KENT — The last time a Capital Cougar won a district title in an individual event was in 2023. Hana Moll, now a star pole vaulter at the University of Washington, won the first of her two district titles as a prep in pole vault that year and is currently building a remarkable legacy in the sport.
Three years later, there’s a new district champion at Capital High School.
Senior Gus Valek is in the midst of a steady rise in discus in his final prep season, becoming the first Capital male district champion in the event in at least the past 20 years Wednesday at French Field in Kent.
A week after winning his first Puget Sound League title with a personal-record throw of 149 feet, 4 inches, Valek clinched his first district title by throwing 153-11. His best throw was over 13 feet better than the second-place finisher and well over 4 feet better than his previous PR.
Valek is only the sixth Capital discus thrower in school history to ever clear 150 feet, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by a Cougar in 13 years. The Saint Martin’s University commit is headed to state for the second time, looking to improve upon last spring’s 13th-place finish.
“It means everything to me. I’ve been dreaming since I was a child to be good at something,” Valek said of his district title. “I haven’t really had any specific talents, but being able to come out here and give it my all is an amazing feeling.”
Safe to say he’s found a talent.
Valek first tried his hand at discus as a sophomore two years ago, and in his first meet, he topped out at 55-1. By the end of the year, he was throwing in the 80s, and he enjoyed a couple of meteoric jumps in his marks as a junior. Valek’s season debut last season saw him clear 100-10, breaking his previous PR by 15.5 feet, and he hit 102-9 a month later.
But at Gig Harbor on April 24, 2025, Valek ripped a throw of 123-8 to claim his first varsity first-place finish, and it was a day that he identified as when competing in discus was not just another sport to try but rather a passion.
“That was such a big improvement for me. I didn’t expect that for myself, and it opened up a new path for me,” Valek said. “Ever since then, I’ve been developing my skill and giving it my all. I’ve come to develop such a love and passion for it. I study from all the greats. It’s a really complicated sport.”
In the 4A section of the boys discus, another student athlete from the Olympia School District took home the top prize. Olympia senior Carson Godfrey, the reigning state champion and two-time district champ in shot put, picked up his biggest win in discus yet with a district title at 175-8.
The month of May has been Godfrey’s best stretch of his career in discus, as his district championship followed a school record-breaking performance at the South Puget Sound League meet last week. He became the first Olympia Bear to throw 180 feet, clearing 180-8 to win the event.
Godfrey is the only Olympia thrower this century to surpass 155 feet, and he has done it in all but one meet this season.
“It shows my progression in discus because last year, I completely scratched out of this meet. I threw 126,” Godfrey said. “It shows my evolution as a thrower. I’m getting much more consistent.”
Godfrey, a University of Montana signee, admitted that he “used to hate” discus, an event he started as a sophomore, but is growing to enjoy it, especially after the 180-8 throw last week.
While Prairie’s Will Foster pulled off the clean sweep of discus and shot put district titles last season, the feat hasn’t been done by a 4A thrower at the West Central Districts championships since 2017 when Skyview’s Connor Jensen won both.
Godfrey is confident he can pull off a three-peat in the shot put on Friday, as well as the sweep of his two throwing events.
“It might not take much,” Godfrey said of potentially winning a third shot put district title. “I’m just gonna get one throw out there to qualify [for state], but I think I have something big coming Friday. We’ll just have to see.”
The area’s third of three district champions was Timberline senior Carmelo Roper, who took home a first-place finish in the 3A long jump despite passing on all of his jumps in the finals. His best leap at 21-9.75 in the second flight was enough to win the event by just over an inch.
Roper is the first Blazer to win the long jump district title in at least the past 20 years.
“It means a lot because I fell short the past two years. There’s been a lot of competition the last two years,” he said. “This year, my coach was in my year telling me, ‘This is your getback season. It’s now or it’s not.’ She told me to go into this meet humble.”
Roper, like Godfrey, has a strong chance to take home multiple district titles this weekend, as he will compete in the triple jump Friday. He has won the triple jump in eight of the 10 meets in which he has registered at least one attempt this season, including most recently in the Puget Sound League Championships last week.
Olympia freshman Quenton Lanese reset his own national freshman record in the 1,600 meters, taking second in the event at 4:07.16. He finished .09 seconds behind champion Amin Fidaar of Rogers. Olympia senior Caden Durocher was also in the mix for the 1,600-meter district title as he finished in third at 4:07.81.
The Bears’ 4x100 relay team of Shaun McKay, Aden Carr, Rylan Thomas and Ibrahima Diallo will make the trip to Tacoma for state next week after taking seventh at 42.99 seconds.
Olympia junior Kam Kronmeyer, a first-year track athlete, squeezed his way into the state tournament in long jump, finishing in sixth place at 20-5.5. Senior Logan Gerrits earned his first trip to state with a stellar performance in pole vault, jumping 13-6 to take fourth. Yelm’s Caiden Carmody, fifth at 13-0, will join him in the 4A pole vault field at state next week.
Timberline junior Christian Prince booked his first trip to state with a sixth-place finish in the 100 meters, running in 11.07 seconds. The 4x100 relay team of Prince, Va’a Futi Fatilua, Kwame Walters and TreVon Alejandro-Cross also qualified for state by earning fifth place at 42.85 seconds.
Capital sophomore Quinn Sebring continued his stellar season in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing tied for fourth at 15.34 seconds. Sebring has crossed the finish line in 15.25 seconds or faster in each of his past four meets. Capital senior Noah Amina also qualified for state in the 110-meter hurdles for the third time in his career, taking seventh at 15.35 seconds.
Yelm senior Samuel DeJiacomo was the runner-up in discus to Godfrey, throwing 153-5 for his second straight meet surpassing 150 feet. Only seven Yelm Tornados have reached 150 feet.
Yelm’s Collin Davis clinched his first trip to state in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 15.14 seconds for a fourth-place finish.
