Track and field: Renton girls season preview

A season after placing 16th at the 3A state meet and taking a second straight Seamount title, the Renton girls team has a lot of rebuilding to do.

The team lost Kanisha Calcote, Adrienne Hardin, Mary Powell, Nai Chao and Labasha Alexander to graduation. All competed in at least two events at state Renton also lost sophomore Starr Williams, who ran in four events at state, to Hazen in a transfer.

“We lost a lot of relay legs from state,” Williams said. “So I just need some new legs and we’ll see what we can do.”

The team does return three state competitors in Victoria Fernandez, Roylanda Jackson and Boryana Atanasova.

Fernandez should be one of the league’s top hurdlers. She has the Seamount’s top returning time in the 300 hurdles and second best in the 100 hurdles. Fernandez also ran on the 1600 relay team at state last year, so she will be a rare veteran in Renton’s rookie relays.

Atanasova competed in state in the shot put, discus and javelin and should team with Jackson to give the Indians the top throwing group in the league. Jackson placed third at state in the shot put last season.

Other names to watch this year are junior Taylor Williams and sophomore Amadi Bentley.

Other than inexperience, the weak spot for the girls team will probably be distance.

“We’re OK in distance,” Williams said. “We’ve got a lot of young girls and we just need to work a little harder in that area.”

The Renton girls team hasn’t lost a league dual meet since 2006. The team is 14-0 the past two season and 29-6 the past five seasons.

Contact Renton Reporter Sports Reporter Adam McFadden at amcfadden@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5054.

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