Laura Tesch tried to calm herself.
Having prom the night before the Class 4A state track and field meet can leave a kid a bit frazzled when put on center stage.
Kentridge’s Tesch, however, managed to quell her nerves and deliver.
Tesch, a senior, cleared 5-feet-4 inches in the high jump during last Saturday’s state meet at Mount Tahoma High in Tacoma, which proved good enough for a fourth-place finish.
It wasn’t the golden jump Tesch had hoped for, but it was plenty good enough, especially when considering how things went a year earlier for the Kentridge senior. Last spring, a season after qualifying for state as a sophomore, Tesch fell ill the week of the district meet, which led to a subpar performance that left her short of state.
Down to her final chance to earn state hardware, Tesch came up huge on the biggest stage of all.
“I was just trying not to think too hard and freak myself out because I do that sometimes,” admitted Tesch, who qualified for state in the high jump and long jump as a sophomore, but finished ninth in both. “This means a lot, it really does.”
Of course, like so many athletes who compete at state, Tesch still wanted more after it was finished.
“I really wanted to take third,” said Tesch, who will compete at Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif. next school year. “I was kind of sad when I didn’t make 5-5, because that’s my personal record. I thought I was going to be able to do it in my last meet.”
Tesch’s performance proved to be the highlight of the state meet for Kentridge, which advanced six girls and one boy to the state meet. Tesch, however, was the lone Charger to bring home a medal.
“We knew that she had the 5-4 jump in her, but we didn’t know when we would see it,” said KR coach Lisa Robin. “She peaked at the right time.”
And though this was Tesch’s last chance at state glory, the future remains bright for the Kentridge girls. Of the six who qualified, five — Molly Shiroishi, Katie Lake, Haley Bertelsen, Amelia Carpenter and Jaclyn Onosko — all will be back next year.
Of particular note, however, is KR’s 4 x 400 relay team of Lake, Shiroishi, Onosko and Bertelsen, which established a personal best three times during the season’s final two weeks. The group just missed the top eight cut at state, but has tremendous potential. The group ended the season with a top time of 4:00.7.
“We are very much excited about the future,” Robin said.
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