Behind Justin Bennett, P.J. Benedictus, Renton boys win 2A title; Amadi Bentley takes hurdles | 2A state track & field

By Adam McFadden • May 31, 2011 3:29 pm
Renton's Justin Bennett sprints through a rain shower in the final leg of the 4 X 100 relay. The Indians won a 2A state title in the event and overall as a team. It was one of three titles for Bennett.
Renton's Justin Bennett sprints through a rain shower in the final leg of the 4 X 100 relay. The Indians won a 2A state title in the event and overall as a team. It was one of three titles for Bennett.

Renton’s dynamic duo of Justin Bennett and P.J. Benedictus dominated again, leading the Indians to their first state title since 1957.

The two seniors combined for four state titles and Renton cruised past every other 2A team for the championship. The Indians scored 73 points, almost twice as many as second place Franklin Pierce with 39.

Benedictus won a second straight state title in the triple jump (last year was in 3A). He beat out Pullman’s Ben Pavish by more than three feet with a jump of 47 feet, 3.75 inches.

He also teamed with Bennett, Immanuel Carter and Robert Reeves III to win a state championship in the 4 X 100 relay. The relay finished 0.06 seconds off of the 2A state meet record in the preliminary round.

Bennett also won two individual state titles in the 100- and 200-meter dash. Bennett was about two tenths of a second off of the 2A state meet record in both races.

Bennett’s margin of victory in the 100 preliminary race (the gap between him and second place) was larger than the gap between second place and the rest of the top 10.

Benedictus placed second in both the long jump and high jump. In the high jump, he matched Bellingham’s Dan East by clearing six feet, five inches. East took the state title because he had fewer faults.

Carter, a junior, finished second in the 400, 0.34 seconds behind Tumwater’s Andrew Brown. Carter placed fifth in the long jump.

Junior Adriel Paine IV placed fifth in the 800. Saugat Chhetri took 16th in the 3200.

Renton’s 4 X 400 team (Paine, Carter, Delroy Mukungatu and Hamilton Carter) finished eighth in the finals.

The Renton boys also won a West Central District 2A title this season.

Amadi Bentley was the standout for Renton on the girls side. The senior won the state title in the 100-meter hurdles. She also took third in the 100, fourth in the 300 hurdles and just missed the finals in the 200 by 0.07 seconds. Bentley improved from seventh in the prelims for the 300 hurdles to fourth in the finals.

The girls team finished 13th, with 23.5 points.

Freshman Joy Barnes finished 16th for the Indians in the 3,200. Sophomore Tala Hild placed sixth in the high jump, clearing five feet to tie with East Valley’s Brooklyn Bellomy.

 

Lindbergh

Junior Sarah Reiter led the Lindbergh girls team to an excellent fifth-place finish.

Reiter took third in the 800. Reiter finished first in the preliminaries for the race. She also placed sixth in the 1,600.

Junior Jasmine Fallgreen finished fifth in the 3,200. Teammate Anna Patti, a junior, took eighth in the same race.

Sophomore Janayla Scott placed third in the triple jump.

Seniors Lisa Peterson and Jazzmine Knox took sixth and seventh in the 100 hurdles. Peterson finished 14th in the 100. Knox finished 15th in the long jump and ninth in the triple jump.

Lindbergh’s 4 X 100 team (Scott, Knox, Kaitlin Zinsli and Peterson) placed fifth in the finals. The Eagles 4 X 200 team (Tianna Banfro, Monique Smith, Scott and Zinsli) took fourth.

On the boys side, sophomore Mitchell Hughey finished 15th in the 800. Sophomore Mohamud Abdi took 14th in the 1,600. Junior Nathan Haley placed 13th in the 3,200.

Joe Simpson, a sophomore, finished 16th in the 110 hurdles. Senior Bruce Jones took 14th in the triple jump.