Neria, Oswin, Johnson earn top-3 finishes

Jasmyne Neria wasn’t about to let some bloodied knees and a scrapped up leg deny her and her teammates a 4x400 relay championship.

Hours after Neria stumbled and fell across the finish line, concluded a gutsy second-place performance during the 400 meters, she ran the anchor leg of the Lions’ 4x4, elevating her and teammates Lauren Zwires, Sierra Smith and Cassidee Barclay to the lone Whatcom County state title during the final day of the Class 2A State Championships on Saturday, May 28, at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

Neria set a new school record and personal best running her 400 in a time of 58.04 seconds, but she couldn’t quite hold off West Valley-Spokane’s Madeline Liberg.

“I didn’t see anybody on the last 100 (meters) and then right at the 25-50 mark I saw (Liberg) out the corner of my eye,” Neria said. “My legs gave out and I totally slid. It wasn’t the one I hoped for, but it happens.”

Neria’s second-place finish was an unfortunate theme for the county’s girls Saturday.

Squalicum’s Grace Oswin also settled for runner-up in the 800 meters with a time of 2:20.19. She led in the final 100 meters but ultimately gave way to Sequim’s Waverly Shreffler.

“Coming out I went right into the lead and held it until the last hundred meters, and Waverly is a really good runner,” Oswin said. “The head wind coming down the back stretch was just ridiculous. I just didn’t have enough left to push against it as she did.”

Sehome’s Kate Rose finished not too far behind Oswin, placing fourth in the 800 with a time of 2:21.69.

Lynden’s 4x200 team of Zwires, Smith, Barclay and Neria added a second-place finish with a time of 1:45.52, and Sehome’s Abby Johnson placed third in the 3,200 meters.

Johnson, who two days prior won a 1,600 title, led late in the 3,200, but she didn’t have enough left on the final lap as she settled for a third-place medal with a time of 11:27.84.

Sehome thrower Mary Carbee was the only other medalist Saturday, claiming sixth in the shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 6 inches.

Sehome was the county’s highest team placer, earning a seventh-place finish with 28 points. Lynden followed right behind with an eighth-place finish, earning 26 points.

This story was originally published May 28, 2016 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Neria, Oswin, Johnson earn top-3 finishes."