Rarefied Air: Hoquiam’s Burtenshaw overcomes mental hurdles en route to second state title

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Winning a state championship at any sport, at any level is an incredible feat that is remembered throughout a school’s history.

Do it a second time and that’s rarefied air.

In just her sophomore season, Hoquiam sprinter RanaèJah Burtenshaw did just that, cementing herself as the fastest in her class when she won her second-consecutive 1A state championship in the 100 meters on May 30 in Yakima.

But it wasn’t easy as last season’s state title put a target on Burtenshaw’s back and added expectations that anything less than a second state title would be a step backward.

Burtenshaw’s season didn’t get off to the best start as the super sophomore admitted her performances were not up to her standards.

Aside from running a 12.33 in the second meet of the season, Burtenshaw’s times were not what she expected after competing over the summer, where she ran a 12.20 to place fourth at the USATF Northwest Association Junior Olympics.

But with times in the 12.4-12.6 range nearing the league meet, Burtenshaw struggled to regain the form she had as a freshman.

“I had to really bring myself up because I was really doubting myself this season. It did not start off how I wanted it,” Burtenshaw said. “My times were really high and not where I wanted them to be considering how much I worked during the summer. So that was really weighing down on me because I was under-performing.”

As it turned out, the problem was more mental than anything else, and by the time the district meet rolled around, Burtenshaw had figured it out.

“I was looking at my competition for state and it was getting in my head. I was trying to run faster and I was straining myself. It made me go slower because I was trying to push myself to get a better time,” she said. “I just stopped looking at everybody else’s time and just focused on myself. I tried to perform how I wanted to.”

Burtenshaw repeated as District 4 champion with a time of 12.31, which was where she wanted to be heading to the state meet.

“That was more of where I wanted to be,” she said. “I don’t remember which meet it was, but the first one I ran a 12.3, I was like, ‘OK, I am finally starting to come back to where I’m usually at.’ … I was being consistent.”

She carried that consistency into her state prelim, where she won her heat with a 12.19 – her best time of the season to that point – to qualify second behind Zillah senior Aysia Garcia (12.09), her biggest threat to her state crown.

Now on the verge of becoming a two-time state champ, Burtenshaw didn’t think about the target on her back or her competitor’s times. She focused on her race.

“I just block out the noise and kind of take a deep breath in and focus on what I need to do to finish,” she said. “I just knew I had to get out of my blocks as fast as I could. That’s exactly what happened. My block start was the best it’s ever been. It helped a lot.”

Burtenshaw took the holeshot out of the block and sprinted to a wire-to-wire victory, posting a season-best time of 12.07 to beat Garcia (12.17) and company.

“It was a big relief. I didn’t even care about what time I got. All that mattered was I won. I was very thankful for that,” said Burtenshaw, who understood the significance of becoming a multiple state champion. “I think it’s really important to me that I can make a name for myself and for representing Hoquiam. It’s not a big school so to be a state champion, it puts the name Hoquiam out there and I’m proud to represent that and to be a role model for other people.”

Burtenshaw further added to her emerging legacy by anchoring the Grizzlies’ girls 4×100 team to a fifth-place finish to cap off her state meet.

The talented Grizzly took time to thank Hoquiam assistant coach Tim Pelan Jr., who she credits with helping her through tough times this season.

“When I wasn’t running how I wanted to, he always just believed in me,” she said. “He never once doubted me and even when I didn’t believe in myself. He would always be there and be a shoulder I could lean on.”