This Spring, we're trying out a new mid-week pair of featured articles: the SoCal and NorCal Reports! We will shine the spotlight on some of the top performances from the previous weekend, then look ahead to the top upcoming meets.
Looking Back at Weekend 1:
The Skyline Invitational has really gained some steam in the past few years and this may have been the biggest turnout of teams in recent memory. Bishop O'Dowd won both team titles with the girls' competition was a bit closer with an eight point victory (103 to 95) over a strong St. Mary's Berkeley team.
Individually on the girls side, St. Mary's Berkeley junior Avi Wilson-Perteete won the 800 meters in 2:18.37. She was a state meet finalist last year in the same event and you may recall that 2:09.55 didn't make the final last season. Finishing third behind Wilson-Perteete in the 800 was freshman Cassie Haskell (Miramonte) who earlier in the meet won the 1600 in 5:03.16 over another equally impressive freshman, Jaxin Woodward of Vacaville (5:09.49). Woodward also won the 3200 in 11:15.64. Very fine debut for the young Vacaville runner. If the name Woodward seems familiar, that is because older sister Jurnee Woodward won both hurdles in 14.11 and 42.59. J. Woodward is the fastest returning 300 meter hurdler in California. On the field side, Kali Hatcher of St. Mary's Berkeley won the triple jump with a mark of 37'3.75" and finished 2nd in the long jump with a mark of 17'3".
The marks on the boys side were solid. Nick Downs of Bishop O'Dowd won the 800 dipping under the 2 minute mark with a 1:59.68. Lick-Wilmerding sophomore Sean Laidlaw made his Track and Field debut by winning the varsity 3200 in 10:02.09. Camillo Eiffel of Bishop O'Dowd was a double winner in the shot put and discus (49'6" and 131'11"). St. Mary's Berkeley senior Malik Floyd-Stinson won both horizontal jumps with leaps of 20'11" and 46'5".
At the De La Salle/Carondelet Super Seven meet, Merrill West edged out Long Beach Wilson and De La Salle for the boys team title. Carondelet outdistanced Long Beach Wilson for the girls title.
Dion Collier of Merrill West ran an impressive 10.87 in the 100. De La Salle was impressive as usual in the relays taking the 400 relay (42.65), 800 relay (1:29.71) and 1600 relay (3:22.35). The most hotly contested field event was the boys discus with Iffy Joyner of Pittsburg (161'2") finishing just ahead of teammate Namonette Grisby (157'8") and Jeff Williams of Clayton Valley (151'3"). Noah Hurley of College Park was impressive in the pole vault winning in 15'6"
On the girls side, Hannah Davis of Vacaville raced to victory in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.15 defeating Ivie Eboigbodin of Merrill West (46.12) and Cecily Montanez of Franklin (46.28). Rayna Stanziano of Concord showed that she will chase a sub 11 time later in the season in the 3200 with a 11:18.82 winning mark. Carondelet jumper, Julianna Ruotolo won the high jump with an impressive 5'4" mark.
At the Clarke Massey Relays, the top recorded marks were by Haley Adel (Kennedy) in the 3200 with a winning time of 11:19.60, Jasmine Pharms (Stagg) who won the shot put with a mark of 44'2.75" and on the boys side, Matthew Chukweke (St. Mary's Stockton) in the triple jump with a winning mark of 46'4.25".
Looking Ahead to Weekend 2:
Actually, what Clubber Lang meant to say is RAIN. Look for a wet weekend with most athletes huddling underneath their tents between their respective events. With the return of El Nino to California, the sport of track and field may be slowed a bit but not a complete stop as the competition will start on Friday, March 4th with the Pitman Distance Wars at Turlock HS, Steve March Relays at Del Oro HS and the Sunset Invitational at the newly resurfaced Kezar Stadium. On Saturday, March 5th, the Dan Gabor Invitational will take place at Amador Valley HS (Heat Sheets) with sprint and field events in the morning followed by the distance events in the afternoon. In the SJS, check out the Dean Andreessen Classic at Atwater HS, Sacramento State Track Classic at Sacramento State, Steve Jones Invitational at Burbank HS, Ron Ruptier Memorial Invitational at Ponderosa HS, Tom Moore Relays at Sierra HS and last but definitely not least, the Vallejo Relays at Vallejo HS. Finally in the Central Coast Section, some of the strongest teams in the area will battle at the Mt. Pleasant Relays at Mt. Pleasant HS (Heat Sheets). The other two meets in CCS will be the Willow Glen Invite at Willow Glen HS (Heat Sheets) and the North Salinas Time Trials at North Salinas HS.
All meet directors should send results to Jeff George at jgeorge@milesplit.com. Photos and videos should be sent to jgeorge@milesplit.com and albertjcaruana@gmail.com.
