Enumclaw High graduate Kolton Carlson is making the most of his senior season at Whitworth University.

Competing the weekend of April 22-23 in Portland, Ore., Carlson became the Northwest Conference champion in the hammer throw. His distance of 178 feet, 8 inches not only topped the conference field, but left him sitting No. 17 among the nation’s Division III athletes and on track for the May 26-28 national championships in Iowa. It was a personal-best effort for Carlson, who also competes in the discus and shot put.

The Northwest Conference championships were again good to Whitworth University. The men’s team won a seventh consecutive team title and the Whitworth women took the championships for a second straight year.

Carlson has excelled in the athletic arena while tackling a formidable academic challenge. On a pre-med track, he is majoring in health sciences with minors in biology and chemistry.

The oldest of Kurt and Heidi Carlson’s four children, he is one of three siblings taking part in Whitworth track and field. He has two sisters – Sierra, a junior, and Tallie, a freshman – also competing for the Pirates.