Seagulls hurdler wins the 300 hurdles in a time of 37.68, three-hundreths of a second off the state record time
PASCO -- Sometimes winning a state championship isn't quite enough.
J Hopkins blew past the other runners Saturday on his way to winning a state title in the 300-meter hurdles race for the second consecutive year. The Everett High School senior finished in a personal-record time and beat the second-place competitor by 1.42 seconds.
But after the race when Hopkins heard the public-address announcer say Hopkins' winning time -- 37.68 seconds -- he was somewhat devastated.
"Oh! … Damn it," Hopkins said before lowering his head and bending over in obvious disappointment.
"That's brutal," he added.
Even though Hopkins won the race during the Class 3A/4A state track and field championships at Edgar Brown Stadium, he was actually racing the clock: He wanted to break the 3A meet record.
Hopkins missed tying it by three-hundredths of a second. Jeff Allen of Capital ran a 37.65 in 1994.
Despite his frustration, Hopkins said he was glad to decisively beat North Central's David Butler in the 300 hurdles. Earlier in the day Hopkins finished second behind Butler in the 110 hurdles. Butler won by .28 seconds.