Who says that good things don’t come in small packages?
Last Saturday’s intimate gathering of six teams at the annual Sweetwater Coed Relays produced quite an explosive ending as Eastlake High School rallied with wins in the meet-ending girls and boys 4×400-meter relay events to slip past neighborhood rival Otay Ranch and claim the team championship trophy.
Eastlake finished the meet, held amid a light drizzle at times, with 174 points to eclipse the 170 points posted by Otay Ranch.
Central Union finished a distant third with 85 points, followed by event host Sweetwater with 69 points in fourth place, Southwest El Centro in fifth place with 54 points and Imperial in sixth place with 20 points.
The victory by Eastlake over Otay Ranch was the second in the span of three days after the Titans swept the Mustangs in a Mesa League dual meet the prior Thursday.
“We hadn’t won both the girls and boys end of a dual meet against them in a while,” EHS boys coach David Koopman said. “We thought that was big.”
The coed invitational title had to be equally satisfying.
“We had people step up,” Koopman explained. “We had people competing in events they normally don’t compete in, so you never know what to expect. We also had people out due to illness but the kids rose to the occasion.”
While track and field remains a team effort, several individuals stood out for Eastlake in the back-to-back sweep over Otay Ranch.
- Cimone Manson recorded top marks in the girls long jump (15-10) and triple jump (34-4) at last weekend’s SuHi relay meet.
- Jalyn Jackson, a silver medalist at last year’s state championship meet in the boys triple jump, won the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter dash and ran a leg on Eastlake’s victorious 4×100 relay team in the dual meet.
At last Saturday’s invitational, he produced a personal record in the triple jump with a mark of 49-2.5 to surpass the 48-5.25 mark at state last year. He also notched the top long jump mark of 24-0.
Jeffrey Page, a two-time returning state meet qualifier in the boys 800-meter run, captured the 200- and 400-meter dashes, the 800 run and anchored the Titans’ winning 4×400 relay unit in the dual meet win over the Mustangs.
At last Saturday’s invitational, he ran the anchor leg on Eastlake’s gold-medal 4×400 relay team.
- Britney Buu recorded the third-best mark in the girls triple jump (33-3.25) at the SuHi relay meet.
Eastlake notched first-place finishes in 10 of the 21 events at last weekend’s meet at Gail Devers Stadium. The Titans won the girls 4×100 relay (51.37), boys 4×100 relay (43.94), girls 800 relay (1:49.51), boys 800 relay (1:34.81), girls varsity sprint medley (1:52.98), girls 4×400 relay (4:18.70), boys 4×400 relay (3:35.47), pole vault relay (37-0), long jump relay (74-4) and triple jump relay (158-6.75).
Otay Ranch captured first-place finishes in nine events: coed hurdles (1:08.92), frosh/soph mid-distance (6:52.77), girls distance medley (13:56.24), boys frosh/soph sprint medley (1:41.89), coed 3200 relay (9:27.21), boys varsity sprint medley (1:39.82), boys 6400 relay (19:06.61), discus throw relay (385-6.5) and shot put relay (147-4).
Mustang coach Julian Valdez said his team rose to the occasion as well in challenging for the team title.
“We have a young group and we were able to rebound after a tough loss to Eastlake last week,” Valdez said. “Our distance teams picked up four gold medals – coed 3200, 6400, mid-distance and girls distance medley.”
On an impressive noted, the Titans and Mustangs combined to win 19 of the 21 events.
Sweetwater captured first place in the girls frosh/soph sprint medley (1:58.27) while Central Union notched a first-place finish in the high jump relay (21-2).
The 6400 relay features four legs of 1600 meters. Otay Ranch’s winning unit included Joel Talamayan, Noel Perdio, Giovanni Stone and Justin Mulvany.
Eastlake’s victorious girls 4×400 relay team included Blanca McCormick, Nyha Kidd, Luz Mercado and Ana Mercado while the Titans’ boys 4×400 relay team included Quintin Johnson, Page, Nico Vera and Bernardo Coe.
Otay Ranch’s winning coed 3200 relay team included Stone, Sara Williams, Mulvany and Lexi Hernandez.
Jackson will continue his track career at Cal Berkeley while Page will be shooting to qualify for the state meet for the third time.
Boys Top Marks
Long jump: Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake) 24-0; Antonio Reyes (Mater Dei Catholic) 21-0; Nathan Castro (Otay Ranch) 20-5
Triple jump: Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake) 49-2.5; Tyler Saikhon (Southwest El Centro) 42-5.5; Kevin Bateman (Eastlake) 41-9; Darian Williams (Otay Ranch) 40-10.5
High jump: Steven Marquez (Central Union) 6-2; Tyler Saikhon (Southwest El Centro) 6-2; Ryan Silva Bradley (Southwest El Centro) 5-10, Darian Williams (Otay Ranch) 5-10, Michael Sullivan (Central Union) 5-10; Ezekiel Cruz (Otay Ranch) 5-8
Shot put: Dominic D’Andrea (Otay Ranch) 48-4; Fautano Autele (Otay Ranch) 44-9; Sovial Sonzeu (Mater Dei Catholic) 40-5
Discus throw: Carson Lively (Eastlake) 129-4; Faufano Autele (Otay Ranch) 126-11; Angel Rico (Central Union) 120-9
Pole vault: Nathan Sison (Otay Ranch) 13-0; Tanner Moulton (Eastlake) 10-6; Marcus Casillas (Eastlake) 10-6
Girls Top Marks
Long jump: Cimone Manson (Eastlake) 15-10; Paola Nenninger (Mater Dei Catholic) 15-9; Natalia Cortes (Eastlake) 15-1
Triple jump: Cimone Manson (Eastlake) 34-4; Alani Johnson (Otay Ranch) 33-10; Britney Buu (Eastlake) 33-3.25
High jump: Analy Valle (Central Union) 4-8, Kalah Bateman (Eastlake) 4-6; Nohemi Anderson (Central Union) 4-6
Shot put: Aaronique Simpson (Eastlake) 30-0; Kaylee Hewat-Lanier (Otay Ranch) 29-9; Samantha Herrejon (Central Union) 27-6
Discus throw: Janette De La Rosa (Otay Ranch) 85-9.5; Jessica Dick (Imperial) 85-8.5; Alexis Loma (Mater Dei Catholic) 78-8
Pole vault: Caryme Estrada (Otay Ranch) 8-0; Emily Sawtell (Eastlake) 8-0; Natalia Cortes (Eastlake) 8-0
