Distance & Drizzle: Olympia vs. Yelm Track & Field Recap
A track and field athlete positions their feet in the starting blocks on a wet track at Yelm High School during a track and field mee. Commercial sports and editorial photography engineered by Russell Moore Photography in Olympia, WA.
The competitive rivalry between the Olympia Bears and Yelm Tornados distance squads is relentless. It transitions from the mud of cross country straight to the track without skipping a beat.
On Thursday, Olympia traveled out to Yelm for an early-season dual meet. The weather delivered classic Pacific Northwest conditions—cool and comfortable, with a steady but bearable drizzle blanketing Yelm's signature red track.
The 3200m: Pack Mentality & Personal Bests
Student-athletes from Olympia High School and Yelm High School stand together during a track and field meet in Olympia, WA. Commercial sports and editorial photography engineered by Russell Moore Photography in Olympia, WA.
The distance events kicked off with the 3200m, featuring both men and women running a combined, loopy heat—eight laps to establish the early-season hierarchy. With some of Olympia’s top distance runners managing their early-season mileage, the Yelm boys were on a mission for bragging rights and personal records (PRs).
Yelm's Patrick Walsh and Marcos Andujar took the early lead, with Peter Robbins right in the mix. Walsh and Andujar always seem to stick together—pack mentality at its finest—but it's always a toss-up as to who will cross the finish line first.
Patrick Walsh (Yelm): Owned the day, crossing first with a PR of 9:28.89.
Marcos Andujar (Yelm): Finished close behind, securing his own PR of 9:32.99.
Jack McDurmon (Olympia): The junior was the first Bear to cross the line, finishing fourth at 10:17.66.
James Levitt (Olympia): The freshman rounded out the top five, setting a PR of 10:19.09.
On the girls' side, Yelm frontrunner Kailey Slevin (Sr.) commanded the race, easily taking the victory at 11:30.5. Olympia’s Gemma Stevick (Fr.) crossed about 14 seconds later, with Eliza Johnson (Fr.) closing out the top three. Both Stevick and Johnson walked away with personal bests.
Overall, the grid was a bit bare in the distance races, with several top competitors running only one heat or sitting out entirely. It’s a smart sign that we are still in the early stages of the season; athletes and coaches are carefully managing mileage and recovery to ensure they are at peak strength for the post-season stretch.
The 1600m: The Strategic Kick
Alejandro Silva competes in a track and field event at Yelm High School in Yelm, Washington. The athlete is pictured in mid-stride during a race while wearing a Tornados jersey. Commercial sports and editorial photography engineered by Russell Moore Photography in Olympia, WA.
The 1600m presented several athletes with new personal bests and a healthy dose of intra-squad competition.
Alejandro Silva (Yelm) utilized a massive final kick to overtake teammate Kingston Farmer for the victory, after Farmer had led the race for the first 1500 meters. Olympia’s Theodore Ruder held strong to round out the top three, while Ayman Ehrlander (Olympia) finished fifth with a new PR.
Building the Visual Infrastructure
To cap off the day, I was presented with a gift bag by the Yelm coaching staff. Coach Alex McIntire told me to make sure I grabbed one before leaving, and later, Coach Shannon Gubser chased me down to ensure I actually had it in hand.
The gesture was as surprising as it was kind. Coach Gubser mentioned how much she appreciated the dedicated media landing page I had built for the Yelm Track program.
That is exactly why I built these landing pages for the majority of the Thurston County schools. My goal is to create a centralized visual asset hub for local programs so athletes and parents can quickly find their media.
If your team would like a dedicated hub, please reach out. Furthermore, if you are a local photographer, videographer, or writer covering these athletes, shoot me an email. Let me know what school you cover, and I will happily add links to your media outlets on these pages. Once the hub is live, coaches can link it directly to their Athletic.net team pages for seamless community access.
(Commercial sports and editorial photography engineered by Russell Moore Photography in Olympia, WA.)
