Prep Track | Motivated Johanna Carr shines in the Bill Harris 100

FEDERAL WAY — Issaquah junior Johanna Carr took a look at the listings of the top track times in the state of Washington and searched for her name among the top 100-meter runners this season.

She looked. And looked. And looked some more. Finally, she saw her name toward the bottom of the sprinters with hand-timed marks.

"I thought I would be on there somewhere," she said. "But not that low."

After Wednesday's 100-meter race during the 46th Bill Harris Invitational, Carr's name will be much easier to find. Carr sped to a time of 12.1 seconds (hand-timed) in cold conditions at Federal Way Stadium and edged state 100 leader Ariana Jones of Franklin at the wire to win. Jones was also clocked in 12.1, but Carr won the lean at the tape.

"I knew it was close, but I knew I won," said Carr, whose 12.1 is the second-best hand-timed marked in the state this spring and beat her previous mark of 12.4. "I got a great start and just kept it going."

Carr is not a new name when it comes to the top sprinters in the state. As a sophomore at Issaquah, she qualified for the state meet and advanced to the finals. But the night before, she had to deal with stomach flu and took eighth in the finals.

She's back this year, with seemingly faster legs, new goals and an eye on a state championship.

"I've been running well so far this year," Carr said. "The race today was my best so far. And it helped having such great competition. I knew it would be a good race."

Carr had her eye on the race with Jones for a few days after searching the Internet for the teams who were entered in the meet. She saw Jones' name, her time and the fact that Jones was the state leader in the 100 with a time of 12.06. The research seemed to work, as Carr got off to a good start, moved slightly in front midway through the race and stayed there until the finish line.

"I was excited for a few days for this race," Carr said. "I knew she was good and she was fast. I knew I needed to be faster."

The two had a rematch in the 200, but this time Jones got the early lead and looked strong down the stretch for a win in 25.5. Carr finished in 25.9.

Federal Way won the team title with a total of 233 points (boys and girls scoring were combined). Issaquah was second with 186 ½ and Bellingham third with 159 ½.

Notes

• Bellingham's Becca Friday turned in one of the fastest times this season, winning the 1,600 in 5 minutes, 4.5 seconds — No. 3 in the state.

• Decatur sprinter Ezra John Griffey looked impressive in sweeping the 100 and 200 at the meet for the second consecutive year. Griffey led from start to finish, winning the 100 in 10.6, which beat his old best of 10.8 and is the top hand-timed mark in the state. He also dominated the 200, winning in one of the state's top times (22.0).

• Tacoma Baptist's Amber Finley won the 400 in 58.6, which is the fastest time in the state this spring.

• Federal Way's Jacqie Evenson took over the state lead in the 300 hurdles by running a 46.0. She also won the 100 hurdles in 15.3 and the long jump with a leap of 16-5 ¾.

• Federal Way's Jaleccia Roland won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inches — second best in the state but a long way behind state leader Kelly McNamee. The Ferris of Spokane star has a 5-10.