The 2021 track season was one of most the unique sports seasons we will ever witness in the history of Washington state high school athletics.
Like any of the sports seasons during the pandemic, it was a year with no state competition, leaving out an opportunity for the best of the best athletes to compete for glory and fulfill their legacies as Washington's best.
While those opportunities for some were put to a pause, the 2021 track season will forever be remembered as one of the most historical ones in state history, particularly on the distance side.
These sprinters were some of the fastest boys in Washington last year, and they are hungrier than ever to hit the track once again this spring to bring the heat. Here is your first look at the top athletes to watch for in the spring.
Jacob Andrews, Sehome
Jacob Andrews' rise to an elite sprinter last spring was one of the biggest headlines during the outdoor season. The Sehome super star went undefeated in racing as a sophomore and ranked first in the entire state in the 200 and 400-meter races clocking times of 20.97 and 47.51 seconds, and then was third in the 100 running 10.61. While running for Ready-Set-Go Sprinters Club in the summertime, Andrews won two West Coast AAU Junior Olympic titles in the 200 and 400 and then finished 11th in the 400 preliminary round at the AAU National Junior Olympic Games. During this winter indoor season, Andrews had won three sprint titles at the Grant Holloway AAU Invite in the 60, 200, and 400, and has set personal best times of 7.00 (60), 21.74 (200), and 48.49 (400). In what is expected to be a very competitive 2A sprint field this year, Andrews is the current frontrunner to win state titles in the 200 and 400 race and should in the mix for 100. He will also be a part of a really talented Sehome boys team looking for their first team state title since the 2013 season.
Keenan Kuntz, Mead
One year after competing with West Valley (Spokane), Keenan Kuntz makes a move up north to Mead this school year, adding a very fast athlete to the Panthers track squad. Last spring, Kuntz ran top-five state marks in the 100 and 200 races clocking personal bests of 10.74 and 22.25 seconds. He also went undefeated in the 100 and 200 racing against Greater Spokane League opponents and took home both culminating championship titles for those events. Racing for Spokane Speed Academy last summer, Kuntz finished fourth at the AAU National Junior Olympic Games in the 100 earning All-American honors running a time of 11.02 in finals. He also competed in the 200 where he ran a personal best time of 21.67 finishing 19th in prelims. Kuntz hasn't been able to see the track a ton since the beginning of 2022 as he has raced only once this indoor season in the Spokane High School Invite in the 100 placing sixth in finals.
Miguel Rosario III, Hazen
Two of the top sprinters in Washington from last track season hailed from Hazen High School. One of them returns to have a big senior season in Miguel Rosario III. As a junior last year, Rosario III ranked fifth in Washington in both the 100 and 200 running personal best times of 10.64 and 21.68 seconds, all while representing the Hazen Track Club. Running for Hazen High School, he clocked times of 10.92 and 21.86. During the summertime, Rosario III finished second in both the 100 and 200 at the USATF Pacific Northwest Youth Championships behind his teammate and Hazen sprinting great Cameron Andrews. Opening up the indoor season in 2022, Rosario III was well ahead of his competition at the Spokane High School Invite finishing first in the 60 running a personal best time of 6.88. Another fast competitor on this list waiting for his opportunity to make the most of it in the 100 and 200 when the 3A state meet rolls around.
Isaiah Davis, Federal Way
One athlete wanting to prove something of himself this season is Federal Way's Isaiah Davis and it's already starting to show this winter indoor season. Having competed in two meets already in 2022, Davis has posted personal best times in 60 and 200-meter races running 6.99 and 22.31 seconds. One of those marks was even against college competition at the UW Invite where he finished third overall in the 200. Last spring running for Federal Way, Davis went undefeated in the 100 and 200 clocking times of 10.86 and 22.43 and won both races at the North Puget Sound League Championships and led Federal Way to a 4x100 relay title. While competing under Kitsap Flier Track and Field Club, Davis had a big summer of racing clocking times of 10.75 (100) and 21.88 (200) at big-time invites such The Outdoor Nationals and the AAU National Junior Olympics Games. Plenty of momentum is expected to carry over from recent successes for Davis going into his senior season.
Lyricc Lopez, Foster
The talent has always been there for Lyricc Lopez, but it really stood out last spring during his junior season. The Runner WA reigning Most Improved Athlete is known for his hurdle abilities clocking in a 300-hurdle time of 36.98 seconds and a 400-hurdle time of 54.42 seconds, ranking him among one of the fastest athletes in the country among those events. Lopez has also excelled in sprints as he clocked times of 10.98 seconds in the 100 and 22.09 seconds in the 200 during the 2021 track season, but it was his 400 time that stood out the most as it's the second fastest returning mark this spring at 48.88 seconds. Lopez is one of the few athletes on this list to have competed at the latest state championships back in 2019 as he placed 13th in the 300-hurdle prelims running 41.55 in Class 2A. Another exciting athlete to watch for in both hurdles and sprints come the 2A state meet, especially when he could face Sehome's Andrews in the 400 final.
Others to watch for:
Tobias Merriweather
- The younger brother of twin sprinting legends Dai'Lyn and Jai'Lyn, Tobias has made a household name for himself last season running some incredibly fast marks at the end of year en route to winning four Greater St. Helens League titles. The Notre Dame football commit holds personal best times of 10.95 (100), 22.01 (200), and 49.78 (400) seconds.
Tyler Floyd, Seattle Prep
- It took some time, but Floyd may have found his calling in the 400. In his first-year racing with Seattle Prep, Floyd went wire-to-wire with former Eastside Catholic standout Anthony Smith in 400 at the Metro League Culminating Meet and placed second overall in a new personal best 49.40 seconds. He was also second in the 200 at Metro's and ran 22.54 in prelims.
Charles McQueen, Spanaway Lake
- McQueen has his future laid out having committed to play football at Nevada next fall, but one last run on the track ought to be a good one after a much-improved junior campaign. McQueen ranks top four for returning athletes in the 100 and 200 posting times of 10.93 and 22.36 seconds.
Jaylen McCabe, Silas
- Like Foster's Lopez, McCabe is another force in the hurdles but has shined in sprints as well. McCabe was fifth in both the 100 and 200 during the high school season at the Pierce County League Championships but then ran personal best times of 10.83 and 22.32 seconds at AAU National Junior Olympics in prelims.
Myles Newhouse, Sunnyside
- Newhouse didn't get a ton of racing in the condensed 2021 high school season. But when he had his opportunities, he was the best 400 runner on the track. Between the two 400 races he ran in, Newhouse averaged a time of 49.87 seconds and won by an average amount of 4.5 seconds.
Note: The 2022 Track Preview was compiled by The Runner WA's cross country and track and field analyst Keenan Gray.