GREENSBORO — Brandon Jackson and Nikki Foreman had the honor of representing Washington at the 2-A state track championships this past weekend. While neither claimed a medal for the Pam Pack, they did get to close out what was an exceptional season for Washington track and field.

The campaign included a 2-A Eastern Plains Conference championship, as well as some medals from the eastern regional meet. More importantly, Jackson and Foreman — both seniors — got to compete at the state level once more before graduating.

Coach Jon Blank was already proud of all the team’s accomplishments considering that he didn’t know what the Pam Pack would have a few short months ago.

“We didn’t know what we had at the beginning of the year. With seniors, sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get because the senioritis kicks in,” he said. “(Jackson and Foreman) gave us their absolute best, along with all the other seniors. To finish your season at the state championship is what you want to do. You may not always be able to win it, but if you can get in there and do your best, you can live with however you finish.

“… I really challenged this group (of seniors) to leave a better impression on the program. We definitely got that out of the seniors this year.”

Blank added that, while only two made it to the state meet, he’s incredibly proud of what the entire senior class accomplished.

Jackson placed fifth in the state in shot put. He recorded a throw of an even 49 feet. T.W. Andrews’ Ehren Huebner placed fourth with a 51-foot toss to beat out Jackson for the last medal.

“Brandon was aggressive with his throws,” Blank said. “He fixed some of his technical issues that he had last week at regionals. I’m really proud of the way he attacked the event this year.”

Jackson added, “It was cool because, last year, I made it to the state championship and finished eighth. I bettered myself to end up in fifth place this year. … (I’m going to remember) showing people techniques and just teaching.”

This wasn’t Jackson’s first time contending for a state championship. His past experiences helped him this time around.

“I think, last year, the state meet intimidated him a little bit,” Blank said. “This year, he rose up to the occasion.”

Foreman had a little less luck in the 400-meter dash. She started a bit behind the eight ball by getting to the start line late. She ended up placing 15th after running the event in 1:03.97, which was over three seconds longer that her seed time.

“We were super proud of her being regional champion, but we expected some bigger things from her today,” Blank said. “I think inexperience at the state meet might have cost her a little bit, which is unfortunate with her being a senior. I wish I had had her for four years. I think we’d be having a different conversation if that were the case.

“She’s had a great year. She went out, took an approach to give her a chance to win. Those girls were just a little bit better today.”

Foreman enjoyed the experience of competing against top-notch talent.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “I never got to run here, so that was fun. Seeing all the times was good.”