The weather conditions at the Class 4A/3A/2A state track meet at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma were ideal this past weekend.

The Issaquah Eagles girls track team shined under the bright sunshine tallying 59 team points, capturing the Class 4A girls team title May 30 in Tacoma.

Eagles’ sophomore Nikki Stephens competed in four events consisting of the 100-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 800-meter relay and 1600-meter relay at the meet. She captured second place in the 400 with a time of 55.56 and fifth place in the 100 with a 12.33. Her talents were on display during the relay portions of the meet. Stephens anchored a first-place 1600 relay team with teammates Bella Foos, Sami Corman, and Elise Burdette which set a Class 4A state track meet record, clocking a 3:48.95 Saturday afternoon. She also ran the anchor leg of the 800 relay squad that captured second place, compiling a time of 1:40.99. The 800 relay team consisted of Alia Sugarman, Foos, Burdette and Stephens.

The four-event stalwart enjoys competing in a plethora of events.

“I’m always pretty hyped for it,” Stephens said. “It is hard running four events, but I think I can completely run one event and then go onto the next mentally. That probably has been the key to success for me.”

Stephens said her favorite race is the one lap, 400-meter dash.

“They key to winning in the 400 is having a very strong first 100. After that you can’t slow down your stride on the back stretch. You have to continue to be aggressive. When you get to the last 100 then basically its about just giving it your all,” she said.

The Eagles girls track team’s state championship is a testament to their team togetherness and work ethic.

“We work really well together and the fact that our girls team has been so strong this season has been the main thing that has really helped us,” Stephens said. “That has what has really pushed us to get those trophies every single meet.”

Corman captured first place in the Class 4A 1600-meter run with a time of 4:55.27. She edged out Gig Harbor’s Brenna Peloquin at the finish line by just 0.12 hundredths of a second. Corman said she was behind for most of the race, which was uncharted territory for Issaquah’s top distance runner.

“It was scary. I had some girls pass me and I never really had that happen to me before,” Corman said. “I just really tried my hardest to stay with them. I knew all of the runners were really amazing and I just gave it my all in the last 100 (meters).”

Collecting a first place medal was a dream come true for Corman.

“It was 100 percent worth it to stand up on the very top and see a bunch of my teammates just screaming at the top of their lungs,” she said. “It was just fantastic.”

Corman also captured second place in the 800 with a time of 2:12.72. Cayla Seligman nabbed eighth place in the girls 3200 finals.

Skyline junior Brandi Hughes captured first place in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.10. She also collected a third place finish in the 300 hurdles.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com