The Definitive Guide to the 2026 Washington State 4A 800m Championships: Rankings and Race Previews
If the 3200m is a tactical war of attrition and the 1600m is a test of speed, the 800m is simply a two-lap descent into a lactic acid bath. It is arguably the most brutal race on the track, demanding athletes sprint on the razor's edge of their anaerobic threshold for a half-mile.
As the 2026 WIAA State Championships descend upon Mt Tahoma Athletic Stadium, the 4A 800m fields are arriving with unprecedented depth. The girls' side is defined by a massive youth movement challenging the established elite, while the boys' side is currently being hijacked by a violent, localized power struggle out of Spokane. Here is your complete breakdown of the current Top 10 leaderboards and an expert trackside preview of the impending 2026 state showdown.
2026 Season Leaderboards: The Top 10 Contenders
These marks represent the fastest times recorded this season within the 4A classification heading into the championship series.
Elite 4A Girls 800m Leaderboard
The girls' 800m field is exceptionally deep this season, with the entire Top 10 having already shattered the stringent 4A automatic qualifying standard of 2:15.66.
| Rank | Athlete | Grade | School | Time | Date | Meet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allie Knoop | 12 | Wenatchee | 2:11.99 | Apr 18 | Viking Track & Field Classic |
| 2 | Avery Goldwire | 12 | Kamiak | 2:14.40 | Apr 25 | Eason Invitational |
| 3 | Aubrey Wilems | 10 | Eastlake | 2:14.50 | Apr 25 | Big 5 Invite |
| 4 | Ella Koch | 12 | Union | 2:14.51 | Apr 21 | Camas @ Union |
| 5 | Jaycee Jenkins | 9 | Kamiakin | 2:14.70 | Apr 18 | Pasco Invite |
| 6 | Ryan Mclellan | 11 | Mt. Si | 2:14.96 | Apr 04 | Oregon Relays |
| 7 | Lila McCarthy | 11 | Camas | 2:15.32 | Apr 21 | Camas @ Union |
| 8 | Hadley Hanchett | 9 | Eisenhower | 2:15.38 | May 02 | South Sound Classic |
| 9 | Gabriela Chencheva | 10 | Eastlake | 2:15.53 | Apr 04 | Oregon Relays |
| 10 | Callie Orcutt | 9 | West Valley (Yakima) | 2:15.63 | Apr 23 | CBBN #1 |
Elite 4A Boys 800m Leaderboard
The 4A boys field shows incredible parity, with the entire Top 10 comfortably dipping under the 4A automatic qualifying time of 1:58.17.
| Rank | Athlete | Grade | School | Time | Date | Meet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amin Fidaar | 12 | Rogers (Puyallup) | 1:51.59 | Apr 04 | Oregon Relays |
| 2 | Caden Durocher | 12 | Olympia | 1:52.65 | Apr 11 | Arcadia Invitational |
| 3 | Kian Compton | 11 | Eisenhower | 1:53.81 | Apr 11 | Arcadia Invitational |
| 4 | Stejer Franklin | 10 | Mead | 1:55.25 | Apr 25 | Legends Twilight |
| 5 | Aaron Garberg | 11 | Lewis and Clark | 1:55.30 | Apr 30 | GSL #4 |
| 6 | Max Gallegos | 12 | West Valley (Yakima) | 1:55.38 | Apr 18 | Pasco Invite |
| 7 | Austen Florence | 12 | Kamiakin | 1:55.42 | May 01 | Kiwanis Twilight |
| 8 | Elijah Tobin | 11 | Lewis and Clark | 1:55.55 | Apr 30 | GSL #4 |
| 9 | Andersen Williams | 11 | Mead | 1:56.03 | Apr 30 | GSL #4 |
| 10 | Asher Pepin | 11 | Curtis | 1:56.04 | Apr 29 | Emerald Ridge @ Curtis |
4A State Championship Outlook: The Two-Lap Dogfight
Girls’ Preview: Eastlake Depth and the Youth Movement
Hadley Hanchett of Eisenhower competes in the 800m at the South Sound Classic. Hanchett is a top contender heading into the 2026 WIAA State Track and Field Championships at Mt Tahoma High School in Tacoma, WA. Photographed by Russell Moore.
Wenatchee senior Allie Knoop enters the post-season in a league of her own. Laying down a scorching 2:11.99, she holds a significant time gap over the rest of the 4A classification. If she establishes her pace early, it will be a pure footrace for silver.
However, behind Knoop, the depth of this field is striking. Eastlake High School stands out as a massive podium threat, flexing their program muscles by placing both Aubrey Wilems and Gabriela Chencheva in the top ten. Keep an eye on Union's Ella Koch; already a heavy favorite in the 1600m and 3200m, her 800m speed makes her a deadly triple-threat. The real wildcard of this race, though, is the surging youth movement. The arrival of talented, fearless freshmen like Jaycee Jenkins, Hadley Hanchett, and Callie Orcutt—who all possess top-10 speed—guarantees that the state final will be a high-pressure pressure cooker where seasoned veteran experience collides violently with raw, young talent.
Boys’ Preview: The GSL Bloodbath
If you want to understand the boys' 4A 800m, look directly at the Greater Spokane League (GSL). This field is currently being heavily dictated by an intense, localized power struggle, with four of the top ten spots held by athletes from Mead and Lewis and Clark. The GSL #4 meet on April 30 was an absolute bloodbath, producing four of the state's top times as Aaron Garberg, Elijah Tobin, Andersen Williams, and Stejer Franklin all went to war in a high-stakes league match-up.
Stejer Franklin of Mead after competing at the NXR NW. Franklin is a top contender heading into the 2026 WIAA State Track and Field Championships at Mt Tahoma High School in Tacoma, WA. Photographed by Russell Moore.
That internal Spokane rivalry will be one of the most electric storylines to follow as they bring their regional turf war to the state-wide stage at Mt Tahoma. To take the crown, however, they will have to get through Rogers senior Amin Fidaar and Olympia senior Caden Durocher. Both Fidaar and Durocher sit safely at the top of the leaderboard with massive 1:51 and 1:52 marks, respectively, proving that their elite 1600m stamina translates perfectly into deadly two-lap speed.
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