Inglemoor distance runners sweep 3200 in Arcadia, Calif. | Prep track

Published 2:46 pm Tuesday, April 12, 2016

A pair of all-star distance runners from Inglemoor High have made their mark in California.

Gavin Parpart and Nick Laccinole, a pair of Inglemoor seniors, stood out in the 3200-meter competitions at the Arcadia Invitational in Arcadia, Calif., sweeping both the seeded and rated races.

Parapart won the ‘rated’ competition with a personal-best time of 9 minutes, 9.16 seconds, edging Zachary Erikson of Lone Peak High (Utah) by less than half a second.

Shortly thereafter, Laccinole won the seeded race, setting a PR of 9:06.04, the fastest 3200 meter time from any Washington State athlete this season. Parpart’s time was the third-fastest.

“Both athletes competed with poise and patience through the first 7 laps of the race and kept contact with the leaders,” Inglemoor coach Kelly Richards said. “They put themselves in a great position to kick at the end and get the victory. The Arcadia Invitational is one of the most competitive meets in the nation and for two Inglemoor runners to go away with first place medals is quite an accomplishment.”

A handful of other Vikings stood out as well. The girls’ distance medley relay team, which runs a 1,200, a 400, an 800 and a 1,600-meter leg, set a new school record of 13:02, finishing 36th overall. Bailey Fjelstul, Rebecca Crawford, Etta Moen and Rebecca Ledsham combined for the mark.

Ethan Karlinskey finished 16th in the 800 meters with a time of 1:56.78, and the girls’ 4×800 meter relay team of Crawford, Moen, Fjelstul and Ellee London finished 14th in 10:09.78.

Next, the Inglemoor track team is scheduled to take part in the Pasco Invitational on Saturday, April 16.