While they would not repeat as Southeast Conference champions in track and field, the Washington Demons came as close as possible to doing so, with both the boys and girls’ teams taking second place at the conference meet last night in Fairfield.

The Washington girls were only three-and-a-half points behind Mount Pleasant at 157, with the final margin coming all the way down to the very last event. The Demon boys would finish with 120 points, 32 behind the winning and hosting Fairfield Trojans.

Washington very nearly won the team title in back-to-back seasons on the girls’ side thanks to three individuals who won conference championships.

Leighton Messinger had two of those titles, running the top time of one minute seven seconds in the 400-meter hurdles and also tying for first place in the high jump by clearing four feet 10 inches.

Fellow junior Iris Dahl would win a conference crown in the 1,500-meter run, crossing the finish line in 4:57, while sophomore Jaedyn Moore was the 400-meter champion in 1:02.

Moore would also finish second in the both the open 100 and 200 for Washington, as would Messinger in the 100 hurdles, Jaslyn Villa in the long jump and fellow freshman Lauren Drahota in the open 400.

Junior Taylor Miksch would claim third place in the discus throw, while the Demon relay teams racked up plenty of medals, including silver in the 4-by-100, 4-by-400 and 4-by-800 meters and bronze in the 4-by-200 and both the sprint and distance medleys.

Another brilliant night by Greyson Hartman helped set the stage for the Washington boys to finish top two in the league for a fifth straight season. The sophomore was the champion of the shot put with a top toss of just over 59 feet, and he would also be crowned conference champ in the discus with a best throw of 159 feet one inch.

Senior Tyler Alderton was also a two-time conference champion for the Demons, winning the mile run in 4:38 and the two-mile in 10:23. Junior teammate Sawyer Tschantz was only tenths of a second behind him in second place in the mile.

Senior Jayfred Espinosa ended up third in the long jump for Washington, as did junior Carson Ryan in the 400 hurdles. The Demons also took second in the 4-by-800 and third in the 4-by-400 and both medley relays.