Metro Conference track and field teams wrapped up regular season competition on Thursday, April 30, in advance of this coming week’s league prelims and finals. It afforded the chance for many student-athletes to leave their marks on the oval, make a personal statement or just log more practice time.
Both the South Bay League and Mesa League varsity prelims are scheduled Tuesday, May 5, at Otay Ranch high School. Teams will return to the same site for finals on Thursday, May 7.
Junior varsity competition is slated for Saturday, May 2 (prelims) and Wednesday, May 6 (finals) at Otay Ranch High School.
Athletes are limited to four events, so top contenders will have to pick which ones they want to ride to the section and state finals, if they get that far.
Eastlake sophomore Isabelle Taylor-Dixon ended the regular season ranked No. 1 in eight events, meaning events she doesn’t check off her bucket list will open the stage for others to chart their won course laden with shiny hardware.
Taylor-Dixon ranks first in the girls 100 dash (12.45), 200 dash (24.98), 100 low hurdles (14.55), 300 low hurdles (45.22), high jump (5-2) and triple jump (37-10.25) among individual events and No. 1 in the league as part of two relay events: 4×100 (49.40) and 4×400 (3:57.77).
Taylor-Dixon won a head-to-head duel against Olympian senior Aubrey Tibayan in Thursday’s high profile 200 dash encounter. Taylor Dixon crossed the finish line first in 24.98, a personal best, while Tibayan finished second in 26.41.
Taylor-Dixon and Tibayan were also part of opposing 4×100 relay teams. Taylor-Dixon and her teammates had the upper hand as the Lady Titans won in 49.40 to Olympian’s runner-up 51.03 time.
Eastlake’s victorious unit also included senior Samara Maldonado, junior Nala McFadden and sophomore Kareli Rascon. The Lady Eagles quartet also included freshmen Tiffany Salas and Maddilynn Denk and sophomore Maliyah Keys.
“It’s fun,” Taylor-Dixon simply noted in regard to her league-leading exploits. “
Rascon ranks first in the league in both the 400 dash (57.00) and 800 run (2:11.82) and third in the 200 dash (26.07).
Taylor-Dixon owns a three-inch bulge over EHS classmate Clara Sullivan in the triple jump (34-5), four-second advantage over Otay Ranch sophomore Stephanie Adegaeye in the 100 low hurdles (16.95) and three-second edge of Hilltop junior Paola Williams (48.07) in the 300 hurdles.
Bonita Vista senior Renee Khuong raced to a school record time of 2:20.31 in the 800 run in Thursday’s dual meet at Hilltop to break a record that had stood since 2010. Khuong did not run the 1600 distance in the meet, meaning she was well-rested to take on all comers. BV freshman teammate Mila Arreola finished second in 2:27.71, also a personal best.
Khuong ranks second to Eastlake’s Rascon in the event on the season but leads the league in two other events: 5:11.08 in the 1600 and 11:36.61 in the 3200. Rascon is second in the 1600 in 5:15.97 while Olympian senior Isabel Lara ranks second in the longer distance in 11:39.22.
The distances are set up for marquee matchups next week regardless of which runners elect to participate in.
Field event leaders include Otay Ranch junior Mereane Savaiinaea in the girls shot put (35-2.5) and discus throw (119-5), Eastlake senior Jordin DeOcampo (9-1) in the pole vault and Hilltop junior Viviana Vaillapando in the long jump (16-5).
Olympian sophomore Nevaeh Thammakhotvongxay has also cleared 5-2 in the high jump to match Taylor-Dixon while Williams (16-4) trails Villalpando by one inch for supremacy in the long jump.
Tibayan ranks second in the 100 dash and fourth in the 200 dash (26.13) behind Bonita Vista junior Mia Ramirez (26.00) and Rascon (26.07).
Rascon is four seconds behind Khuong in the 1600 run while Lara is two-and-a-half seconds back in the 3200 distance.
Metro-Mesa League Track & Field Leaders
Boys Running Events
100 dash: 1. Ryan Branco (Eastlake) 10.84, 2. Juan Navarrete (Eastlake) 10.94, 3. Giovanni Ware (Olympian) 11.13. 4. Chase Lujan (Otay Ranch) 11.14, 5. Darrius Hawkins (Otay Ranch) 11.26, 6. Jace Reimer (Olympian) 11.33, 7. Dylan Loe (Olympian) 11.41, 8. Jordan Epps (Otay Ranch) 11.47, 9. Santiago Aleta (Eastlake) 11.48, 10. Nicholas Collier (Otay Ranch) 11.48
200 dash: 1. Ryan Branco (Eastlake) 22.09, 2. Devin Bacon (Otay Ranch) 22.37, 3. Jun Navarrete (Eastlake) 22.45, 4. Chase Lujan (Otay Ranch) 22.62, 5. Joshua Washington (Otay Ranch) 22.93, 6. Darius Hawkins (Otay Ranch) 22.97, 7. Jace Reimer (Olympian) 23.03, 8. Jeremiah White (Eastlake) 23.07, 9. Anthony Martin (Hilltop) 23.16, 10. Jordan Epps (Otay Ranch) 23.20
400 dash: 1. Devin Bacon (Otay Ranch) 49.81, 2. Sebastian Vargas (Eastlake) 50.89, 3. Jeremiah White (Eastlake) 51.00, 4. James Breedon II (Olympian) 52.27, 5. Jacob Lovell (Eastlake) 52.41, 6. Elijah Jordan (Otay Ranch) 52.70, 7. Je’Shua Raboteau (Olympian) 52.75, 8. Daniel Anthony Hernandez (Hilltop) 53.00, 9. Joshua Del Rosario (Olympian) 53.02, 10. Santiago Izaguirre (Olympian) 53.26
800 run: 1. Jack Degenhardt (Olympian) 2:01.49, 2. Jalen Winn (Eastlake) 2:01.54, 3. Kaden Williams (Eastlake) 2:01.95, 4. Isaac Khuong (Bonita Vista) 2:02.63, 5. Jordin Gibbs (Olympian) 2:02.00, 6. Jaeden Arvizu (Olympian) 2:03.73, 7. Jesus Ortiz (Olympian) 2:03.94, 8. Owen Anderson (Eastlake) 2:04.00, 9. Tristan Hastings (Olympian) 2:04.26, 10. Santiago Blanco (Otay Ranch) 2:05.28
1600 run: 1. Jack Degenhardt (Olympian) 4;22.98, 2. Anthony Manquelo-Mendez (Eastlake) 4:26.41, 3. Micah Schenko (Olympian) 4:27.76, 4. Santiago Blanco (Otay Ranch) 4:29.21, 5. Jaeden Arvizu (Olympian) 4:32.79, 6. Kaden Williams (Eastlake) 4:34.46, 7. Grady Stephens (Otay Ranch) 4:35.04, 8. Amadeous Lozano (Sweetwater) 4:35.13, 9. Owen Anderson (Eastlake) 4:35.69, 10. Noah Shorey (Otay Ranch) 4:37.05
3200 run: 1. Jack Degenhardt (Olympian) 9:39.04, 2. Micah Schenko (Olympian) 9:43.28, 3. Santiago Blanco (Otay Ranch) 9:45.90, 4. Anthony Manquelo-Mendez (Eastlake) 9:47.97, 5. Grady Stephens (Otay Ranch) 9:49.92, 6. Amadeous Lozano (Sweetwater) 9:50.80, 7. Noah Shorey (Otay Ranch) 9:53.87, 8. Memphis Gensler (Olympian) 9:56.40, 9. Caleb Camarena (Otay Ranch) 10:00.63, 10. Brady Albright (Eastlake) 10:02.42
110 high hurdles: 1. Ryder von Guenthner (Bonita Vista) 15.38, 2. Mekielle Holleinquest (Otay Ranch) 16.37, 3. Isaac Bailon (Olympian) 16.54, 4. Leonardo Mendoza (Hilltop) 16.55, 5. Dillan Duruthy (Olympian) 17.14, 6. Shane Bridges (Otay Ranch) 17.16, 7. Izak Miller (Olympian) 17.26, 8. Wilson “Tre” Nichols III (Hilltop) 17.71, 9. Gabriel Colon Gipson (Otay Ranch) 17.78, 10. Josue Nunez (Hilltop) 17.85
300 intermediate hurdles: 1. Ryder von Guenthner (Bonita Vista) 39.29, 2. Isaac Bailon (Olympian 41.82, 3. Bryson Staukas (Eastlake) 42.45, 4. Mekielle Hollinquest (Otay Ranch) 42.49, 5. Chase Henderson (Otay Ranch) 42.65, 6. Ezra Gonzalez (Eastlake) 42.68, 7. Dillan Durruthy (Olympian) 43.03, 8. Dominic Hicks (Eastlake) 44.70, 9. Leonardo Mendoza (Hilltop) 44.82, 10. Justuss Tran (Eastlake) 44.91
4×100 relay: 1. Otay Ranch 43.37, 2. Eastlake 43.38, 3. Olympian 43.47, 4. Hilltop 44.68, 5. Bonita Vista 45.55, 6. Sweetwater 46.96
4×400 relay: 1. Eastlake 3:28.18, 2. Otay Ranch 3:33.85, 3. Olympian 3:34.22, 4. Hilltop 3:38.21, 5. Bonita Vista 3:40.24, 6. Sweetwater 3:42.79
4×800 relay: 1. Otay Ranch 8:30.25, 2. Hilltop 8:37.98, 3. Olympian 8:39.41, 4. Eastlake 8:41.20, 5. Sweetwater 8:41.67
Boys Field Events
Shot put: 1. Aden Knox (Otay Ranch) 48-6.75, 2. Nathan Kemp (Eastlake) 46-3, 3. David Branco (Eastlake) 45-2, 4. Julian Carl Devera (Olympian) 44-11.5, 5. Javian Ceja (Eastlake) 43-7.5, 6. Rainen Gabriel (Eastlake) 43-2, 7. James Ayekof (Olympian) 41-10, 8. Gabriel Colon Gipson (Otay Ranch) 41-3, 9. Maddux Yoshikawa (Otay Ranch) 41-3, 10. Diego Macias (Bonita Vista0 41-1
Discus throw: 1. David Branco (Eastlake) 150-4, 2. Nathan Kemp (Eastlake) 145-0, 3. James Ayekof (Olympian) 140-6, 4. Kurstin Mitchell (Otay Ranch) 134-10, 5. Joseph Ruiz (Hilltop) 129-6, 6. Ernesto Magana (Eastlake) 129-5, 7. Caleb Mack (Bonita Vista) 128-5, 8. Maddux Yoshikawa (Otay Ranch) 124-0, 9. Julian Carl Devera (Olympian) 116-6, 10. Roberto Izquierdo (Hilltop) 113-9
High jump: 1. Jerry Stokes (Bonita Vista) 6-6, 2. Keylen McLendon (Otay Ranch) 6-1, 3. Dane von Guenthner (Otay Ranch) 6-0, 4. Alec Morlett (Eastlake) 5-10, 5. Kalen Bradford (Olympian) 5-10, 6. Alyja Pitterson (Otay Ranch) 5-10, 7. Isaiah Holmes (Olympian) 5-9, 8. Nico Solorio (Sweetwater) 5-9, 9. Frederick Bueno (Bonita Vista) 5-8, 10. Raymond Ball (Eastlake) 5-8
Pole vault: 1. Dane von Guenthner (Otay Ranch) 16-3, 2. Aidan Burgar (Eastlake) 13-6, 3. Isaac Bankhead (Otay Ranch) 11-9, 4. Nicolas Wise (Bonita Vista) 11-7, 5. Noah Farmer (Bonita Vista) 11-1, 6. Maximillian Jackson (Olympian) 11-1, 7. Jayson Monzon (Otay Ranch) 11-0, 8. Grant Lashmet (Olympian) 10-7, 9. Edgar Castillo (Olympian) 9-6, 10. Isaiah Oania (Eastlake) 9-6
Long jump: 1. Ryder von Guenthner (Bonita Vista) 21-4.75, 2. Dane von Guenthner (Otay Ranch) 21-3, 3. Walter Ignacio (Olympian) 20-10, 4. Jorgani Estrada (Olympian) 20-9.75, 5. Tobias Cho (Otay Ranch) 20-7.5, 6. Joaquin Beltran (Sweetwater) 20-6, 7. Seven Tarkington (Hilltop) 20-5.5, 8. Cordel Hunter (Sweetwater) 20-5, 9. Jeremiah White (Eastlake) 20-2.5, 10. Ethan Lee (Olympian) 20-2
Triple jump: 1. Giovanni Ware (Olympian) 44-2.5, 2. Keylen McLendon (Otay Ranch) 42-10, 3. Nicolas Wise (Bonita Vista) 42-2, 4. Frederick Bueno (Bonita Vista) 40-9, 5. Alec Morlett (Eastlake) 40-0.5, 6. Royce Ferrer (Olympian) 40-0, 7. Christian Stevens (Eastlake) 39-6.5, 8. Raymond Ball (Eastlake) 39-6, 9. Jacob Trias (Otay Ranch) 39-3.5, 10. Derryl Estoesta (Olympian) 37-9
Girls Running Events
100 dash: 1. Isabelle Taylor-Dixon (Eastlake) 12.45, 2. Aubrey Tibayan (Olympian) 12.51, 3. Mia Ramirez (Bonita Vista) 12.71, 4. Samara Maldonado (Eastlake) 12.83, 5. Alexi Montoya (Sweetwater) 12.88
200 dash: 1. Isabelle Taylor-Dixon (Eastlake) 24.98, 2. Mia Ramirez (Bonita Vista) 26.00, 3. Kareli Rascon (Eastlake) 26.07, 4. Aubrey Tibayan (Olympian) 26.13, 5. Samara Maldonado (Eastlake) 26.42
400 dash: 1. Kareli Rascon (Eastlake) 57.00, 2. Keilani Hollins (Otay Ranch) 1:00.53, 3. Alexi Montoya (Sweetwater) 1:00.65, 4. Kelana Gallardo (Olympian) 1:00.83, 5. Samara Maldonado (Eastlake0 1:01.28
800 run: 1. Kareli Rascon (Eastlake) 2:11.82, 2. Renee Khuong (Bonita Vista) 2:20.31, 3. Sofia Carrillo (Otay Ranch) 2:24.11, 4. Isabel Lara (Olympian) 2:27.29, 5. Mila Arreola (Bonita Vista) 2:27.71
1600 run: 1. Renee Khuong (Bonita Vista) 5:11.08, 2. Kareli Rascon (Eastlake) 5:15.97, 3. Isabel Lara (Olympian) 5:18.83, 4. Charlie Cruz (Eastlake) 5:29.18, 5. Bethlehem George (Bonita Vista) 5:33.84
3200 run: 1. Renee Khuong (Bonita Vista) 11:36.61, 2. Isabel Lara (Olympian) 11:39.22, 3. Isabella Nazario (Eastlake) 12:04.65, 4. Bethlehem George (Bonita Vista) 12:14.79, 5. Solana Kitamura (Eastlake) 12:16.41
100 low hurdles: 1. Isabelle Taylor-Dixon (Eastlake) 14.55, 2. Stephanie Adegeye (Otay Ranch) 16.95, 3. Leila Sepulveda (Sweetwater) 17.13, 4. Celeste Hardemon (Olympian) 17.16, 5. Paola Williams (Hilltop) 17.27
300 low hurdles: 1. Isabelle Taylor-Dixon (Eastlake) 45.22, 2. Paola Williams (Hilltop) 48.07, 3. Clara Sullivan (Eastlake) 48.40, 4. Stephanie Adegeye (Otay Ranch) 49.12, 5. Leila Sepulveda (Sweetwater) 49.33
4×100 relay: 1. Eastlake 49.40, 2. Bonita Vista 50.49, 3. Otay Ranch 50.69, 4. Olympian 50.97, 5. Hilltop 51.21
4×400 relay: 1. Eastlake 3:58.77, 2. Hilltop 4:12.42, 3. Sweetwater 4:18.26, 4. Otay Ranch 4:20.03, 5. Bonita Vista 4:20.33
4×800 relay: 1. Otay Ranch 10:35.67, 2. Eastlake 10:40.07, 3. Hilltop 10:46.80, 4. Sweetwater 11:03.70
Girls Field Events
Shot put: 1. Mereana Savaiinaea (Otay Ranch) 35-2.5, 2. Myrelah Fierro (Hilltop) 30-2, 3. Breana Bell (Otay Ranch) 30-2, 4. Xiomara Wright (Bonita Vista) 29-11, 5. Naniaya Banks (Otay Ranch) 29-4
Discus throw: 1. Mereane Savaiinaea (Otay Ranch) 119-5, 2. Je;ia Dela Cruz (Otay Ranch) 105-8, 3. Maelanie Magale (Otay Ranch) 103-5, 4. Breama Bell (Otay Ranch) 94-9, 5. Lea Marshall (Olympian) 92-3
High jump: 1. Isabelle Taylor-Dixon (Eastlake) 5-2, 2. Celeste Hardemon (Olympian) 5-2, 3. Analiah Williams (Otay Ranch) 4-9, 4. Sydney Asman (Bonita Vista) 4-8, 5. Joceyn Abenojar (Bonita Vista) 4-8
Pole vault: 1. Jordin DeOcampo (Eastlake) 9-1, 2. Neveah Thammakhotvongxay (Olympian) 9-0, 3. Beatrice Timple (Otay Ranch) 8-6, 4. Koey Wu (Otay Ranch) 8-0, 5. Gabby Abalos (Olympian) 7-7
Long jump: 1. Viviana Villalpando (Hilltop) 16-5, 2. Paola Williams (Hilltop) 16-4, 3. Samara Maldonado (Eastlake) 16-1, 4. Jocelyn Abenojar (Bonita Vista) 16-0, 5. Clara Sullivan (Eastlake) 15-10
Triple jump: 1. Isabelle Taylor-Dixon (Eastlake) 37-10.25, 2. Clara Sullivan (Eastlake) 34-5, 3. Sadie Manzo (Eastlake) 34-0, 4. Ella Gomez (Bonita Vista) 32-9.75, 5. Danica Lee (Otay Ranch) 31-8
Metro-Mesa League Dual Meet
Thursday, April 30 at Hilltop High School
Boys varsity: Bonita Vista 68, Hilltop 57
Girls varsity: Hilltop 62, Bonita Vista 51
Boys JV: Hilltop 68, Bonita Vista 43
Girls JV: Bonita Vista 77, Hilltop 19
Boys Top Mark
100 dash: 1. Seven Tarkington (H) 11.80, 2. Ashton Rodriguez (H) 12.07, 3. Brian Cepe (BV) 12.08, 4. Christian Cuevas (BV) 12.10, 5. D’Angelo Johnson IBV) 12.12, 6. William Fielder (H) 12.17
200 dash: 1. Anthony Martin (H) 23.16, 2. Ryder con Guenthner (BV) 23.37 (personal best), 3. Brian Cepe (BV) 23.94, 4. Christian Cuevas (BV) 24.20
400 dash: George Hayton (H) 53.91 (personal best), 2. Santiago Castanon (BV) 54.66 (personal best), 3. Kai Gatdula (BV) 55.04 (personal best), 4. Isaac Solorio (H) 55.41 (personal best)
800 run: 1. Mario Perez (BV) 2:07.27, 2. Brady Sutherland (H) 2:07.62, 3. Julian Mason (BV) 2:08.50
1600 run: 1. Dustin Mack (BV) 4:43.15, 2. Elias DeAnda (BV) 4:51.44, 3. Lukas Brown (BV) 4:59.09
110 high hurdles: 1. Ryder von Guenthner (BV) 15.55, 2. Leonardo Mendoza (H) 16.79, 3. Josue Nunez (H) 18.33
300 intermediate hurdles: 1. Leonardo Mendoza (H) 44.82, 2. Josue Nunez (H) 46.43, 3. Garrett Butcher (H) 48.42
4×100 relay: 1. Hilltop 44.80, 2. Bonita Vista 46.67
4×400 relay: 1. Hilltop 3:38.21, 2. Bonita Vista 3:40.24
Shot put: 1. Diego Macias (BV) 41-1 (personal best), 2. John Santos (BV) 36-8 (personal best), 3. Sage Traba (BV) 36-3.5
Discus throw: 1. Joseph Ruiz (H) 122-9, 2. Diego Macias (BV) 102-10, 3. Sage Traba (BV) 92-4
High jump: 1. Frederick Bueno (BV) 5-8, 2. Garrett Butcher (H) 5-2
Pole vault: 1. Nicolas Wise (BV) 11-0, 2. Noah Farmer (BV) 10-0
Long jump: 1. Ryder von Guenthner (BV) 20-7, 2. Seven Tarkington (H) 20-5.5 (personal best), 3. Christian Leal (H) 17-8
Triple jump: 1. Frederick Bueno (BV) 39-6, 2. Nicolas Wise (BV) 39-3, 3. Garrett Butcher (H) 34-2.75
Girls Top Marks
100 dash: 1. Mia Ramirez (BV) 13.06, 2. Victoria Jauregui (BV) 13.42, 3. Luna Ortiz-Marquez (H) 13.67, 4. London Spotser (BV) 13.72, 5. Aiyana Espinoza (H) 13.79
200 dash: 1. Victoria Jauregui (BV) 27.85, Luna Ortiz-Marquez (H) 27.89, 3. Aiyana Espinoza (H) 28.19 (personal best), 4. London Spotser (BV) 28.48
400 dash: 1. Amaya Garcia (H) 1;09.95 (personal best)
800 run: 1. Renee Khuong (BV) 2:20.31 (personal best), 2. Mila Arreola (BV) 2:27.71 (personal best), 3. Melanie Cisneros (H) 2:37.91, 4. Arianna Brown (H) 2:38.74
1600 run: 1. Bethlehem George (BV) 5:33.84 (personal best), 2. Kamilah Cone (H) 5:37.39, 3. Nora Traba (BV) 6:04.10
100 low hurdles: 1. Paola Williams (H) 17.27 (personal best), 2. Yareli Aguilar Diaz (H) 1:02.08
300 low hurdles: 1. Paola Williams (H) 48.07 (personal best), 2. Yareli Aguilar Diaz (H) 1:02.08
4×100 relay: 1. Bonita Vista 50.96, 2. Hilltop 51.21
4×400 relay: 1. Hilltop 4:12.42, 2. Bonita Vista 4:20.33
Shot put: 1. Myrellah Fierro (H) 30-2 (personal best), 2. Xiomara Wright (BV) 29-11 (personal best), 3. Jaidyn Lee (BV) 27-11 (personal best)
Discus throw: 1. Jaidyn Lee (BV) 89-9, 2. Vayda Arreguin (H) 86-1 (personal best), 3. Maddy Cameon (BV) 85-5
High jump: 1. Sydney Asman (BV) 4-8, 2. Jocelyn Abenojar (BV) 4-6, 3. Kayli Salgado (H)) 4-2
Pole vault: 1. Yareli Aguilar Diaz (H) 5-0 (personal best)
Long jump: 1. Paola Williams (H) 16-4 (personal best), 2. Viviana Villalpando (H) 16-4, 3. Jocelyn Abenojar (BV) 16-0 (personal best)
Triple jump: 1. Yareli Aguilar Diaz (H) 24-0
Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
