TACOMA — Down to her final attempt in the 4A Girls Discus Throw at the WIAA Track & Field State Championships on Friday, Keira Isabelle Tupua sat in second place behind Ferris’ Cale Steinbaugh.

The Lake Stevens junior started practicing her form off to the side with a towel under the watchful eye of Rich Demeroutis, who used to coach her father, Niva, at Lynnwood High School back in the 1990s.

Niva was a star athlete at Lynnwood. He once qualified for the state championships in the shot put, discus and javelin throw in one season. He also excelled in football, and he was recruited by the University of Washington, where he played for the 1996 season.

Settling in Lake Stevens and raising four children in an athletic family — including Keira and her sister, Noelani, who each scored points

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