SD Prep Sports: Prep Track & Field

www.sdprepsports.com

E-mail us at sdprepsports@cox.net

Home   Swimming/Diving   Cross Country  Track & Field   Roller Hockey   Water Polo   CIF Scorecard

2010 Prep Track & Field
San Diego Section

Grossmont-West Hills rivalry highlights annual multi-event championship meet

Posted June 27, 2010

While the San Diego Multi-Event Championship continues to draw a cult following among high school athletes from the region, one new twist has been added to the annual boys decathlon/girls heptathlon put on by meet director Lyle Barton: A rivalry has clearly developed between athletes from West Hills and Grossmont high schools.

“Now that there’s a lot of Grossmont guys out training with the West Hills guys for the decathlon, there is definitely a rivalry,” said Patrick Tilley, who was among seven Grossmont athletes who competed at this year's event sponsored by the Wolf Pack Track Club.

Grossmont’s Daniel Santillan was the highest East County place-finisher in the two-day event held June 25-26 at Cuyamaca College. He finished third with 4,165 points. GHS teammate Adam Omahen was fourth with 4,013 points, placing ahead of West Hills' Ken Saxer, who led the six Wolf Pack entrants with 3,883 points in fifth place.

As for the rivalry, Grossmont edged West Hills by three points for the unofficial team trophy.

Tilley, who competed in the 800-meter run and high jump for GHS this past prep season, finished eighth overall in the 17-deep decathlon field, joining teammates Santiallan and Omahen with top eight finishes. Three West Hills athletes also placed among the top eight finishers. Following Saxer were Jared Houghton (sixth, 3,775 points) and Daniel Reinert (seventh, 3,682 points).

Saxer recorded the top pole vault mark at 12-0 while Reinert registered the top mark in the discus throw at 90 feet.

Poway’s Ben McCollum won this year’s decathlon title with 4,572 points in a two-day battle against Carlsbad’s Scott Snow, who finished second with 4,464 points. McCollum, one of the returning veteran s, made a big jump up the standings after finishing 10th last year with 3,644 points.

Overall, four athletes topped the 4,000-point mark this year and six more accumulated more than 3,000 points. Six different athletes scored first-place finishes.

In the girls heptathlon, West Hills’ Justine Fordyce captured the high school division title with 2,380 points to best teammates Cassie Slagle (1,934 points) and Kaitlyn Finney (1,306 points). Lauren Bartsch, from Coronado Middle School, won the junior heptathlon title with 2,171 points.

“I thought it was evenly matched across the board,” said Barton, an assistant coach at Cuyamaca College and West Hills. “The camaraderie was such among the athletes that it was a pleasure to put on the event. Hopefully next year, it will be bigger and better and we’ll be back again.”

Athletes competed against set standards, rather than against one another, for points in each event. Boys competed in 10 events; girls competed in seven events.

Santillan took a first-place finish in one of the 10 contested events when he timed 54.20 in the 400 dash to complete the first day of competition. He finished the first day in fourth place with 2,362 points – 29 points behind West Hills’ Austin Peterson.

Peterson had actually moved into second place in the standings following the top showing in the 110 high hurdles (17.60) to jump-start the second day but withdrew from the competition after suffering an minor injury during warm-ups for the pole vault.

Santillan finished 52 points ahead of teammate Omahen in the ensuing battle for third place.

“Frankly, I didn’t expect to be in the position I was in,” Santillan said. “I just wanted to maintain third going into the last couple of events. Looking back, if I didn’t mess up in a couple of events, I might have had a shot at second place or even first place.”

Rounding out this year’s decathlon field were Grossmont’s Brian Parker in ninth place (3,245 points), West Hills’ Matthew Jorge in 10th place (3,226 points), Grossmont’s David Popko in 11th place (2,987 points) and Joey Stanley in 12th place (2,752 points) and West Hills’ Barrington Kroger in 13th place (2,010 points).

Grossmont’s Nick Christie joined West Hills’ Peterson on the sideline for the second day after accumulating 1,988 points in the opening day of competition.

Fordyce was among three West Hills teammates entered in the heptathlon. She recorded top marks in the 100 hurdles (19.60), shot put (27-1), javelin throw (72-11) and 800 run (3:08.60).

“I was here doing all these different events I had never attempted before,” said Fordyce, an incoming sophomore. “I had a lot of fun.”

Bartsch, an incoming freshman who was competing in her very first track competition, captured top marks in the high jump (4-6), 200 dash (30.20) and long jump (13-1.25).

Finney said the challenge of competing in so many new events was part of the lure of the event.

“Hurdles are easy for me but I really liked the high jump,” she said. “In the heptathlon, it’s a given that you’re not going to be good at everything. But trying and learning how to do new events is half the fun. You meet new people. There’s also not the pressure you feel in a dual meet. It’s much more relaxed and you can have fun.”

Fordyce echoed the camaraderie aspect of the event.

“I had to learn so many new things in such little time,” she said. “I spent three to four hours each day at practice and when I couldn’t do one of the events, my teammates would come over to me and show me how to do it. I had a lot of support. I’ll be back.”

Sergio Amaya, a Mt. Miguel graduate, out-pointed Cuyamaca College teammate Frank Chan — 3,402 to 2,747 — to win the men’s open decathlon’s title.

Rita Hanscom captured the women’s open heptathlon title with 5,860 points. She was likely one of the most celebrated entrants in the history of the event after winning five gold medals, including setting a world record in the heptathlon in the 55-60 age group, at last summer's Masters Athletics Championships in Finland.

The boys decathlon title went down to the final event, with Snow having an outside chance to catch McCollum in the standings. The incoming Carlsbad sophomore turned in a personal best 4:31.68 to capture the top mark in the 1,500-meter run. McCollum finished third in 4:52.55.

Snow had entered the final event trailing McCollum by 239 points and finished 108 points behind the Poway football-track standout when the final points were tallied.

McCollum had led the decathlon field since the opening event – the 100-meter dash – when he timed 12.10. Overall, he posted top marks in four of the 10 events.

“Since I was leading from the start, I really didn’t have any strategy,” said McCollum, who also recorded top marks in the long jump (19-0), shot put (31-8.75) and javelin throw (108-11).

Meanwhile, Snow kept close chase with top marks in the high jump (6-0) and 1,500 run. He ran his personal best in the latter event.

“I knew it would be close,” said McCollum, a hurdler and triple jumper during the track season. “I hadn’t done of a lot of these events since last year. My time in the 1,500 last year was 5:12 and he (Snow) needed to beat me by about 30 seconds to win the whole thing. I knew I couldn’t let him get too far ahead of me, maybe about 100 meters. I pushed it to a 4:53.”

Omahen pushed it as well in the 1,500 to finish second in 4:41.97 and, in the process, jump from sixth to fourth in the final standings.

Tilley was among several first-timers in the decathlon. “You’ve got to be strong in order to do this,” he said. “You can’t just pick one or two events you know you are going to do well in. You’ve got to go out there and try to do well in all of them. You have to be an all-around athlete. You have to be strong, tall and lanky.”

“It’s been a fun month training for this,” Barton said. “I think everyone enjoyed themselves and had a good time.”

California State Track & Field Prelims
San Diego Section finals qualifiers
(Top 9 qualify for finals)

Boys 4x100 relay
Non-qualifiers: 15. El Camino 42.78; 19. Torrey Pines 43.46; 21. Mt. Miguel 43.75

Boys 1600 run
Heat 1: 3. Chris Brewer (RBV, 11) 4:18.77
Heat 2: 5. Ryan Urie (Patrick Henry, 11) 4:16.44
Non-qualifier: Dylan Marx (Mt. Miguel, 12) 4:24.18 (9th Heat 2)

Boys 110 hurdles
Heat 1: 2. Devin Hickey (Vista, 10) 14.23
Heat 2: 1. Kevin Finley (Granite HIlls, 12) 13.90
Non-qualifier: Joseph Charlot (Mira Mesa, 12) 14.58 (7th Heat 1)

Boys 400 dash
Non-qualifiers: Ryan Morgan (Ramona, 12) 49.09; Alfredo Corral (Bishop's, 12) 49.32; Chancise Watkins (Palo Verde, 12) 49.40

Boys 100 dash
Non-qualifiers: Justin Freeman (Carlsbad, 12) 10.63; Bassim El-Sabawi (Torrey Pines, 12) 10.68; Shamone Fletcher (Mira Mesa, 11) 10.73

Boys 800 run
Non-qualifiers: Matt Carpowich (Torrey Pines, 11) 1:53.25; Trent Newquist (Torrey Pines, 11) 1:55.85; Carlos Bojorquez (Kearny, 11) 1:56.52

Boys 300 intermediate hurdles
Heat 3: 1. Kevin Finley (Granite Hills, 12) 37.18
Non-qualifiers: Jacob Hare (Scripps Ranch, 11) 38.81 (4th Heat 2); Alex Allen (Mt. Carmel, 11) 38.90

Boys 200 dash
Qualifier: Jared Pickering (Rancho Bernardo, 11) 21.30 (2nd Heat 4)
Non-qualifiers: Bassim El-Sabawi (Torrey Pines, 12) 21.73; Todd Herrod (Scripps Ranch, 12) 21.91

Boys triple jump
Qualifiers: 3. Travis Johnson (Morse, 11) 48-6.5; 7. Jordan Hines (Eastlake, 11) 47-9.25
Non-qualifiers: 11. Justin Malishan (Mission Hills, 12) 47-3.5

Boys high jump
Qualifiers: Brandon Ford (Mt. Carmel, 11) 6-7; Deante Kemper (Serra, 11) 6-5; Tyler Jordan (Ramona, 12) 6-5
Non-qualifiers: Bryant Mitchell (Mt. Miguel, 12) 6-5; Alex Campbell (Scripps Ranch, 11) 6-5

Boys long jump
Non-qualifiers: Julian Young (Rancho Bernardo, 12) 22-6; Travis Johnson (Morse, 11) 22-5

Boys pole vault
Qualifiers: Dillon Fox (La Costa Canyon, 12) 15-3; Jeremy McGrath (La Jolla, 12) 14-9
Non-qualifier: Daniel Spencer (Carlsbad, 12) 14-9

Boys shot put
Non-qualifiers: 14. Jose Aviles (La Jolla, 12) 52-109; 20. Mario Yakoo (Steele Canyon, 10) 49-2.5

Boys discus throw
Qualifier: 4. Thomas Hart (St. Augustine, 12) 184-8
Non-qualifiers: 19. Chad Dobbins (Mission Hills, 12) 159-8; 21. Logan Peterson (Ramona, 12) 157-0

Girls 4x100 relay
Non-qualifiers: 19. El Camino 48.52; 20. Granite Hills 48.52; 24. Steele Canyon 49.08

Girls 1600 run
Qualifiers: 3. Alli Billmeyer (Torrey Pines, 11) 4:59.28; 7. Kelly Lawson (La Costa Canyon, 9) 5:01.36; 9. Erin Menefee (Mt. Carmel, 12) 5:03.45

Girls 100 hurdles
Qualifier: 7. Danielle Littleton (Vista, 12) 14.14
Non-qualifiers: 17. Iesha Iwobi (Oceanside, 12) 14.73; 20. Melissa Barnum (Rancho Bernardo, 12) 14.85

Girls 400 dash
Non-qualifiers: Nikki Larch-Miller (Granite Hills, 10) 58.15; Demi Lucero (Escondido, 10) 58.58; Jasmine Askew (Scripps Ranch, 11) 59.16

Girls 100 dash
Qualifier: Jenna Puterbaugh (Santa Fe Christian, 12) 11.69 (2nd Heat 2)
Non-qualifiers: Jasmine Gibbs (El Camino, 10) 11.83 (3rd Heat 2); Kortney Ross (Westview, 12) 11.89

Girls 800 run
Non-qualifiers: Ashlyn Dadkah (Torrey Pines, 10) 2:13.10; Amanda Post (Cathedral Catholic, 12) 2:13.41; Carina Gillespie (Otay Ranch, 9) 2:15.53

Girls 300 hurdles
Non-qualifiers: Joniece Ervin (Oceanside, 10) 45.06; Tamika Smith (Elk Camino, 10) 45.32; Marlene Estell (Mission HIlls, 11) 47.46

Girls 200 dash
Qualifier: Jenna Puterbaugh (Santa Fe Christian, 12) 24.09 (2nd Heat 3)
Non-qualifiers: Karly Zlatic (La Jolla, 9) 25.03; Jasmine Gibbs (El Camino, 10) 25.19

Girls 4x400 relay
Non-qualifiers: Mt. Carmel 3:57.44; Vista 4:00.68; Scripps Ranmch 4:08.55

Girls high jump
Non-qualifiers: Mariah Slack (Vista, 9) 5-4; Courtney Rockwood (La Jolla Country Day, 12) NH; Shayla Woodhouse (Scripps Ranch, 12) NH

Girls pole vault
Qualifiers: Kortney Ross (Westview, 12) 11-9; Mimi Lian (Rancho Bernardo, 9) 11-9
Non-qualifier: Kaitlin McCallum (La Jolla Country, 10) NH

Girls long jump
Qualifier: 9. Jasmine Gibbs (El Camino, 10) 17-11.5
Non-qualifers: 10. Iesha Iwobi (Oceanside, 12) 17-10.75; 19. Danielle Littleton (Vista, 12) 17-6.5

Girls triple jump
Qualifiers: 7. Tamika Smith (El Camino, 10) 38-11; 9. Iesha Iwobi (Oceanside, 12) 38-7.75
Non-qualifier: 15. Vanora Guerard (La Jolla, 10) 36-6.75

Girls shot put
Non-qualifier: 19. Abigail Leaupepe (Morse, 12) 39-5.5

Girls discus throw
Qualifier: 4. Alexa Evans (West Hills, 11) 148-4
Non-qualifiers: Sophia Dukes (El Centro Southwest, 12) 135-9; Nneka Anyanwu (Westview, 11) 130-8

Top peformances
•Granite Hiils senior Kevin Finley wins both his heats in the hurdles, timing a personal record 13.90 (wind-aided mark) in the 110-meter hurdles and 37.18 in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Finley is among four hurdlers to come in at or under 13.90 in the high hurdles and finished with the second-fastest qualifying mark in the intermediates. Bolth times were personal records. "The goal is the same as last year -- to peak a state," Finley said. "It was a good race today (in the 110).It will be a good race tomorrow. There are four of us under 39.95."

Finley finished third in qualifying in the high hurdles, trailing top qualifier Jonathan Cabral, a junior from Agoura in the Southern Section, at 13.70 and Buchanan senikor Sean Johnson, the second-fastestg qaualifier at 13.87. Both Cabral and Johnson also won their respective heats. Finley finished ahead of Freedom sophomore Kenneth Walker (14.12) to win his heat.

Finley had the second-fasted qualifying time in the intermdiate hurdles, trailing Heat 1 winner R.J. Frasier, a senior from Jesuit (Sac-Joaquin Section). Finley edged Roosevelt senior Austin Hill (37.60) to win his heat.

•Eastlake junior Jordan Hines records a school record triple jump of 47 feet, 9.25 inches to finish second in his flight, seventh overall in qualifying. Amazingly, Hines did not start triple-jumping until the final regular season dual meet. "He's the best athlete at our school," EHS coach Rone Torres said.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
Saturday, June 5, 2010

San Diego Section Notepad
•West Hills junior Alexa Evans became the first San Diego Section athlete to earn a state medal when she placed fifth in the girls discus throw. Evans threw 142 feet, 7 inches to fall short of her prelim mark of 148-4 she set the previous day. Evans finished fourth in qualifying.

•Westview senior Kortney Ross became San Diego's first gold medalist by clearing a personal record 13-6 in the girls pole vault. She successfully defended her state title in the event, recorded the fourth-best height in the U.S. this year and the fifth-best all-time in California. San Diego had two medalists in the event: Rancho Bernardo freshman Mimi Lian was sixth at 11-9.

•Ramona senior Tyler Jordan matched Ross with a gold medal a few minuts later by wiknning the boys high jump in a dramtic jump-off. Officially, Jordan cleared 6-11 to edge Junipero Serra senior Harrison Steed (6-9). Serra junior Deantge Kemper tied for eighth place at 6-5.

•Rancho Bernardo junior Molly Grabill put in a strong effort the final two laps to win the girls 3,200 run in 10:20.25 ahead of runner-up Liberty Miller, a senior from Simi Valley (Southern Section). Torrey Pines senior Megan Morgan was third in 10:29.70. Mt. Carmel's Erin Menefee finished 22nd in the 30-deep field in 11;09.07.

•In the girls 1,600 run, Torrey Pines' Alli Billmeyer finished second in 4:47.79. LCC freshman Kelly Lawson was eighth in 5:01.76. Mt. Carmel's Erin Menefee was 11th in 5:08.82..

•In the boys 1,600 run, Patrick Henry's Ryan Urie was a surprise second-place finish in 4:21.44. RBV junior Chris Brewer placed a disappointing 11th in 4:25.80.

•La Costa Canyon senior Dillon Fox placed in a tie for second place in the boys pole vault, with four vaulters finishing at 15-9 behind event winner Scott Cook, a senior from Mater Dei (Southern Section). Cook cleared 16-3.

•Granite Hills senior Kenin Finley was a double medalist -- thrid in the 110 high hurdles (13.86) and fourth in the 300 intermediate hurdles (37.51). The high hurdles time is a new personal record. The 300 time was his second-fastest ever. Vista sophomore Devin Hickey (14.38) was seventh in the 110s.

•Eastlake junior Jordan Hines earned a rate state medal for the Metro Conference with a fifth-place finish in the boys triple jump, setting a new school record at 48-2.75.

•Santa Fe Christian senior Jenna Puterbaugh finished sixth in the girls 200 dash (23.99) and eighth in the 100 dash (11.79).

•El Camino sophomore Jasmine Gibbs recorded a sixth-place medal in the girls long jump at 18-11.

•Among non-medalists, St. Augustine senior Thomas Hart was seventh in the boys discus throw (173-8) while Vista senior Danielle Littleton was eighth in the girls 100 hurdles (14.22).

•In the boys 3,200 run, La Costa Canyon sophomore Darren Fahy placed eighth in 8:59.88. Eight runners timed under 9:00, with South Pasadena junior Sam Pons winning in 8:55.40. Carlsbad senior Mike Goodger passed Mt. Carmel senior Jacob Wood on the last lap to finish 27th in the field of 31 runers in 9:39.56. Wood finished 28th in 9:43.22.

Metro qualifies three athletes for elite state meet

Posted June 2, 2010
In retrospect, Metro Conference athletes fared about as reasonably well as might be expected against an exceptionally strong field at last Saturday’s San Diego Section track and field championship meet at Mt. Carmel High School. While the meet overall lacked its usual buzz of excitement from the crowd, there were some electrifying marks set around the oval — just not enough of them by South County participants.

Three Metro athletes qualified for this weekend’s state championship meet: Otay Ranch freshman Carina Gillespie in the girls 800-meter run and Otay Ranch junior Marques Roberts and Eastlake junior Jordan Hines, both in the boys triple jump.

By contrast, East County athletes earned state qualifying berths in 12 events, including four relays.

The usual complement of North County teams battled for team titles, with Torrey Pines winning the Division I boys title and El Camino winning the Division I girls championship. Ramona captured the Division II boys team title while Cathedral Catholic and La Jolla shared the Division II girls championship.

Otay Ranch, with 10 A-heat/flight qualifiers, finished fourth in the Division I boys standings and 14th in the Division I girls standings to lead South Bay squads. Eastlake finished in a tie with Otay Ranch in the Division I girls standings. Montgomery, benefiting greatly from the presence of standout Thomas Little, finished ninth in the Division II boys standings while Olympian placed 13th in the Division II girls standings.

“We cant’ be too disappointed because we had some outstanding performances,” Otay Ranch head coach Ian Cumming said. “Our athletes performed well against some very good competition.”

Gillespie was the perfect example.

Among a number of standout ninth-graders on the Mustang team, Gillespie notched the second-fastest qualifying time (2:15.43) in the section prelims after winning the event in 2:19.03 at the Mesa League finals on May 14.

She moved up toward the front of the pack early in the two-lap race and was among the top three runners midway through the second lap. However, Carlsbad senior Kaylie Belk came up to challenge Gillespie in the final 50 meters, with the Otay Ranch freshman holding on to nip Belk by a scant 0.03 seconds at the finish line.

Gillespie finished the race with a season-best 2:14.89; Belk placed a very narrow fourth in 2:14.92.

Cathedral Catholic senior Amanda Post won the race in 2:14.09, followed by Torrey Pines sophomore Ashlyn Dadkah in 2:14.23. Eighty-three hundredths of a second separated the top four finishers.

Gillespie enters the state meet with the 20th best time among the 26 qualifiers.

“Honestly, I didn’t have any expectations for my freshman year,” she said. “I just wanted to keep improving and help my team make it to the finals.”

Cumming said faith was the key to her phenomenal success as a first-year high school runner.

“I told her the key as a freshman was having the faith to believe it could happen, and it did,” he said. “The progression started with a 2:23 to a 2:20, then to a 2:19 and now to a 2:14. The key was believing she could do it.”

Roberts, meanwhile, had ranked among the elite from the start of the season. He recorded the No. 1 mark in the state of 47-5.25 at midseason and though he was later passed, he remained a threat to win the section title. He was among three jumpers to hit the sand beyond the 48-foot mark at the section prelims.

Roberts finished third at last weekend’s section finals with a mark of 48-1 — a distance equaled by Morse junior Travis Johnson.

Vista junior Stefan McClure led the trio of 48-foot triple jumpers in the section prelims with a mark of 48-6, followed by Johnson at 48-4.75 and Roberts at 48-0.5.

McClure won the event at last Saturday’s finals with a jump of 48-9, followed by Mission Hills senior Justin Malishan (48-6), Roberts and Johnson.

Hines already has his positions filled out in football and roller hockey and it appears he has also found his event in track and field — the triple jump — after joining Roberts as the second Metro state qualifier in the event.

Prior to the finals, Hines said his goal was to jump 47 feet after placing fifth in the section prelims with a season-best mark of 46-11.5. His 46-6 in the finals fell short but was still good enough to eclipse the state at-large qualifying standard of 46-2.

Hines finished second at the Mesa League finals with a triple jump of 45-2.5 (behind event winner Roberts’ 45-3.5).

Roberts also won the league long jump title (20-11.5); he placed eighth in the event at the section finals (21-3.5).

A total of five section triple jumpers met the state qualifying standard.

Overall, the top three place-finishers in each event at the section finals advanced to the state meet.

Among the Metro Conference’s other A-heat/flight qualifiers, Otay Ranch senior Jacob Roach finished fourth in the boys 3,200 run while Mustang classmate Eric Severiano placed fourth in the boys 400 dash to just miss state qualifying berths.

Also among non-state qualifiers, Montgomery’s Little finished fourth in the boys 110 high hurdles (14.72) and seventh in the 300 intermediate hurdles (40.23), Otay Ranch freshman Donald Molton was fifth in the boys 100 dash (10.99), Otay Ranch junior Isaac Mallett was fifth in the boys 300 hurdles (39.81), Bonita Vista junior Jade Palm finished fifth in the girls 300 hurdles (47.63) and Eastlake senior Michelle Walling placed fifth in the girls 3,200 run (11:22.95).

Continuing among the Metro’s A-heat/flight participants, Otay Ranch freshman Kiera Williams was sixth in the girls 400 dash (59.00), Eastlake senior Diamond Mitchell was sixth in both the girls 100 dash (12.33) and 200 dash (25.40), Otay Ranch senior Bryant Haro was sixth in the boys discus throw (144-10), Chula Vista senior Justicia Sueing finished sixth in the girls discus throw (117-8), Sweetwater senior Aylin Mejia placed eighth in the girls 3,200 run (11:29.93) and ninth in the 1,600 run (5:13.45), Eastlake junior Daniela Sullivan was ninth in the girls 400 dash (1:01.09) and Otay Ranch junior J’Vion Johnson was ninth in the boys high jump (6-2).

In A-heat relay events, Otay Ranch (49.32) and Eastlake (49.58) finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the girls 4x100 relay

Roach ran in the No. 2 spot for virtually the entire race before noticeably tiring the final two laps, upon which he was passed by three others runners. The pace set by La Costa Canyon sophomore Darren Fahy was torrid and eventually took its toll on the elite field of 24 runners. Fahy finished in a blazing 9:00.49, followed by Mt. Carmel senior Jacob Wood (9:08.67) and Carlsbad senior Mike Goodger (9:13.55). Roach timed 9:19.32 to beat his prelim mark despite fading in the latter stages of the race.

Patrick Henry senior Kellen Blumberg, one of the runners who passed Roach on the final lap, collapsed short of the finish line and rolled across to break the electronic beam in a bizarre ending to the race, finishing seventh in 9:40.91. Two other runners failed to finish the race.

Roach entered the finals with a prelim time of 9:24.4 (third behind Wood and Fahy) after clocking 9:38.65 to win his second consecutive Mesa League 3,200 title. His best time in the regular season had been 9:13.49.

“It was just me and him (Fahy) until the last two laps,” said Roach, summoning up a great measure of personal pride.

Roach had he felt in about as good as shape as he had all season at the Metro championship meet and looked like a thoroughbred on the course while challenging the LCC super sophomore for the lead. The two-man pack was well ahead of a cluster of four to five other runners but, as the race progressed, that cluster slowly closed the gap on the leaders.

“I got tired,” Roach said simply. “I started to fall behind.”

A strong effort down the final straightway preserved fourth place for the Mustang standout.

“You have to commend Jacob Roach — he laid it all on the line,” Cumming said.

Fahy entered the finals with the top qualifying time of 9:24.36 after turning in a regular season best of 9:01.12. His section finals time ranks fourth among this weekend’s state meet qualifiers.

Severiano, who earned honors as this year’s Mesa League male athlete of the meet, clocked 49.46 in the quarter-mile event to better his prelim time of 49.57. He finished arrears of three fellow seniors — Ramona’s Ryan Morgan (48.52), Palo Verde’s Chance Watkins (48.64) and Bishop’s Alfredo Corral (48.87), all Division II entrants.

Severiano thus earned honors as the Division I champion even though he did not qualify for the state meet.

“It’s not too often that three Division II runners place ahead of the top Division I runner,” Cumming said.

In the girls 3,200, Walling bettered her prelim time of 11:23.92 while Mejia finished nearly 10 seconds slower than her prelim time of 11:19.64.

Rancho Bernardo junior Molly Grabill won the girls 3,200 run in 10:37.28 while Torrey Pines senior Megan Morgan (10:44.52) also finished under 11:00.

Conspicuously absent from last weekend’s finals was Bonita Vista senior Alfredo Rodriguez, who was a surprise scratch in the boys 800 run. Rodriguez owned one of the top times in the event in the section during the regular season. He briefly ranked first in the section at midseason and posted a season-best time of 1:55.64 at the league prelims. He posted the fourth-best qualifying time of 1:56.62 at the preceding section prelims after handily winning the event with a 1:56.22 at the Mesa League finals.

Torrey Pines junior Trent Newquist won the section 800 title in 1:54.29, followed by Torrey Pines classmate Matt Carpowich (1:54.59) in second and Kearny junior Carlos Bojorquez (1:54.77) in third as the section’s three state qualifiers in the event.

Of note, Torrey Pines junior Allie Billmeyer clocked the nation’s fastest time of 4:45.06 this year in winning the girls1,600 run.

Granite Hills’ Finley tops East County state meet qualifiers

East County prep athletes will be well represented at this weekend’s state track and field championship meet at Buchanan High School in Clovis. The qualifying list includes athletes in 12 events, headed by returning state silver medalist Kevin Finley, a senior from Granite Hills High School who qualified for this year’s state meet in an impressive three events.

Finley qualified in three events: the boys 110-meter high hurdles, 300 intermediate hurdles and pole vault. He placed second at last year’s state finals in the high hurdles.

Finley set a new school record in winning the 110s at last weekend’s section finals. He became a double gold section medalist by also winning the 300s. Both times earned him Division I championships as well. He placed third in the pole vault by winning a dramatic jump-off.

The top three place-finishers, plus those athletes who met a predetermined standard, qualified for the state meet from the section finals.

Competition at this year’s state championship meet begins Friday with prelims and concludes Saturday with finals. Field events start at 3 p.m. on Friday, followed by running events at 5 p.m. Field events on Saturday start at 4:30 p.m., followed by running events at 6 p.m.

Finley’s two gold medals led East County qualifiers. West Hills senior Jake Peterson captured the Division I title in the boys shot put while also earning a ticket to the state meet with an overall third-place finish.

Other East County state meet qualifiers include Christian junior Tyrone Sauls in the boys shot put (55-1.5, second section), West Hills junior Alexa Evans in the girls discus throw (134-3, second section), Granite Hills sophomore Nikki Larch-Miller in the girls 400 dash (57.17, second section), Mt. Miguel senior Dylan Marx in the boys 1,600 run (4:14.0, fourth section), Steele Canyon sophomore Mario Yakoo in the boys shot put (50-5.25, fourth section) and Mt. Miguel senior Bryant Mitchell in the boys high jump (6-6, fourth section).

Steele Canyon’s boys 4x400 relay team will be making a return trip to the state meet after clocking 3:21.89 to place third at this year’s section finals. Alex Perlin, Cody Simpson and Joseph Cisneros return from last year’s thrilling fourth-place medalist squad. Chance James replaces graduated David Klarer this year.

Also qualifying for the state meet are Granite Hills’ 4x100 girls relay team (48.24, second section), Steele Canyon’s 4x100 girls relay team (49.69, third section) and Mt. Miguel’s 4x100 boys relay team (42.53).

Sauls, Larch-Miller, Evans and Finley are all returning state meet qualifiers.

Finley’s name has been at the top of the best marks list in both hurdles events all season and he didn’t disappoint, though he had to fend off stiff challenges to win both events at last weekend’s section finals.

As a junior, Finley finished third at the section finals in the boys 110 high hurdles (14.46) and second in the 300 intermediate hurdles (38.99). He easily blasted both times this year.

The GHHS standout set a new school record in winning the high hurdles, timing 13.96 seconds to eclipse the former record of 13.98 set in 2001 by Jeff Hunter, now Finley’s hurdles coach. Finley’s best this season entering the meet had been 14.02 – two seconds faster than last year’s second-place time at the state finals. He edged Vista’s Devin Hickey (14.17) in the 110s to capture this year’s section title.

Finley’s winning time ranks second all-time in the section and was second on last weekend’s performance list in the state. Hickey’s time was eighth-best in section history.

Finley (38.05) held off Scripps Ranch’s Jacob Hare (38.41) to claim victory in the 300s. The time was 10th best on last weekend’s performance list in the state but still under his personal record 37.8 clocking.

The multi-talented Finley won a jump-off to finish third in the pole vault at 14-6. His career best in the event is 15-0.

Overall, Finley competed in four A-heat/flight finals events at this year’s section championship meet. He also ran the third leg on the Eagles’ 4x400 relay team that finished ninth.

“It feels really good,” said Finley, who plans to concentrate on the decathlon at CSU Northridge. “I feel pretty excited. I had a great day.”

That was an understatement.

Finley has chased sub-14.0 territory all season in the high hurdles and now that he has finally arrived, he wants to continue to lower that mark. Hunter still has a non-wind legal 13.86 on the record board at GHHS. Finley wants that record as well.

“My goal now is to get closer to 13.8,” he said. “I’m still hoping to break it. In the 300s, I’d like to drag my PR down a little lower.”

Peterson, who is bound for San Jose State on a football scholarship, said fine-tuning on his speed and quickness were the keys to excelling at the section finals. “The result was more explosiveness,” he said.

The reigning Grossmont Hills League champion, Peterson entered last weekend’s section finals with a school record 51-8 and increased that to 53-1.5 to qualify for the state meet. He finished behind La Jolla senior Jose Aviles (56-6.25, first section) and Christian’s Sauls (second section), the top two performers among Division II throwers.

Sauls placed third at last year’s section finals with a put of 51-10.

Meanwhile, Marx accomplished his goal by setting a new school record in the boys 1,600, in the process eclipsing the state qualifying standard by 0.49 seconds. He will be making his first trip to the state track meet after earning three trips to the state cross country finals.

“Last year, I missed by one-and-a-half seconds – this has been a year in the making,” said an elated Marx, who also competed in the grueling 3,200 run to close out the meet, placing fifth in the field of 24 runners in 9:35.14.

Marx finished as the Division II boys champion in both the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.

Larch-Miller qualified for last year’s state meet as a member of the GHHS 4x400 team. Thus, she will be making her second trip to Clovis.

“It feels pretty good,” Larch-Miller said,” but I couldn’t have done it without my coaches’ help and my mother’s motivation.”

Evans, this year’s Grossmont Valley League champion, owns the school record in the girls discus throw. She set it last year and broke it again this year with a distance of 147-9. She entered the section finals as the top qualifier at 141-6 after winning last year’s section title at 134-6. Now, she has one more shot to expand on her school record this year.

“I want to get to the second day this year,” Evans said of her goal at the state meet. “I want to make the finals.”

Besides competing for berths in the state meet, athletes were also contending for Division I and Division II individual championships.

Mt. Miguel sophomore Charity Lyons finished as the Division II girls long jump champion (18-3.5, fourth section) while El Capitan freshman Vanessa Sierra finished as the Division II girls shot put champion (37-7, sixth section) and Mt. Miguel’s Bryant finished as the Division II champion in the boys triple jump (45-0, seventh section).

Mitchell also met the state qualifying standard — one of five section jumpers in the event to do so.

Both Mt. Miguel’s boys and girls 4x100 relays captured Division II titles. The Matador boys unit is comprised of sophomore Derrick Dunn, juniors Walfirdo Rodrirguez and Ronnie Hicks and senior Patrick Arizmendi.

Yakoo finished second to Peterson for the Division I boys shot put title.

Mt. Miguel finished runner-up to Ramona in the Division II boys team standings while Granite Hills tied Scripps ranch for fifth place in the Division I boys team standings. The Matadors finished 11 points behind the Bulldogs for the division title.

Granite Hills tied Torrey Pines for fifth place in the Division I girls team standings while Monte Vista finished fourth and Mt. Miguel finished fifth in the Division II girls team standings.

For updated information, visit the Web site at www.cifstate.org.

Mustangs put best foot forward at Metro finals - again
Updated May 22, 2010
Otay Ranch once again dominated this year’s Mesa League championship finals, held May 14 on the Mustangs’ oval. Otay Ranch racked up a meet best 245 points in the boys meet to easily out-distance runner-up Eastlake (133 points). Bonita Vista followed in third place with 63 points – well behind the Titans. The Mustangs out-pointed Eastlake, 159-115, to finish atop the girls team standings. Bonita Vista also was third in the girls field, finishing with 105 points in a very competitive top three race for the team title.

Otay Ranch swept dual meet championships during the regular season, with the Titans placing runner-up.

The Mustangs took first-place finishes in 17 individual events at this year’s league finals – 11 in the boys field (out of 16 events) and six in the girls field. Otay Ranch also won three of the four contested relay events.

Highlighting this year’s Mustang parade of champions was senior Jacob Roach, who successfully defended his title in the boys 3,200 run by clocking 9:38.65 to outlast Bonita Vista junior Shin Agbede (9:44.11).

“I’m very excited,” said Roach, who entered the meet with the third-fastest time in the section this season. “The last 200 meters it was just me and him.”

Roach was involved in perhaps the meet’s most anticipated event – the boys 1,600 run – where he matched up against defending league champion Alfredo Rodriguez, a senior from Bonita Vista. Roach took a short lead with 300 meters to go in the race but Rodriguez (4:28.59) sped away from Roach (4:30.88) in the final 100 meters to win the celebrated match-up. The BV standout entered the 1,600 event ranked seventh in the section.

“I went out kind of slow and we went crazy in the last lap,” Roach said. “We had splits of sub-60 seconds in our last lap.”

Rodriguez capped a memorable finals performance by also winning the boys 800 run, an event in which he was ranked second in the section. Rodriguez (1:56.22) won the 800 run by a three-second margin over Eastlake junior Sean Stanko (1:59.59).

A total of 16 event champions in each of the boys and girls fields in the Mesa and South Bay leagues were crowned at this year’s Metro finals.

•Otay Ranch senior Eric Severiano earned recognition as the Mesa League’s male Athlete of the Meet after capturing the 400-meter dash in 49.98 seconds and running legs on the Mustangs’ victorious 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

•Eastlake senior Diamond Mitchell won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and also ran a leg on the Titans’ winning 4x400 relay team to earn Mesa League female Athlete of the Meet accolades. Mitchell timed 12.33 in the 100 dash and 26.03 in the 200 dash, defeating Otay Ranch senior Nicole Crutchfield (12.62) in the 100 dash and Mustangs freshman Kiera Williams (26.50) in the 200 dash.

Crutchfield was the two-time defending league champion in the 100 dash. Williams won this year’s 400 dash title in 58.37.

In the South Bay League, Sweetwater senior Aylin Mejia and Montgomery senior Thomas Little earned recognition as the league’s track athletes of the meet while Olympian senior Lesleah Flores and Castle Park senior Cesar Amparo received honors as the league’s field athletes of the meet.

•Mejia finished first in the girls 1,600 run (5:12.94) and 3,200 run (11:36.05) and ran a leg on Sweetwater’s winning 4x400 relay team (with teammates Prisma Mendoza, Maila Lucht and Rosario Huerta).

•Little won league titles in the boys 110 high hurdles (15.42), 300 intermediate hurdles (39.66) and 200 dash (22.72) while taking second place in the 100 dash (11.31).

•Flores took first place in the girls triple jump (32-5) and third in the long jump (14-11.5) and also finished first in the 100 hurdles (17.07).

•Amparo finished first in the boys discus throw (139-2.5) and second in the shot put (43-5).

Olympian and Sweetwater exchanged team point titles in the South Bay League finals.

Olympian finished in first place in the boys meet by a narrow two-point margin over Sweetwater while Sweetwater captured the girls points title by a 16-point margin over Olympian.

During the regular season, Olympian finished in third place behind Castle Park and Sweetwater in the boys dual meet standings and behind Sweetwater and Castle Park in the girls dual meet standings.

Mesa League highlights
The Mesa League championship meet clearly belonged to the Mustangs.

•Freshman Donald Molton captured both the boys 100 dash (11.12) and 200 dash (22.50) while running a leg on the Mustangs’ victorious 4x100 relay team. Chula Vista senior Tyrone Richardson was a close second in both sprint events (11.15 in the 100 dash and 22.83 in the 200 dash).

•Freshman Catie Ledesma set school records in winning the girls 1,600 run (5:11.93) and 3,200 run (11:24.99). Ledesma edged fellow classmate Carina Gillespie (5:12.64) in the 1,600 run and topped defending league champion Michelle Walling (11:25.22), a senior from Eastlake, in the 3,200 run. Gillespie came back to win the 800 run in 2:19.03.

•Junior Marques Roberts won titles in the boys long jump (20-11.5) and triple jump (45-3.5).

•Junior Jon Bajet won titles in the boys shot put (51-1) and discus throw (156-8).

•Junior Tiffany Smith equaled her school record of 10-6 in winning the girls pole vault.

•Freshman Alyssa Chang (15.86) won the girls 100 low hurdles while Bonita Vista junior Jade Palm (46.77) won the girls 300 hurdles. Palm finished second in the 100 lows (15.99); Chang was second in the 300 event (47.89).

•Junior Isaac Mallett (first, 39.23) and senior Oscar Zuniga (second, 39.93) both slipped under the 40.0 mark in the boys 300 intermediate hurdles.

•Junior J’Vion Johnson (15.75) edged Zuniga (15.78) at the finish line in the boys 110 high hurdles. Johnson also won the boys high jump (6-4).

•Otay Ranch won the girls 4x100 relay (49.24), boys 4x100 relay (43.47) and boys 4x400 relay (3:28.28). The girls 4x100 relay unit included Crutchfield, Brianna Davis, Williams and Tiana Wood. The boys 4x100 relay team was comprised of Juan House, Severiano, Molton and Lilo Perez. The boys 4x400 relay unit included Zuniga, Perez, Mallett and Severiano.

Other notable performances were turned in by several other athletes.

•Eastlake senior Kayla Walden won three individual events: girls long jump (16-9), triple jump (34-5.25) and high jump (4-10). She holds school records in both the long jump and triple jump.

•Bonita Vista junior German Palma won a jump-off for the boys pole vault title with Otay Ranch senior Ryan Vasquez, with both clearing 13-6. Eastlake sophomore Eric Dredla (12-6) finished in third place, followed by teammate Alejandro Lopez (12-0) in fourth place.

•Bonita Vista junior Jaleisha Freeman (34-9.5) won the girls shot put while Chula Vista senior Justicia Sueing won the girls discus throw (118-1).

•Eastlake won the girls 4x400 relay (4:10.07). Team members included Daniela Sullivan, Sarah Garces, Tay Griffis and Mitchell, the fastest woman in Metro.

South Bay League highlights
•Sweetwater sophomore Abinadi Castellanos won titles in the boys 1,600 run (4:39.33) and 3,200 run (10:08.42).

•Southwest senior Kyky Davis won league titles in both the girls 100 dash (12.99) and 200 dash (26.97).

•Individual South Bay League boys champions included: Olympian junior Greg Piocos (51.71, 400 dash), Montgomery juniors Emmanuel Quiambao (11.21, 100 dash) and David Bobadilla (2:02.24, 800 run), Sweetwater senior Rapi Sotoa (20-5, long jump), Castle Park sophomore Chevy King (40-7.5, triple jump), Mar Vista junior Seville Hayes (47-7, shot put), Southwest junior Pierre Davis (5-8, high jump) and Southwest junior Chris DeGuzman (11-6, pole vault).

•Individual South Bay League girls champions included: Sweetwater senior Maila Lucht (1:00.56, 400 dash), SuHi junior Prisma Mendoza (2:25.99, 800 run), Southwest sophomore Jazmin Harpe (15-5.5, long jump), Sweetwater senior Genesis Lugo (34-0.5, shot put), Southwest senior Denise Atualevao (99-11, discus throw), Castle Park senior Lanita Sanders (4-10, high jump) and Sweetwater sophomore Xiomara Mascorro (8-6, pole vault).

•Olympian won the girls 4x100 relay (50.65), boys 4x100 relay (44.26) and boys 4x400 relay (3:29.60).

The Olympian Eagles, meanwhile, fully extended their wings at the South Bay League finals. The story was all about overall team depth.

Olympian won the girls 4x100 relay (50.65), boys 4x100 relay (44.26) and boys 4x400 relay (3:29.60).

The Eagles’ lone individual event champion was junior Greg Piocos (51.71) in the boys 400 dash.

Piocos teamed with Geon Flores, Nik Castro and John Masi to win the 4x400 relay.
Other top finishes by Olympian athletes included:

•Freshman Charmayne Judkins (1:01.06) finished second in the girls 400 dash.

•Sophomore Australia Rawling (27.04) finished second in the girls 200 dash.

•Freshman Marcos Henry (19-9.5) finished second in the boys long jump.

•Senior Aaron Lozano (126-0.5) finished second in the boys discus throw.

•Sophomore Nirelle Davis (4-8) finished second in the girls high jump.

•Freshman Lori Lopez (8-0) finished second in the girls pole vault.

In the junior varsity championship meet, held May 13 at ORHS, Otay Ranch handily won both boys and girls team point titles.