently committed to run for Eastern Washington University next year. “I knew it would come down to me, Dylan or (Cooper), and I knew we were the class of the field. I knew not to let up, but I just didn’t have it at the end.”

Johnsen’s teammate, Riley Allsop, turned in a sixth-place performance in the 800 meters with a time of 1:59.97, and Bellingham thrower Nicholas Oesterling gave the county a top-five finish with a fifth-place medal in the javelin on a throw of 163 feet, 11 inches.

Blaine’s 4x400 team also placed Saturday, taking eighth in a time of 3:35.61.

Outside of Lynden, Bellingham placed eighth overall with 27 points, and Sehome was 10th with 25 points.

This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Lynden claims second place at 2A state championships."