Division 3
In what was going to be the tightest team battle of the day, Harvard/Westlake wrapped up the title even before they captured their narrow victory in the 4x400 relay. They started the day by taking 2nd in the 4x100 relay with the 3rd fastest mark of the day at 41.42. As expected, junior Brayden Borquez held on for the victory in the 400 meters (47.76) with the 2nd best mark of the day. With a furious late race charge, he almost stole the victory in the 300 hurdles (Lizette Adams photo above). In taking 2nd place, Borquez's time of 37.56 was also the 2nd best time of the day.
Over to the pole vault and with the top mark in the Southern Section, Tiber Seireeni easily captured the title with a 16-0 clearance. With those 46 points in place, this became a true team effort as five other individuals contributed. Breaking the 15-second wind legal threshold for the first time, Matthew Wang stepped it up to take 2nd place (14.82) in the 110 hurdles and advance to the Masters Meet. Darren Long took 3rd in the high jump while Joshua Johnson combined for seven points in the 100 and 200 meters. In the Borquez' victory in the 400, Mason Rodriguez took 3rd with a new personal best. Even hidden in that aggressive combined Division 1 & 3 heat of the 3200 meters, Andrew Shibuya came back with a 5th place finish and an additional four points. The 'role players' brought in an additional 31 points to secure the team victory for the Wolverines.
It was supposed to be a tight battle between Harvard/Westlake and perennial D3 powerhouse, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. But, on the final 4x400 relay, in a head to head race for the runner-up plaque, Santa Margarita snagged five points to leapfrog to 2nd place as a team, thus, sharing the spotlight with their girls' title.
Aside from Asani Hampton, perhaps, the most impressive burst from the starting blocks came from Blake Hennessay in the 100 meters. Hennessay (Lizette Adams photo above) already had a lead that he never relinquished after 10 meters. In defending his D3 title in the 100 meters in a wind legal best of 10.57, it elevated him up to #8 on the all-time Orange County charts.
Not done by any means, Hennessay came back to defend his title in the 300 hurdles as well. Blasting into a sizable lead going into the 6th hurdle, HW's Borquez came down from his inside to close the gap down to the wire but Hennessay prevailed with the 37.55 to 37.56 victory. He was also the catalyst in both relay squads that claimed 4th place medals in each one.
Off the track, Trevor Williamson earned three points with his 6th place finish in the pole vault. Also providing some valuable points, Sean Byrne earned two 2nd place medals in the 1600 and the 3200. In the Trinity League rematch for the 1600 (Jeffrey Parenti photo above), Byrne battled Orange Lutheran's Kevin McNulty to the finish. McNulty won with a 4:13.33 this time around. JSerra sophomore Anthony Grover was the Trinity league champ two weeks ago, but settled for 3rd while Byrne placed 2nd on both meets. Byrne's 4:13.55 complimented by his 9:08.80 later in the 3200 meters earned the Eagles 16 points. Both times advanced Byrne onto next weekend. Meanwhile, Santa Margarita's Ian Howard came up with a 4th place finish and an additional five points.
Not accustomed to leaving immediately after the meet, few may realize that Notre Dame has claimed nine divisional titles since 2004 along with three runner-up plaques. This was only the 3rd time since 2004 that they did not take home any hardware. All in the two throwing events, seniors Jordan Palmer and Steven Barnett, along with sophomore Quinten Lyons combined for a total of 34 points. Lyons earned a 2nd place in the shot put (58-03.75) with Palmer claiming 3rd (56-00.5). Both these efforts advanced. The two traded places in the discus, both going out over 165 feet. The all underclass group from Notre Dame took 3rd place in the 4x100 with a 42.57. Meanwhile, Christian Grubb finished in the top six for the 100 and 200, while finishing his day with a 3rd place effort in the triple jump (45-05.5). Grubb advanced to Masters in the triple jump.
St. John Bosco kicked it off in grand style. In a year where no team had gone under 41.40 in the 4x100 Relay, the Braves unleashed a 40.94 victory and by far, the best time in California. Moving forward to the 200 meters, junior Colby Bowman returned the favor from the Trinity League Finals two weeks ago. With JSerra's Kelley Stephens capturing the 200 meters at that meet, Stevens got the nod this time with a 21.81 to 21.85 victory. Both times advanced onto next weekend. Riding their wave, Pasadena's Jaloni West also advanced with a 22.05. With the D3 assisted by positive winds in both open sprints, West, along with Antelope Valley's Jalen Perdue, also advanced in the 100 meters.
Stepping forward with his best day yet, Esperanza sophomore Jeff Duensing adds another chapter to the tradition of great throwers. Uncorking two new personal bests. His 61-02.5 in the shot put improved upon his previous best of 59-5.75 from a month ago (in the same ring) and now moves him to #3 in California. Over to the discus ring, Duensing's 182-07 victory was 15 feet beyond 2nd place and a six-foot improvement from his previous best. This is the No. 8 mark in the state. He advances as the top seed to next weekend in both events.
St. Francis junior Matthew Molina captured two individual titles. Advancing in both events, his 14.73 victory for the 110 hurdles (Lizette Adams photo above) was run into a -1.1 wind. Also, he easily captured the high jump with a clearance of 6-06, as he was one of only five to clear that height.
In the triple jump, South Pasadena sophomore, Tianhao Wei captured the title with one of the best marks of the day (46-06). In 2nd place, Laguna Hills junior Anthony Victa also advanced with a 45-10.5 personal best. In the long jump, Cathedral City's James Green was the only qualifier to the Masters Meet with a mark of 22-00.25. Behind HW's Seireeni in the pole vault, Damien's Thomas Prata came himself another week with his 2nd place, 14-06 clearance. Perhaps, the biggest surprise came from Hemet West Valley junior Ismail Turner. Not on any our watch lists in the preseason, he erupted with a 47.97 personal best to take 2nd place in the 400 meters. The previous best for Turner (Lizette Adams photo below) was 48.99 while this was only his second time going under 49.60. While he ran the 3rd fastest time of the day, this is his first postseason experience while his best coming into the season was a 51.29.
In the 800 meters, the Southern Section only had one boy advance onto the State Meet finals in 2017. Ian Irish of Palos Verdes was that lone entry. He represented well with a 6th place showing in 1:52.81. In a pace that lagged midway through the race, Irish rushed back to run down La Puente's Miguel Ayala for the victory. Coming into the season as the fastest returner in the section, his 1:55.09 victory was the last time to advance into the Masters Meet.
Finally, and probably lost in the shuffle of seven Division 1 boys running under 9:09, Rubidoux's Kevin Ramos fought his way down the stretch to earn the 3200 meter title. Right next to Santa Margarita's Byrne that last 200, they were more concerned with keeping up with the D1 boys more than anything else. Ramos took the lead ahead of the pack with two laps to go and held on for a spot to next week with a new personal best of 9:08.44. He was also a Masters Meet qualifier in 2017 as a sophomore.