Nine athletes from South County schools have qualified to compete at this weekend’s California state track and field championship meet at Buchanan High School in Clovis. The weather is predicted to be excessively hot and meet officials have adjusted the original schedule to deal with that.
But getting hot at this time of the year is exactly what these South County state meet qualifiers need to do if they are to advance to the medal rounds.
The state prelims are scheduled to start Friday at 6:15 p.m. for running events (4 p.m. for field events), followed by the state finals Saturday, starting at 7 p.m. for running events (4:30 p.m. for field events). Events both days are expected to wrap up around midnight to take advantage of cooler evening temperatures.
Friday’s high is expected to be 104 degrees; Saturday’s high is expected to be 106 degrees.
The nine South County athletes qualified for this weekend’s state championship meet by turning in qualifying times and/or marks at last Saturday’s San Diego Section championship meet at Mt. Carmel High School. The top three place-finishers in each event earned automatic berths in the state prelims, plus those athletes who met predetermined qualifying standards.
The number of South County state meet qualifiers is not only large by annual standards but obviously impressive.
“A lot of good stuff, Olympian High School in particular,” outgoing veteran Otay Ranch High School head coach Ian Cumming noted.
“Really good represenation,” veteran Sweetwater High School head coach Tim Latham added.
This year’s crop of local state meet qualifiers includes six student-athletes from Olympian:
Senior Sydney Barnes qualified to compete in both the girls long jump and triple jump while junior teammate Betsabe Ornelas qualified to compete in the girls 400-meter dash and OHS senior Antonio Riggins qualified to compete in the boys triple jump.
The Lady Eagles will be represented in the girls 4×400 relay by Kolumbia Page, Adaeze Noble, Jazzleen Wharry and Ornelas.
Student-athletes from Bonita Vista, Eastlake and High Tech High Chula Vista also punched tickets to this weekend’s state meet.
Bonita Vista junior Keenan Ellis will compete in both the boys 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash.
Eastlake sophomore Jeffrey Page and HTH-CV sophomore Donovan Prince will compete in the boys 800-meter run.
“I’m excited for all my teammates,” Olympian’s Barnes explained. “It makes it a lot more fun.”
Making things exciting was definitely the key word for South County athletes at last weekend’s state qualifying meet.
Barnes and Ellis qualified in two individual events while Ornelas also qualified in two events, including one relay.
Boyhood friends Prince and Page qualified in the same event. Prince is not only HTH-CV’s first state meet qualifier in track and field but is also a two-time cross country state meet qualifier while representing the Bruins.
Prince and Page finished just 0.67 second apart at the finish line to place their stamp on last Saturday’s qualifying event.
“It feels great,” said Prince, who placed second in the A-heat with a personal record time of 1:54.64. “It’s hard to comprehend since it’s only my second year in high school track.”
Prince, who placed fifth at last fall’s Division IV section cross country finals at San Diego’s Morley Field after placing 12th as a freshman, qualified for last weekend’s section track and field finals by first winning the event at the Frontier Conference finals in 1:58.10 on May 12 and then placing second overall with a 1:55.45 time at the section prelim meet on May 21, also held at Mt. Carmel High School.
Prince posted the sixth-fastest time in the 800 run (1:56.22) at last year’s section finals as a freshman. He certainly wasn’t intimidated by more experienced runners at last weekend’s section finals.
Poway junior Jarett Chinn won the event in 1:53.78 and it became a mad dash for second and third place after that for runners attempting to sew up the other two state qualifying berths. Prince came on strong to edge Page at the finish line but Page had built enough of a lead to outlast the horde of remaining hard-charging athletes.
Page finished third in 1:54.97 (just off the personal record time of 1:54.70 he clocked in posting the fastest time at the section prelims). Scripps Ranch junior Alex Barr finished fourth in 1:56.02, followed by University City senior Niko Chapman in fifth place in 1:56.88.
Chinn finished first among Division I runners in the event, followed by Page (second) and Barr (third). Prince finished first among Division II runners in the event.
Prince used a rather unorthodox strategy to find success. “I wanted to start in last place and push the last 200 as hard as I could,” he said. “It worked.”
Prince began picking off fellow runners as the distance to the finish line shortened. He even picked off Page in the last couple strides.
By contrast, Page established himself as one of the leaders in the race in its early stages.
“I wanted to go for the win; it just didn’t happen,” the Eastlake sophomore standout explained. “We went out slower than we usually do and that messed me up. At the end of the first lap, I started to work my way into the pack. At the end of the race, I started sprinting.”
Page has two more years to win the race.
“It’s unreal,” Page noted in qualifying for the state meet as a sophomore. “I never imagined this would happen.”
Page also has broader horizons. He set a PR of 4:36.00 in the 1600 run a dual meet against Olympian and also runs a leg on the Titans’ 4×400 relay team.
Eastlake’s 4×400 relay team did not qualify for this year’s state meet but did turn in a school record time of 3:23.42 in last weekend’s B-heat finals at the section meet. Chris Olave, Alex Herrera and Christian Baroya joined Page on the history-making unit that placed fifth overall among Division I teams.
Prince also competed in multiple events this season. He set career bests this season in the 200 meters (24.02) and 400 meters (51.28) besides qualifying for the state meet in the 800 race. He also competed in the 1600 run and 4×400 this season.
A third South County runner competed in the 800 race at the section finals. Otay Ranch junior Harold Thomas (1:59.62) did not place among the top six placers in the field but did earn a seventh-place finish in the Division I field.
Ladies first
Barnes set school records of 18-2 in the long jump and 38-3 in the triple jump this season. She finished second in both events at the section finals — notching the school record in the long jump and just missing tying her school record in the triple jump with a mark of 38-2.75.
Barnes finished second to Ramona senior Holly Stallman (18-10) in the long jump and Calvary Christian senior Olivia Nash (38-11) in the triple jump.
“It’s a little intimidating, but I’m excited,” Barnes said of her upcoming trip to perform at the state meet. “Anything can happen. You have to be prepared. You have to be excited. You have to get yourself prepared.”
That’s exactly what happened in the last running event of the day when Olympian’s top qualifying 4×400 relay team found itself in a very bad situation after the opening lap buried deep in the field. But the Lady Eagles steadily moved their position forward with each ensuing handoff until Jazzleen Wharry, holding down third place, handed the baton to anchor runner Ornelas.
All Ornelas had to do to push the quartet to the state meet was to maintain that position, if not move up. But with 200 meters to go, trailing runners in the field caught up to her and Ornelas was in danger of falling into fourth place.
But the Olympian speedster would have none of that and turned on the after-burners to eventually pass the runner in front of her to post a rewarding second-place finish.
The Lady Eagles’ school record time of 3:55.27 amazingly surpassed their top qualifying mark of 3:57.90 set the previous week. The section finals time was good enough for first place among Division I teams.
Cathedral Catholic won the event in 3:54.90 to post the top state qualifying time.
La Jolla was third in 3:56.42 while Torrey Pines was fourth in 3:59.44. La Jolla moved up to snatch a precious state qualifying berth.
“She (the La Jolla anchor runner) was right there with me,” Ornelas recounted. “I wasn’t going to let down. She was hitting me with the baton. We were both hitting each other with the baton. I was not going to let her get me. I didn’t have a great 400 race, so I wanted to make up for it.”
This is the first trip to the state meet for Ornelas, who earned recognition as the Mesa League Female Track Athlete of the Meet at this year’s Mesa League finals.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “It’s a great way to end your senior year in high school.”
Ornelas qualified for three events at this year’s section finals. She did not start the 200-meter dash but ran 57.31 in the 400 dash. The time was nearly a second slower than the PR 46.53 she posted at the Escondido Invitational on April 29 and slower than the 57.20 she ran at the preceding section prelims.
But 57.31 still was good enough to place third in the section finals behind race-winner Ann Caroline Kaseberg of Torrey Pines (56.44) and runner-up Olivia Firsching of Cathedral Catholic (56.97).
“I broke my PR by two seconds (at the Escondido Invitational),” Ornelas explained. “It feels really good (to get to the state meet).”
Heavy metal
Castle Park senior Tionna Jackson finished sixth in the girls shot put with a mark of 38-3 to place third overall among Division II throwers in the event. She placed 12th in the girls discus throw with a personal record mark of 112-1 to place fifth in the division.
Jackson’s marks were well behind those of event winner Laulauga Tausaga-Collins, a senior and returning state meet medalist at Mt. Miguel High School. Tausaga-Collins set a new meet record in the discus throw (166-4) and won the shot put (46-10.25).
The Lady Matador weight woman placed third in the shot put at last year’s state finals after failing to qualify in the discus throw at the section finals.
She was elated at making this year’s state meet in both events, though she did not match career bests at last Saturday’s meet. She ranks second in the state in the discus throw this year and third in the shot put.
“My goals this season were to get 160 in the discus and 50 in the shot put,” she said. “I’ve already passed 160 in the discus. I fouled at the 50-foot mark, so I know I can get it in the shot put. I know I have it in me. Hopefully, I can get it at state.”
Tausaga-Collins’ season best in the shot put is 47-2.25 while her PR in the discus throw is 167-3, both set at the Grossmont Conference finals.
She won her state medal in the shot put last year with a mark of 47-11.5; her career best in the event is 48-3.5, set at last year’s section finals.
“I’ve focused more on the shot put this year, so to do so well in the discus throw was surprising to me,” she said. “I’m starting to enjoy it.”
Double trouble
Bonita Vista’s Ellis won three sprints at the Mesa League finals — the 100, 200 and 400 dashes. It was not an easy feat. He qualified for the section finals in both the 200 and 400 dashes, and appears to be gaining speed.
He notched a personal record time of 21.79 in the 200 dash at the section prelims and came back with a 21.82 at the section finals to place third. He set a new PR of 49.03 to place third in the 400 dash.
Both times at the section finals were enough to extend his season to this weekend’s state meet. The times were the best recorded at the school since 2000.
Mt. Carmel senior Rashid Shaheed won the 200 in 21.53 and took first place in the 400 in 48.62.
Three’s company
The Metro Conference had three qualifiers for the section finals in the boys triple jump, with Mesa League champion Riggins advancing to the state meet on the strength of his school record jump of 47-4.
Riggins’ 47-4 mark was the top mark at this year’s section finals — nine inches farther than the 46-7 posted by runner-up Matthew DeRoos of Tri-City Christian (the long jump event winner at 23-10).
“I’m excited,” explained Riggins, who recorded a 46-11.5 mark at the league finals. “I’ve never been there before (to the state meet). Last year I couldn’t make the section finals.”
Eastlake sophomore Jayln Jackson and Otay Ranch senior Tyshawn Cook joined Riggins in the triple jump at the section finals. Jackson (45-0.5) finished fifth while Cook (41-9.75) did not place among the top six in the event.
Jackson posted season-best marks in both the long jump (20-10.5, B-flight) and the triple jump (A-flight) at last weekend’s section finals. The long jump mark ranks second best in school history while the triple jump mark ranks fourth best all-time on the Titan leaderboard.
Mater Dei Catholic junior Christopher Verdell, who set school records this year in both the long jump (22-8.5) and triple jump (45-10.79), placed fourth overall (22-0.5) in the A-flight long jump at the section finals to miss the state cut.
Soaring to new heights
Sweetwater senior Mario Licudine finished with a personal record 13-6 in the boys pole vault this season. He cleared 13-0 at last Saturday’s section finals to miss setting a PR and qualifying for this year’s state meet but remained happy with his performance this season.
He ranks third overall on the school career leaderboard at 13-6.
“It feels good,” he said. “My name will be up there until someone passes me in the future, however long that will be.
“I want to thank my coach (Craig Balsley) for teaching me everything and my teammates for supporting me.”
Licudine cleared 10 feet as a freshman and 11-6 as a sophomore but did not compete in the event as a junior.
“It’s all about technique — just practicing,” the SuHi vaulter explained. “The more you practice, the more experience you get.”
Licudine said he would like to continue his pole vaulting career at the community college level.
La Costa Canyon senior Kyle Brown and Poway senior Eli Hamson both cleared 16-0 at this year’s section finals, with Brown taking first and Hamson taking second. Both failed to clear 16-6, the meet record.
Almost famous
Bonita Vista sophomore Isaiah Labra stands second in the school record book in the 3200 run with the 9:26.67 he posted at April’s elite Arcadia Invitational. He remains there after placing eighth among Division I individuals (12th overall) in 9:36.82 at the section finals.
Labra was boxed in early and settled into seventh place; he dropped to 11th in the field in the final stages of the eight-lap event as the lead pack formed well ahead of him.
There was a surprise finish as Torrey Pines senior Charlie Pope passed the lead runners in the last few meters to win in 9:16.13 ahead of Mt. Carmel sophomore Samuel Boone (9:16.49) and Sage Creek junior Beau Prince (9:16.98). LCC senior Joshua Litwiller (fourth, 9:19.81) led for a good deal of the race.
Eastlake sophomore Leyla McFarland also was the subject of a disappointing finish at the section finals after placing 11th among Division I runners in the girls 1600 race. She led the field for the first two laps of the four-lap event before dropping to seventh at the bell lap.
She finished with a time of 5:30.22 — well behind her section prelim time of 5:14.10. She posted her best time of the season (5:04.33) at the Mt. Carmel Invitational on March 26 but was never able to duplicate that the rest of this season.
“I went out but the last two laps I couldn’t breathe anymore,” said McFarland, who won individual league titles in the 800 and 1600 events at the Mesa League finals. “It was disappointing. It was a goal (to qualify for the state meet), but I just couldn’t get it.”
Around the section
Nine East County track athletes also qualified for this weekend’s state meet. Steele Canyon senior Tajanique Bell, Mount Miguel senior Laulauga Tausaga-Collins and Christian junior Benjamin Goodwin all will compete in two events at this weekend’s state meet.
Bell will compete in the girls 100-meter and 300-meter low hurdles while Tausaga-Collins will compete in the girls shot put and discus throw. Goodwin will compete in the boys 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
Among other East County qualifiers, Granite Hills senior Wyatt Adams will compete in the boys 300-meter intermediate hurdles, Valhalla junior Zion White will compete in the girls 400-meter dash while St. Augustine senior Nick Heid will compete in the boys high jump.
Bell set a meet record of 41.99 in winning the girls 300-meter hurdles; she became a two-event state qualifier by placing third in the preceding 100-meter low hurdles event (14.39).
The times were good for No. 1 among Division I hurdlers in both events. The 300 time is third best all-time in section annals.
“It feels great,” she said. “This will be my third time going to state.”
Bell, the reigning Grossmont Hills League champion, had posted a section qualifying time of 43.36. She blasted the field the final 200 meters to win by 1.80 seconds. Cathedral Catholic senior Dani Johnson, the defending champion, clocked 43.79 to place second.
Bell’s 41.99 ranks among the California leaders this season (fourth in the state); her 14.39 time in the 100 low hurdles is also a personal record.
“Never doubt yourself,” Bell noted as her motivating force on the track. “I doubted myself last year and wound up in a bad place (19th at the state prelims after finishing third at the section finals). I just want to focus.
“My goal is to go after my competition.”
White, the fourth-place finisher in the girls 400 dash, advanced to the state meet after Cathedral Catholic sophomore Olivia Firsching, the second-place finisher in the event, scratched from competing this weekend. That opened the door for White, who timed a personal record 57.41 in the event, to move up as the section’s third qualifier in the event.
The automatic qualifying time in the girls 400 dash is 55.74.
Goodwin won the 100 dash in 10.62 — 0.12 second ahead of silver medalist Jaden Stokes, a sophomore from Del Norte.
Goodwin placed runner-up in the 200 dash in 21.76 — 0.23 second behind race-winner Rashid Shaheed, a senior from Mt. Carmel.
Shaheed won both events at the section finals.
Goodwin’s time in the 100 dash was just off the personal best time10.60 he set the preceding week in the section prelim meet. His career best time in the 200 dash is 21.73, also set at this year’s section prelims.
Heid won the high jump championship by clearing a personal record 6-7 as the section’s top state qualifier. A two-time roller hockey MVP for the Saints, Heid — a Santee resident — won this year’s City Conference Western League title with a jump of 6-5.
Rancho Bernardo senior Yaniv Rokach also cleared 6-7 at the section finals to place second in the event while Del Norte senior Conner Nelson also cleared 6-7 to place third. Both will join Heid at Friday’s state prelims.
Heid, a well-rounded competitor, has played roller hockey four years at St. Augustine, competed three years on the school’s track and field team and played one year of football.
This is Heid’s first year advancing to the state track meet.
“It feels great,” he said. “I’ve been working for this for the past two years. I was the last cut for state last year
Adams’ qualification for the state meet wasn’t necessarily scripted the way he had in mind.
The Grossmont Conference champion in the 110 and 300 hurdles and 4×400 relay, Adams blew out to a huge lead midway through the 300 race but hit a hurdle, appeared to stumble and that was enough to give Rancho Buena Vista senior Devon Alvarado the opportunity to seize victory in a photo finish.
Alvarado crossed first in 38.39, followed by Adams in 38.85.
Amazingly, despite clipping the barrier, the 38.85 mark was good for a personal record.
“It was a very good race,” Adams conceded. “I hit the sixth hurdle and that put me off my stride a little. If I didn’t lose my stride, I feel I could have taken first.”
Adams had posted the second-fastest qualifying time (39.04) at the section prelims.
“My goal this season was to get in the 39s, and I’ve exceeded that,” he said. “At state, hopefully I can get in the 38s.”
Adams finished seventh among Division I entrants with a time of 15.23 in the 110-meter high hurdles and second in the division in the intermediate hurdles. Alvarado also won the high hurdles in 14.43.
Granite Hills just missed qualifying for the state meet in the meet concluding boys 4×400 relay after dropping from third to fourth place on the final lap. The 3:21.79 was faster than the 3:23.03 set at the section prelims but the Eagles dropped from second (at the section prelims) to fourth (at the section finals).
Esteban Acosta, Dylan Coleman and Brady DeHaven completed the Granite Hills’ 4×400 unit. Mira Mesa won the event in 3:19.79, followed by Mt. Carmel in 3:20.44 and RBV in 3:20.59.
Hot wheels
Escondido Charter High School’s Michael Seo and Southwest El Centro’s Mauricio Pena competed in the San Diego Section finals’ first wheelchair races. Seo wheeled to victory in all three races contested at 100, 200 and 400 meters.
The wheelchair athletes received a standing ovation from spectators as they neared the finish line in each race.
Seo, a sophomore, became the section’s first three-event gold medalist. He took his newfound celebrity status in stride, however.
“It’s all in God’s plans,” he said. “It’s what God wants for me. It’s all about His work.”
Seo was born with a form of cancer that affected his spine so much so that it rendered him unable to walk. He proved he can get around in a wheelchair just fine. He rides with his legs tucked under the chair.
He clapped his hands together when accepting his third gold medal.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s so big.”
Seo won the 100-meter race in 21.82 seconds while posting first-place times of 41.17 in the 200-meter race and 1:24.73 in the 400-meter race.
Pena timed 22.37 in the 100-meter race, 48:34 in the 200-meter race and 1:35.99 in the 400-meter race.
The pair may have more crowds cheering for them before the season is over as this weekend’s state meet will also feature wheelchair races.
Multi-event championship
Multi-event coach Lyle Barton said this year’s high school decathlon/heptathlon will take place June 17-18 at Steele Canyon High School.
