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2007 Prep Track & Field
San Diego Section

Prep Previews/Reports

Grossmont Conference Report
East County elite put best feet forward at league track finals

Posted May 15, 2008
The road to the high school state track and field meet started last Friday at Helix and El Capitan high schools for this year’s talented crop of Grossmont Conference athletes. The top two finishers in each event, plus those athletes who met a predetermined standard, qualified to compete in Saturday’s San Diego Section prelims at Mt. Carmel High School.

The field will be pared down further for the section finals the following Saturday, also at the North County site. The top three finishers in each event at the section finals, plus those meeting the state standard, will earn the chance to compete another week in the state prelims and finals May 30-31 at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

Steele Canyon finished regular season competition ranked fifth among the section’s boys dual meet teams. Following a runner-up finish at last year’s Division II championship meet, Steele Canyon will be shooting for a top finish in this year’s Division I field. At the midpoint of the season, the Cougars owned the No. 1 dual meet ranking.

Certainly, Steele Canyon will be heading into this Saturday’s section prelims well stocked for battle against No. 1 Otay Ranch and No. 2 Torrey Pines after capturing nine event titles and seven second-place finishes (out of 16 events) at last Friday’s Grossmont South League championship meet at Helix High School.

Granite Hills, with 10 prelim qualifiers, also will be shooting for respect.

Boys South League Finals
Mt. Miguel’s duo of Elliott Taylor and Hosea Tate swept the boys sprints. Taylor timed 11.04 to edge Granite Hills’ Bradley Carter (11.17) in the 100-meter dash. Tate captured both the 200 and 400 dashes, edging Taylor in the 200 meters by 0.25 seconds.

A field of seven runners made the 11.24 standard in the 100 dash. Following Taylor and Carter with CIF qualifying marks were Steele Canyon’s Alex Perlin (11.19) and DeAndrae Woods (11.20), Helix’s Tyrell Bell (11.20), Valhalla’s Alex Johnson (11.20) and Steele Canyon’s Jamie Dale (11.22).

Tate clocked 22.44 to win the 200 dash ahead of Taylor (22.69), Granite Hills’ Carter (22.79) and Steele Canyon’s Alex Perlin (22.84). Bell (fifth, 22.93) also met the 22.94 standard.

Tate’s winning time in the 400 was 50.52, with Steele Canyon’s Jesse Richards placing second in 51.79 and Monte Vista’s Kyle Richardson finishing third in 51.82. The qualifying standard is 51.24.

Steele Canyon swept the distance events, with Matt Corey capturing the 800 run in 1:59.73 and Adrian Sherrod winning both the 1,600 (4:18.77) and 3,200 (9:43.63). The 4:18.77 moved Sherrod into the section lead; he continues to rank second in the 3200 distance.

Corey finished ahead of teammate Tim Buckmaster (2:01.08) and Helix’s Dante Daniels (2:01.46) en route to capturing the 800 run. Steele Canyon’s Blake Oleson placed fourth in the event with a likewise CIF qualifying time of 2:02.46.

Sherrod topped Valhalla’s Brian Randlett (4:22.04) in the 1,600 distance and Mt. Miguel’s Dylan Marx (9:48.36) for the 3,200 title.

Marx finished third in the 1,600 distance in 4:29.55, followed by Steele Canyon’s Shivam Patel (fourth, 4:33.94) and Monte Vista’s Misikir Mentose (4:34.74). The CIF qualifying time in the 1,600 is 4:31.04.

Cameron Sundin of Helix was third in 9:52.32, followed by Valhalla’s Adam Steinert (10:01.96). The CIF qualifying time in the 3,200 run is 9:56.84.

Steele Canyon’s David Klarer won titles in both the boys hurdles events, timing 14.82 to capture the 110 high hurdles and 38.60 to claim the 300 intermediate hurdles. The latter time catapulted him back into the section lead ahead of Otay Ranch’s Niko Salazar (38.72); he ranks second in the 100 high hurdles behind Otay Ranch's Marcus Vasquez (14.50).

Klarer finished ahead of a strong field in the high hurdles, with five runners breaking the 16.00-second mark (and four meeting the 15.84 standard). Granite Hills’ Kevin Finley placed second in 14.93, followed by Steele Cayon’s Jason Cofield (15.61), Valhalla’s James Rollings (15.76) and Granite Hills’ Jason Plaisted (15.94).

Klarer led a parade of three Cougars across the finish line in the 300 distance. Justin Johnson finished second in 40.72, followed by teammate James Mudd (41.10) and Granite Hills’ Plaisted (41.18) and Finley (41.20).
All five hurdles met the 41.74 standard.

Steele Canyon captured both relay events, timing 42.20 in the 4x100 distance to best Granite Hills (42.30) and winning the 4x400 distance in 3:22.78 ahead of Helix (3:27.02). The Cougars ranks No. 1 in the section in the 4x100 relay at 42.0 and third in the section in the 4x400 at 3:22.78.

Athletes from Granite Hills, Steele Canyon and Monte Vista each won two field events.

Monte Vista’s David Spates won titles in both his section-leading events: 57-3 in the shot put and 170-2.5 in the discus throw. Spates leads the section with a top shot put mark of 58-11.5 and a top discus throw of 183-4.

Steele Canyon’s Dylan Fitzgerald (13-6) and Dan Ragsdale (13-0) finished 1-2 in the boys pole vault ahead of Granite Hills’ sophomore standout Finely (12-6).

Brandon Brown captured the triple jump in 42-11.75 to give Steele Canyon nine first-place finishes in 16 events. He finished ahead of Granite Hills’ Harold Harris (42-6) and Cougar teammate Nick Stathas (42-2) – the only three jumpers to surpass 42 feet in the event.

Granite Hills’ Aaron McCalmont won the boys high jump by clearing 6-6. Four jumpers overall cleared 6-0: Steele Canyon’s Elijah Carter (second, 6-2), Richards (third, 6-0) and Mudd (fourth, 6-0). The CIF qualifying mark is 6-0.

McCalmont's best on the season is 6-9 – good for the No. 2 mark in the section.

Granite Hills’ Aaron Harris flew to a mark of 22-0.75 to win this year’s boys long jump title, placing ahead of Steele Canyon’s Jamie Dale (second, 21-6.5), Brown (third, 20-11) and Stathas (fourth, 20-1).

Granite Hills’ Landon Turley (55-4) finished second in the boys shot put ahead of Steele Cayon’s Joe Morgan (50-6) while Steele Canyon’s Jackson Reeves (146-2.5) finished second in the boys discus throw ahead of Granite Hills’ Stephen Rubio (132-3).

The boys shot put event showcased East County’s strength in the weight events, with seven athletes meeting the CIF qualifying mark of 46-6. Also making the standard were Steele Canyon’s Reeves (fourth, 49-1) and Bryan Ritter (fifth, 48-2), Helix’s Oliva Auimatagi (sixth, 46-8) and Steele Canyon’s Ben Kauffman (seventh, 46-6.5).

Granite Hills finished the boys meet with two first-place finishes and five second-place finishes. However, the Cougars were by far the dominant team at this year’s league finals. Besides its league-best nine first-place finishes, Steele Canyon athletes also took seven second-place finishes.

Mt. Miguel’s strong showing included three first-place finishes and two second-place finishes.

Top girls qualifiers
Granite Hills Tori Taijeron won titles in the 100 and 200 dashes, timing 12.24 and 25.75, respectively, while Valhalla’s Paige Hughes captured titles in the 1,600 (5:17.20) and 3,200 (11:46.41) distances.

Taijeron moved into second place in the section rankings in the 100 dash with her winning league time.

Helix’s Thoraya Maronesy won the girls long jump (17-4) and triple jump (35-2.5). She ranks second in the section in the triple jump with a season best 37-0 mark and fifth-best in the long jump.

Other event winners included Granite Hills’ Erica Gove (400 dash, 59.47) and Laura Delgado (800 run, 2:25.00), Helix’ Tia Knight (100 low hurdles, 15.19), Steele Canyon’s Kim Gossmeyer (300 low hurdles, 48.01), Granite Hills’ Jennifer Vaupel (high jump, 5-0) and Brittany Hamilton (pole vault, 10-6) and Steele Canyon’s Jennifer Bingham (shot put, 38-3.75) and Belinda Pickens (discus throw, 118-1.75).

Helix’s Knight, who ranks first in the section in the 100 low hurdles, placed runner-up in the 100 dash in 12.70.

Bingham ranks second in the section while Hamilton ranks third in the section in their specialty events.

Granite Hills ran to victory in both relay events, timing 4:06.24 to win the 4x400.

The Eagles dominated this year’s league championship meet with eight first-place finishes and three second-place finishes. Steele Canyon and Helix both notched three first-place finishes and three second-place finishes while Valhalla had two first-place finishes and two second-place finishes.

North League finals
Top boys performers included West Hills’ Octavio Davila and El Cajon Valley’s Kevin Kelly.

Davila won both the 100 (11.19) and 200 (22.76) dashes, with El Cajon Valley’s Lucas Stafford finishing second in both with times of 11.39 and 22.90.

Kelly won the 110 high hurdles (15.76) and high jump (6-0) and placed second in the 300 intermediate hurdles (40.29).

Event winners included Santana’s Anthony DeBarrows (400, 51.11), Grossmont’s Ben Beck (800, 2:06.27), El Capitan’s Chris Torres (1600, 4:44.40), West Hills’ Marcus Nelson (3200, 10:05.06), Grossmont’s Valentino Hodgson (300 hurdles, 40.29), El Cajon Valley’s Cory Jackson (long jump, 21-5.25), Grossmont’s Kevin Wright (triple jump, 42-4) and Greg Thayer (pole vault, 12-0) and El Capitan’s Kyle Stratton (shot put, 49-9) and Anthony Solis (discus throw, 147-5).

West Hills captured the 4x100 relay while placing second to El Cajon Valley in the 4x400 relay.

DeBarrows also finished second in the 800 run in 2:06.76. ECV’s Stafford took his third second-place finish of the day in the long jump (20-2.75).

Top girls performers included El Capitan’s Kelsee Ramsey and Grossmont’s Katie Patterson.

Ramsey won the girls 200 dash in 25.91 while also claiming league titles in the 100 low hurdles (16.76) and 300 low hurdles (46.93). She ranks fifth in the section in the 300 hurdles.

Patterson won the long jump (16-9) and triple jump (32-11.75).

Event winners included El Cajon Valley's Sheraina Moon (100 dash, 12.84), Grossmont’s Sablle Scheppmann (1600, 5:33.96), El Capitan’s Jamie Ferguson (400, 59.37), El Cajon Valley’s Deidra Spinler (800, 2:23.01), West Hills’ Samantha Timanus (3200, 12:00.09), Grossmont’s Laurel Vozely (high jump, 5-0), El Capitan’s Michelle Hensle (pole vault, 8-0), Santana’s Tawnya Proctor (shot put, 34-10) and Brandice Draheim (discus throw, 114-9).

El Cajon Valley swept both relay events.

El Cajon Valley’s Jasmine Harris finished second in the 100 dash (12.85) and long jump (16-6) while West Hills’ Ashley Stetler was second in the shot put (33-9.5) and discus throw (108-6).

The section prelims are scheduled to start at 9 a.m. for field events and 10 a.m. For running events. The section finals start at 10 a.m. for field events and 12:30 p.m. for running events.

Metro Conference Report
Frosh star Carrillo leads Lancers at South Bay League finals

Posted May 15, 2008
How does that go? Freshmen are supposed to stand in line and wait their turn.

Well, that certainly does not apply to Hilltop frosh sensation Jessica Carrillo.

Carrillo captured three gold medals and one silver medal en route to earning honors as the Most Valuable Female Athlete at this year’s South Bay League Track and Field championship meet, held May 8 at Mater Dei High School.

Carrillo won individual titles in the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes and narrowly missed claiming another first-place finish after coming up short by eight-hundredth of a second in the girls 400 dash. She ran the anchor leg on the Lancers’ victorious 4x100 relay to start the meet.
She was in the spotlight for most of the proceedings afterward.

Intimidation does not appear to be in her vocabulary.

“I thought my freshman year was going to be hard but it turned out to be easier. I’m just out there trying my hardest. I look at the older (athletes) just as other runners,” said Carrillo, who began running seven years ago in youth programs.

This year’s finals opened as Karla Serrato handed off the baton to Carrillo on the last exchange of the 4x100 relay. Carrillo crossed the finish line to give Hilltop a winning time of 51.55. Olympian was second in 52.50.

Carrillo was back on the track three events later for the 400 dash, just failing to catch Mater Dei junior Jackae Bridges at the finish line. Carrillo timed 59.43 to Bridges’ winning time of 59.35. Crusader teammate Camille Alvarado was third in 59.49 as the three front runners made it a climactic photo finish.

Carrillo notched a personal record in the 400 despite finishing second.

It was promptly back to the oval for Carrillo for the 100 dash, winning that race in 13.28 ahead of Olympian’s Deanna Grover (13.30) and Mater Dei’s Camille Alvarado (13.45).

In the 200 dash, third from the end of the running events, Carrillo this time won a duel with Bridges, clocking one full second ahead of the Mater Dei standout (26.24 to 27.24). Hilltop’s Serrato was third in 27.81.

Overall, the Lancers captured six first-place finishes.

Brialema Turner won the 100 low hurdles in 17.07 while Devon Senneseth captured the 300 low hurdles title in 49.33. Lorraine Tang cleared 7-6 to win the girls pole vault competition.

For joining the team as a first-year performer, Carrillo said she has found acceptance. “We’re all pretty close,” she said. “Sure, I’m a freshman. It’s a little exciting. I just want to make it to CIF and place.”

Carrillo wasn’t the only shining star at this year’s league finals.

Montgomery sophomore Ana Pacheco won titles in the 800 run (2:31.05) and 3,200 run (12:21.12) while finishing second in the 1,600 run (5:42.38).
Mar Vista junior Nathena Penrod captured individual title in the girls 1600 run (5:42.1) and finished second in the 800 run in 2:31.16.

Mater Dei’s Bridges won two events. Besides capturing the 400 title, she also won the long jump (17-0). She continues to hold down the second-best mark in the long jump this season in the section at 18-1.

Castle Park’s Lanida Sanders won the girls high jump with a clearance of 4-8 and finished second in the long jump (15-3.5).
Montgomery’s Elena Soler won the girls triple jump (32-2.5) ahead of Southwest’s Kyky Davis (31-3.5).

Southwest’s Denise Atualevao won the girls discus throw (97-4) ahead of Mar Vista’s Keauna Johnson (95-10). Johnson, meanwhile, won the girls shot put (32-1) ahead of Southwest’s Jazzmine Walker (29-5).

The Olympian foursome of Ka-Shawna Pinkard, Grover, Sasha Sanchez and Gabby Robledo sent a buzz through the crowd by winning the meet-concluding 4x400 relay in 4:14.71 ahead of Hilltop (4:15.13).

Castle Park’s Dominique Fuqua was named Male Athlete of the Meet after winning the long jump (20-2), triple jump (41-0.5) and high jump (6-0).
Southwest’s Carlos Ruiz won both hurdles events, timing 15.87 the 110 high hurdles and 40.43 in the 300 intermediate hurdles.

Mar Vista’s Edgar Lopez also won two individual events: the 1,600 (4:28.11) and 3,200 (10:23.15). He narrowly missed winning a third title in the 800 run (2:02.36) but was upset by Hilltop’s Luis Villapando (2:01.55). Villapando shaved 11 seconds off his prelim time of 2:12.43 to win the mid-distance race.

Castle Park’s Ricardo Anzar won the boys discus throw (134-1) and shot put (47-0).

Other highlights:
•Hilltop’s Andy Torres (51.84) and Gilbert Uriarte (52.06) finished 1-2 in the boys 400 dash while Leouel Anguiano edged Lancer teammate Ernie Carlos in the boys pole vault after both finished at 11-6.

•Mater Dei’s Luis Ramirez (11.53) held off a challenge from Hilltop’s Ariel Perez (11.76) to win the boys 100 dash.

•Mater Dei’s Michael Buffaloe won a tight finish in the boys 200 dash with a time of 23.59 ahead of Hilltop’s Torres (23.77) and Crusader teammate Ramirez (23.81).

•Hilltop swept both relay events. Perez, Uriarte, Kris Ramirez and Torres combined to time 44.97 in the opening 4x100 relay race ahead of Castle Park (45.30) while the quartet of Villapando, Ramirez, Uriarte and Torres won the 4x400 relay in 3:29.93 ahead of Castle Park (3:30.57).

Notable:
•Montgomery’s Juan Vieyra was second in the boys 1,600 run (4:36.03), followed by teammate Alex Medina (third, 4:38.61). Vieyra also finished runner-up in the boys 3,200 run (10:27.93), this time ahead of Mar Vista’s Salvador Armenta (third, 10:35.22).
•Hilltop’s Sebastian Smith finished second in the 110 boys high hurdles (16.99) while Castle Park’s Kiefer Baker placed second in the boys 300 intermediate hurdles (41.48).

•Castle Park’s Lamar Wint finished second in the boys triple jump (40-3) while Olympian’s Shawn Lard was second in the boys long jump (19-8.5).
•Southwest’s Torian Winfrey placed runner-up in the boys high jump (5-10).

•Mar Vista’s Luis Anaya (40-7) and Montgomery’s Jonathan Villanueva (40-0.5) both exceeded 40 feet in the boys shot put.

•Hilltop emerged as this year’s double dual meet champion, with the Lancers’ Dan Kray named both the Girls Coach of the Year and the Boys Coach of the Year.

Parade of champions: South Bay League Track and Field Finals
May 8 at Mater Dei High School
Girls Running Events
4x100 relay: 1. Hilltop 51.55; 2. Olympian 52.50; 3. Southwest 52.62; 4. Mater Dei 52.96; 5. Castle Park 57.99.

1600: 1. Nathena Penrod (Mar Vista) 5:42.1; 2. Ana Pacheco (Montgomery) 5:42.38; 3. Chelsie Plascencia (Mater Dei) 5:43.51; 4. Casey Dow (Hilltop) 5:50.90; 5. Carolina Estrada (Castle Park) 5:58.69; 6. Marianna Bedoya (Hilltop) 6:03.53. Other: Sarah Papapietro (Mater Dei) 6:41.44.
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100 low hurdles: 1. Brialema Turner (Hilltop) 17.07; 2. Kamela Jackson (Mater Dei) 17.64; 3. Cassandra Crisp (Southwest) 17.69; 4. L’Anita Sanders (Castle Park) 17.85; 5. Devon Senneseth (Hilltop) 17.85; 6. Emily O’Bryant (Mar Vista) 18.71; 7. Claudia Macias (Montgomery) 19.09; 8. Chauntee Parks (Montgomery) 19.12; 9. Lesleah Flores (Olympian) 19.77.

400: 1. Jackae Bridges (Mater Dei) 59.35; 2. Jessica Carrillo (Hilltop) 59.43; 3. Camille Alvarado (Mater Dei) 59.49; 4. Gabby Robledo (Olympian) 1:02.92; 5. Elizabeth Hines (Hilltop) 1:03.43; 6. Rebekah Castellow (Southwest) 1:04.42; 7. Sasha Sanchez (Olympian) 1:05.70; 8. Vallarie Adams (Southwest) 1:08.36; 9. Kashwana Pinkard (Olympian) 1:10.10.

100: 1. Jessica Carrillo (Hilltop) 13.28; 2. Deanna Grover (Olympian) 13.30; 3. Camille Alvarado (Mater Dei) 13.45; 4. Karla Serrato (Hilltop) 13.71; 5. Emily O’Bryant (Mar Vista) 13.80; 6. Chauntee Parks (Montgomery) 13.94; 7. Roxanne Ruiz (Southwest) 13.96; 8. Kyky Davis (Southwest) 14.00; 9. Ashley Schach (Hilltop) 14.12.

800: 1. Ana Pacheco (Montgomery) 2:31.05; 2. Nathena Penrod (Mar Vista) 2:31.16; 3. Merssa Lindstrom (Mater Dei) 2:32.91; 4. Cheslie Plascencia (Montgomery) 2:38.69; 5. Michelle Lane (Hilltop) 2:40.06; 6. Carolina Estrada (Castle Park) 2:41.31; 7. Shantell Armenta (Mar Vista) 2:45.99; 8. Casey Schoen (Hilltop) 2:47.09; 9. Elena Soler (Montgomery) 2:49.03.

300 low hurdles: 1. Devon Senneseth (Hilltop) 49.33; 2. L’Anita Sanders (Castle Park) 49.74; 3. Jessica Torres (Hilltop) 50.32; 4. Kamela Jackson (Mater Dei) 51.30; 5. Lesleah Flores (Olympian) 52.81; 6. Claudia Macias (Montgomery) 52.94; 7. Angie Wehbe (Southwest) 57.15; 8. Alexandra Ayala (Montgomery) 57.36; 9. Rachel Lopez (Castle Park) 1:00.95.

200: 1. Jessica Carrillo (Hilltop) 26.24; 2. Jackae Bridges (Mater Dei) 27.24; 3. Karla Serrato (Hilltop) 27.81; 4. Roxanne Ruiz (Southwest) 28.30; 5. Elizabeth Hines (Hilltop) 28.31; 6. Camille Alvarado (Mater Dei) 28.57; 7. Jenise Abston (Olympian) 29.02; 8. Lauren Judal (Mater Dei) 29.31; 9. Kashwana Pinkard (Olympian) 30.13.

3200: 1. Ana Pacheco (Montgomery) 12:21.12; 2. Casey Dow (Hilltop) 12:36.37; 3. Jessica Serna (Castle Park) 12:56.05; 4. Chelsie Plascencia (Mater Dei) 13:04.50; 5. Marianna Bedoya (Hilltop) 13:23.7; 6. Sara Papapietro (Mater Dei) 14:43.96.
4x400 relay: 1. Olympian 4:14.71; 2. Hilltop 4:15.13; 3. Mar Vista 4:32.43; 4. Southwest 4:41.13; 5. Castle Park 4:42.02; Mater Dei DQ.


Girls Field Events
High jump: 1. Lanida Sanders (Castle Park) 4-8; 2. Stephanie Wertz (Hilltop) 4-8; 3. Kelsey Welch (Hilltop) 4-6; 4. Chauntee Parks (Montgomery) 4-6; 5. Julia Galvan (Southwest) 4-4; 6. Elena Soler (Montgomery) 4-2.

Long jump: 1. Jackie Bridges (Mater Dei) 17-0; 2. Lanita Sanders (Castle Park) 15-3.5; 3. Eygiel Limbo (Southwest) 14-5; 4. Emily O’Bryant (Mar Vista) 14-3.5; 5. Adriana Moore (Mar Vista) 13-2; 6. Kyky Davis (Southwest) 13-1.5.

Triple jump: 1. Elena Soler (Montgomery) 32-2.5; 2. Kyky Davis (Southwest) 31-3.5; 3. Cassandra Crisp (Southwest) 31-3; 4. Eygiel Limbo (Southwest) 31-0.5; 5. Ashley Schach (Hilltop) 30-7; 6. Ka-Shawna Pinkard (Olympian) 29-10.5; 7. Claudia Macias (Montgomery) 29-0.
Pole vault: 1. Lorraine Tang (Hilltop) 7-6; 2. Sonia Rodriguez (Hilltop) 7-0. Others: Michelle Maribuson (Hilltop), Julia Galvan (Southwest) 6-6; Marleen Canillas (Hilltop) 6-0.

Discus throw: 1. Denise Atualevao (Southwest) 97-4; 2. Keauna Johnson (Mar Vista) 95-10; 3. Chelsey Stefan (Hilltop) 91-7; 4. Jazzmine Walker (Southwest) 89-1; 5. Chelsea Tripp (Hilltop) 88-5; 6. Samatha Sheridan (Hilltop) 85-6.5; 7. DiDi Johnson (Olympian) 75-6.25.

Shot put: 1. Kenana Johnson (Mar Vista) 32-1; 2. Jazzmine Walker (Southwest) 29-5; 3. Denise Atualevao (Southwest) 28-8.5; 4. Cassandra Hamel (Montgomery) 27-10; 5. Nicole Garcia (Castle Park) 27-8.5; 6. Cassandra Gonzales (Mar Vista) 27-3.

Boys Running Events
4x100 relay: 1. Hilltop 44.97; 2. Castle Park 45.30; 3. Southwest 46.29; 4. Olympian 46.27; 5. Mater Dei 46.52; 6. Montgomery 47.29.
1600: 1. Edgar Lopez (Mar Vista) 4:28.11; 2. Juan Vieyra (Montgomery) 4:36.03; 3. Alex Medina (Montgomery) 4:38.61; 4. Christian Kaeg (Olympian) 4:46.78; 5. Connor Galleher (Hilltop) 4:47.12; 6. David Meza (Castle Park) 4:52.38; 7. Edgar Gastellum (Castle Park) 4:57.79; 8. Alfredo Hernandez (Southwest) 5:06.19; 9. Enrique Robles (Montgomery) 5:17.70.

110 high hurdles: 1. Carlos Ruiz (Southwest) 15.87; 2. Sebastian Smith (Hilltop) 16.99; 3. Lamar Wint (Castle Park) 17.51; 4. Matt Kuehn (Hilltop) 17.55; 5. Ricky Guzman (Montgomery) 17.64; 6. Gerald Tuazon (Southwest) 18.18; 7. Kaylon Martin (Mar Vista) 18.22; 8. Franco Montalvo (Olympian) 18.31.

400: 1. Andy Torres (Hilltop) 51.84; 2. Gilbert Uriarte (Hilltop) 52.06; 3. Michael Buffaloe (Mater Dei) 52.20; 4. Greg Picos (Olympian) 52.61; 5. Vincent Vasquez (Mater Dei) 54.03; 6. Hollis Hulin (Olympian) 54.91; 7. John Masi (Olympian) 55.94; 8. Etyam Arredondo (Montgomery) 56.03.
100: 1. Luis Ramirez (Mater Dei) 11.53; 2. Ariel Perez (Hilltop) 11.76; 3. Dante Miller (N/A) 11.77; 4. Gilbert Lopez (Castle Park) 11.91; 5. Sammy Hernandez (Montgomery) 12.58; 6. Kris Ramirez (Hilltop) 12.58.

800: 1. Luis Villapando (Hilltop) 2:01.55; 2. Edgar Lopez (Mar Vista) 2:02.36; 3. Christian Kaeg (Olympian) 2:05.37; 4. Vincent Vasquez (Mater Dei) 2:05.80; 5. Juanito Victoria (Castle Park) 2:05.98; 6. Franco Montalvo (Olympian) 2:08.05; 7. Marlo Villanueva (Southwest) 2:08.05; 8. Juan Vieyra (Montgomery) 2:08.05.

300 intermediate hurdles: 1. Carlos Ruiz (Southwest) 40.43; 2. Kiefer Baker (Castle Park) 41.48; 3. Alex Medina (Montgomery) 42.74; 4. Sebastian Smith (Hilltop) 43.24; 5. Lamar Wint (Castle Park) 43.87; 6. Ricky Guzman (Montgomery) 44.88; 7. Wesley Ethridge (Hilltop) 45.10; 8. Chelsi Buen (Olympian) 46.51.

200: 1. Michael Buffaloe (Mater Dei) 23.59; 2. Andy Torres (Hilltop) 23.77; 3. Luis Ramirez (Mater Dei) 23.81; 4. Gilbert Lopez (Castle Park) 24.00; 5. Payte Miller (Mar Vista) 24.29; 6. Marquis Garrette (Olympian) 24.61.

3200: 1. Edgar Lopez (Mar Vista) 10:23.15; 2. Juan Vieyra (Montgomery) 10:27.93; 3. Salvador Armenta (Mar Vista) 10:35.22; 4. David Meza (Castle Park) 10:47.14; 5. Connor Galleher (Hilltop) 10:56.45; 6. Hernan Naranjo (Montgomery) 10:59.21; 7. Alfredo Hernandez (Southwest) 11:25.89; 8. Jose Lopez (Southwest) 11:47.54; 9. Francisco Lemus (Mater Dei) 12:23.42; 10. Cezar Gamez (Montgomery) 12:40.65.

4x400 relay: 1. Hilltop 3:29.96; 2. Castle Park 3:30.57; 3. Olympian 3:31.84; 4. Montgomery 3:37.11.


Boys Field Events
Discus throw: 1. Ricardo Anzar (Castle Park) 134-1; 2. Caesar Amparo (Castle Park) 113-8; 3. Jonathan Villanueva (Montgomery) 106-4; 4. Craig Ruiz (Hilltop) 103-6; 5. Angelo Palloto (Mar Vista) 97-8; 6. Kyle Johnson (Hilltop) 96-7.

Shot put: 1. Ricardo Anzar (Castle Park) 47-0; 2. Luis Anaya (Mar Vista) 40-7; 3. Jonathan Villanueva (Montgomery) 40-0.5; 4. Paul Evans (Mar Vista) 39-11; 5. Bernardo Valdez (Castle Park) 39-6.5; 6. Franklin Ausler (Mater Dei) 30-6.

Pole vault: 1. Leounel Anguiano (Hilltop) 11-6; 2. Ernestro Carlos (Hilltop) 11-6.

Triple jump: 1. Dominique Fuqua (Castle Park) 41-0.5; 2. Lamar Wint (Castle Park) 40-3; 3. Leounel Anguiano (Hilltop) 38-5; 4. Sean Waters (Mar Vista) 37-11; 5. Jose Rivas (Hilltop) 37-11; 6. Ricky Guzman (Montgomery) 37-8; 7. Ismael Covarrubias (Mar Vista) 34-6.

Long jump: 1. Dominique Fuqua (Castle Park) 20-2; 2. Shawn Lard (Olympian) 19-8.5; 3. Sean Waters (Mar Vista) 19-2; 4. Franklin Ausler (Mater Dei) 18-6; 5. Michael Hart (Mater Dei) 18-5; 6. Daniel Hernandez (Mater Dei) 18-5.

High jump: 1. Dominique Fuqua (Castle Park) 6-0; 2. Torian Winfrey (Southwest) 5-10; 3. Wesley Ethridge (Hilltop) 5-8; 4. Franklin Ausler (Mater Dei) 5-6; 5. Matt Kuehn (Hilltop) 5-2; 6. Mario Balbastro (Montgomery) 5-2; 7. Kaylon Martin (Mar Vista) 5-2.

Mustangs throw their weights around at Mesa League finals

Posted May 15, 2008
The Otay Ranch High School boys track and field team — ranked No. 1 in the San Diego Section among dual meet teams to close out the regular season – did not win every single event at last Friday’s Mesa League championship meet. But the Mustangs’ 11 first-place finishes in 16 events unequivocally showcased the team’s sizable talent and depth.

Otay Ranch’s meet-leading 229 points nearly tripled runner-up Bonita Vista’s 80 points. Sweetwater was third with 69 points, followed by Eastlake with 60 points and Chula Vista with 54 points.

The Mustangs figuratively and literally threw their weights around on their home field as senior Julian Samson set a new school and league record in the boys discus throw at 174 feet, 9 inches. He captured both the shot put and discus throw finals to lead Otay Ranch to five first-place finishes in the six field events.

The league shot put and discus throw titles were the third in a row for Samson, who is looking to attend either Sacramento State or the University of San Francisco in the fall.

“It was great,” said Samson, who had the honor of sharing a rare Male Tri-Athlete of the Meet award at this year’s league finals. “I want to medal at state and break the league record. My goal now is to make 180 before my career is over.”

Samson led a parade of four Mustangs to the top of the boys shot put table with a league finals winning mark of 53-4.75, followed by Ali McTar (second, 48-9.5), Jon Bajet (third, 43-6) and Bryant Haro (fourth, 44-5.5).

Samson was simply untouched in the discus throw, finishing more than 32 feet ahead of the nearest challenger, which happened to be a teammate. In fact, the top three finishers in the event all wore Otay Ranch jerseys. Haro placed second at 142-2, followed by McTar at 139-2.

Samson ranks fourth in the section in both the discus throw and shot put.

Samson was only the beginning of Otay Ranch’s parade of league champions. The Mustangs won 11 events with seven individual champions: Paul Bryant (high jump, 200-meter dash), Marvin Wright (long jump and triple jump), Marcus Vasquez (110 high hurdles), Niko Salazar (300 intermediate hurdles), Alfred Haslerig (800 run) and Brandon Velasquez (1,600 run).|

Bryant, along with Sweetwater’s Marcus Pierce and Otay Ranch teammate Samson, shared the Male Athlete of the Meet award. All are seniors.

Bryant finished in a three-way tie for the Mesa League’s Male Athlete of the Meet award after winning the high jump competition at 6-5, bursting past two Sweetwater runners in the last two meters to win the 200-meter dash and running a leg on the Mustangs’ school record-setting 4x400 relay unit.

Otay Ranch conceded some ground in the running events, especially the sprints, but still managed to win six of the 10 running events with three second-place finishes in non-winning events.

The Mustangs reigned in both hurdles events, with Vasquez nearly matching his section-leading time of 14.50 with a winning time of 14.55 in the 110 high hurdles. Chula Vista’s Maurice Strickland was second in 14.97, followed across the electronic beam by Otay Ranch’s Sean Rush (15.22) and Teray Sam (15.33), Bonita Vista’s Bernie King (15.43) and Eastlake’s Zach Parks (15.80). The top six finishers in the talent-rich field all qualified for this Saturday’s section prelims at Mt. Carmel High School.

Salazar, whose section-leading time of 38.83 was eclipsed earlier in the day by Steele Canyon’s David Klarer at the Grossmont South League championship meet at Helix High School, lowered his season-best clocking in the event to 38.73 (to rank second in the section).

The top five in the field all qualified for the CIF prelims: Eastlake’s Parks (second, 40.13), BV’s King (third, 40.17), CV’s Strickland (fourth, 40.78) and Otay Ranch’s Sam (fifth, 40.84).
Klarer posted a winning time of 38.60 at the East County meet to move back into the section lead in the event.

Haslerig won the 800 run in 1:55.80, fending off a spirited challenge down the straightaway by Bonita Vista’s Derek Groom (1:56.67). Haslerig’s winning time set a new school record in the event and was nearly six seconds faster than his prelim time of 2:01.50. Two more runners beat the CIF qualifying standard of 2:00.44: Sweetwater’s Alejandro Aparicio (third, 1:59.45) and Bonita Vista’s Eric Osuna (fourth, 1:59.74).

The Mustangs finished 1-2 in the boys 1,600-meter run, with Velasquez winning the event in 4:25.53 ahead of teammate Jacob Roach (4:29.37). Roach was involved in a titanic sprint to the finish in the four-lap event with Sweetwater’s Alan Gudino, who finished third in 4:29.60.

However, Bonita Vista’s Alfredo Rodriguez prevented an Otay Ranch sweep in the distance events by shocking the favored Velasquez in the last two steps prior to the finish line in the eight-lap 3,200-meter run. The Mustang distance standout, bidding to win both the mile and two-mile titles, appeared to be a safe bet to capture the double before Rodriguez turned on the jets in the closing stages of a race that usually tests one’s stamina.

Rodriguez and Velasquez finished in a dead heat, with electronic times of — count ’em — 9:33.95 for Rodriguez and 9:33.97 for Velasquez. “I think he got me,” was all a winded Velasquez could say immediately after the race.

Rodriguez was understandably mobbed by ecstatic teammates.

The race showcased the league’s depth, with the top five runners all besting the CIF qualifying mark of 9:56.84. Roach finished third in 9:49.99 ahead of BV super freshman Shinaola Agbede (fourth, 9:50.58) and Otay Ranch’s Leon Medina (fifth, 9:53.37).

Wright won the boys long jump competition with a jump of 21-5 ahead of the 20-8 mark posted by Bonita Vista’s King. Wright also won the triple jump competition with a mark of 44-8 ahead of Chula Vista’s Antoine Furbert (second, 41-6) and Otay Ranch teammate Sam Smith (third, 41-1).

Wright finished third in the boys high jump after losing on jumps to teammate Vasquez after both finished at 6-0.

The foursome of Jekiel Garvey, Salazar, Bryant and Haslerig zoomed to a school record time of 3:24.55 in the 4x400 relay to put fitting closure to the meet.

Sweetwater came off the track with three first-place finishes. The Red Devils showed their speed by capturing the opening running event — the 4x100 relay — in a school record time of 42.25. The quartet of Treavon Benton, Pierce, Ruben Enriquez and Fred Fells combined the shift the baton around the oval in record time.

Otay Ranch finished second in 42.46, with the Mustang anchor runner closing in on the final SuHi runner at the finish line.

Pierce and Fells would put on additional displays of blazing speed in subsequent events.

Fells bested Otay Ranch’s Wesley Merlin (the defending event champion) in the 100-meter dash. Fells crossed the finish line in 11.16, just ahead of Merlin (11.32) and Eastlake’s Randall Williams (11.37).
Pierce won the 400 dash in 49.41, with Bonita Vista’s Nick Barnes finishing second in 50.61 and Chula Vista’s Furbert also beating the CIF qualifying standard of 51.24 with his third-place time of 50.98.

It was in the 200 dash that Otay Ranch’s Bryant (22.73) burst between Pierce (second, 22.80) and Fells (third, 22.89) to capture the event.

Eastlake finished with one event champion but made up ground depth-wise to finish in second place in the team standings. Anthony Quintero captured the boys pole vault competition by clearing 13-6 ahead of Chula Vista’s Strickland (13-0) and Sweetwater’s Cesar Chavez (12-6).

Dennis Clay (20-3.25) and Nikko Barnes (19-10) finished third and fourth in the boys long jump competition.

The Eastlake girls team, meanwhile, had to be the talk of the meet. Whereas the boys meet proved to be an opportunity for Otay Ranch to flex its collective muscles, the girls meet turned into a somewhat surprising three-team sprint to the finish, with the third-place team in the regular season dual meet standings — the Titans – coming out in the lead.

Eastlake edged Otay Ranch (second place in the regular season dual meet standings) by two points for first place — 130 points to 128 points — while Sweetwater (boasting its first regular season dual meet championship since 1984) finished third with 119 points. Among the rest, Chula Vista placed fourth with 53 points, followed by Bonita Vista in fifth place with 38 points and San Ysidro in sixth place with 19 points.

“We obviously saved the best for last,” Eastlake coach Rone Torres said. “The kids peaked at the right time, especially our girls team. We went 3-1 in the last four weeks after a slow start. Just about everyone did their season best. But really the best thing about this is that we have a young team. Just about everyone is coming back next year.”

The Titans captured four first-place finishes, with two coming in dramatic come-from-behind fashion.

Eastlake grabbed the lead from the opening two events to be completed — the girls pole vault and the 4x100 relay — and continued to build from there with some genuine clutch performances.

Morgan Byers (9-6) and Mibella Villafana (9-0) finished first and second in the girls pole vault, with Erin Lehner (8-6) losing a jump-off with Sweetwater freshman Tamara Rojas for fourth place.

The first exchange of the baton in the 4x100 relay went from Nyesha Simmons to Daniela Sullivan and the Titans finished the race with a winning time of 51.23 — just a flash ahead of Otay Ranch’s second-place time of 51.40.

Sullivan later won the 200 dash in 27.56 in an exciting dual to the finish against Otay Ranch’s Bonnie Ayala (27.96) while Simmons finished third in both the 100 dash (13.38) and 200 dash (28.14).
Sullivan, just a freshman, earned honors as the Female Co-Athlete of the Meet along with Sweetwater senior Alyssia Veiga.

Eastlake’s Rachel Naranjo shocked Sweetwater’s Aylin Mejia and Maila Lucht to win the 800 run. Lucht entered the race as the top-seeded runner from the preceding prelims, with Mejia the second-seeded runner but Naranjo, with the fourth-best time from the prelims, overpowered both standout Red Devil runners in the sprint to the finish, talking the lead in the last five meters to win in 2:24.05. Mejia finished second in 2:24.87 while Lucht was third in 2:25.51.

Naranjo’s prelim time was seven seconds slower than that of Lucht and five seconds slower than that of Mejia.

Simply outstanding was the finish to that race ... no, make that unbelievable!

Also for the Titans, Nicole Williams finished second in the long jump (15-10.25), winning on jumps against teammate Diamond Anderson, while Anderson finished second in the triple jump (32-0).

Otay Ranch finished with five first-place finishes. Nicole Crutchfield won the 100 dash in 12.96, out-leaning SuHi’s Geornisha Newkirk (12.99) in a photo finish. Ayala captured the 400 dash in 59.98 to upset top-seeded Maila Lucht of Sweetwater (1:00.04) while Kia Gaither (16.72) led teammate Erin Bjornsson (17.33) across the finish line in the girls 100 low hurdles.

Jessica Soltysiak captured both the shot put (36-9.5) and discus throw (114-0) ahead of teammate Brittany Powell (35-5 in the shot put and 97-6 in the discus throw). The Mustangs went three deep in the shot put, with Leeza Iuta placing third with a put of 34-3.25.

Sweetwater did come away with three individual champions (and five first-place finishes): Mejia (1,600 run), Newkirk (300 low hurdles) and Veiga (long jump and triple jump).

But it was the loss of potential first-place finishes in four running events that doomed the reigning dual meet champs in the team point battle. The Red Devils never got the baton past the first handoff in the meet-opening 4x100 relay. SuHi runners were passed in the waning stages of the 100, 400 and 800 races.

Mejia (5:21.29) led Chula Vista’s Jessica Mendoza (5:28.64) across the finish line in the 1,600 run while Veiga popped winning jumps of 16-3.5 in the long jump and 32-6.5 in the triple jump.
Newkirk (48.70) upset top-seeded Jade Palm of Bonita Vista in a race decided by just 0.17 seconds.

The Red Devils put an exclamation mark on an otherwise superlative season by winning the meet-closing 4x400 relay in 4:09.36. The victorious quartet included Paula Aleman, Newkirk, Mejia and Lucht.
Bonita Vista’s Christina Hernandez (11:41.53) won the girls 3,200 run handily over Otay Ranch’s Tina Poole (11:52.21) and CV’s Mendoza (11:55.24). Also for the Barons, Breanna Mason won the high jump with a clearance of 5-0 ahead of Sweetwater’s Veiga (4-8) and Eastlake’s Drew Pitcairn (4-6).

Chula Vista’s Kimiko Fleming finished third in both the 100 low hurdles (17.52) and 300 low hurdles (49.58).

Junior Varsity Team Standings
Boys: 1. Otay Ranch 242 points; 2. Eastlake 84; 3. Bonita Vista 66; 4. Sweetwater 47; 5. Chula Vista 32; 6. San Ysidro 16.

Girls: 1. Otay Ranch 216; 2. Eastlake 72; 3. Bonita Vista 64; 4. Sweetwater 37; 5. Chula Vista 24; 6. San Ysidro 1.

Grossmont Conference Report
Times go down, marks go up at Escondido Invitational
East County athletes taking their place among the section leaders

Posted April 29, 2008
The Escondido Invitational has traditionally marked the final open meet of the high school track and field season. For many athletes, it is an opportunity to measure up to the competition one final time prior to upcoming league finals -- when the clear-cut leaders emerge across the various geographic regions of the county as times go down and marks go up.

If the results of last Friday’s Escondido Invitational are any indicator, East County athletes are once again going to face a serious challenge from their North County counterparts on the grueling qualifying road to the state finals.

But it will be a challenge met by a select few.

Boys top marks
Steele Canyon’s David Klarer (boys 110-meter hurdles) and Monte Vista’s David Spates (boys shout put) both notched first-place finishes in their respective events in a meet dominated by fast times and prodigious marks.

Klarer entered the Escondido Invitational — traditionally a boys-only meet until this year — as one of the section’s top hurdlers, leading the field in the 300 intermediate hurdles with a 39.10 time. He sat in 11th place in the high hurdles at 15.53 but bolted into the lead with his 14.67 time at the Escondido meet. The Cougar hurdler led a field that included previous section leader Marcus Vasquez of Otay Ranch who finished third in the elite match-up with a 14.73 time.

Vasquez had led the section at 14.82. Granite Hills’ Kevin Finely notched the second-best time of 14.71 — again bettering Vasquez’ previous section-leading time. The three hurdlers now lead the event in that order: Klarer, Finley and Vasquez.

Klarer did not compete in the 300 hurdles at the Escondido Invitational but the Cougars’ Justin Johnson managed to post the No. 6 time on the day of 41.03. Granite Hills’ Jason Plaisted was ninth in 41.46. Otay Ranch's Niko Salazar stole the section lead from Klarer with his winning time of 38.83.

Johnson placed 10th overall in the 110 highs at 15.86 while Plaisted was 13th in 16.14.

The sprints look to be especially challenging for East County runners. RBV’s Jamal Alson set a meet record in the 100-meter dash at this year’s Escondido Invitational at 10.66. The highest East County placers were Steele Canyon’s Jason Cofield (11.28) and DeAndrae Woods (11.29), in eighth and ninth place, respectively, followed by Mt. Miguel’s Elliott Taylor (10th, 11.31) and Granite Hills’ Bradley Carter (11th, 11.32).

Monte Vista’s Kyle Richardson turned in the eighth-best time in the 400 dash with a 51.24 ahead of Steele Canyon’s Jamie Dale (ninth, 51.91) and Jesse Richards (13th, 52.59).

East County runners fared better in the mid- and long-distances. Steele Canyon’s Adrian Sherrod finished second in the boys 3200 in 9:23.32 while teammate Matt Corey was fourth in the 800 in 1:57.80.

Three North County runners finished ahead of Corey, with Rancho Bernardo’s Aaron Fenalson timing more than two second faster to win the event.

Sherrord, who eclipsed his previous season best of 9:27.89, could not better the winning time of 9:22.67 posted by RBV’s Collin Jarvis (now the section leader in the event).

Steele Canyon’s Shivam Patel had the 11th-best time in the 1600,followed by Christian’s Jesse Beason (13th, 4:41.53) and Monte Vista’s Misikir Mentose (14th, 4:42.56).

Steele Canyon finished with the No. 2 times in both the 4x100 (43.95) and 4x400 (3:26.13) relay events.

Spates roared like the proverbial lion in the field events, upping his section-leading mark in the shot put to 58-11.5. He finished second in the discus throw at 174-7 (behind the 177-1 by Scripps Ranch’s Dane Chobanian).

Steele Canyon’s Jack Reeves finished fourth in the shot put at 53-7 while Granite Hills’ Landon Turley was fifth at 52-11, Steele Canyon’s Joe Morgan was seventh at 50-10.5 and Christian’s Daniel Alesi was eighth at 50-0.

Granite Hills’ Aaron McCalmont, who cleared 6-9 to capture the top height at the Sweetwater Coed Relays amid a wind storm in March, finished second in the high jump at the Escondido Invitational with a clearance of 6-6. El Camino’s Nelson Rosario won the event with a meet record high jump of 6-8.

Steele Canyon’s Elijah Carter finished in a tie for sixth place at 6-2.

The 6-9 mark by McCalmont still ranks second in the section behind the 7-0 cleared by Poway’s Tynan Murray.

Granite Hills’ Finley left his mark on the meet by also placing in a tie for third in the boys pole vault at 12-9 -- a figure matched by Steele Canyon’s Dan Ragsdale.

Rosario tripled in the jumps by also winning the long jump (22-8.5) and triple jump (47-5.75). Granite Hills’ Aaron Harris finished third overall in the long jump (21-10.5) while Steele Canyon’s Dale (21-6) was fourth and Cougar teammates Branden Brown (21-2) and Cofield (20-4.5) were fifth and ninth, respectively.

Granite Hills’ Harold Harris was the East County leader in the triple jump at 41-7.5 (12th overall in a crowded field), followed by Mt. Miguel’s Sean Clark (13th, 41-5) and Steele Canyon’s Nick Stathas (15th, 41-1.5).

Girls top marks
Steele Canyon’s Jennifer Bingham captured the top mark in the shot put (43-5.25) at the Escondido Invitational (to move her into second place in the section) while teammate Christie Hendel finished second in the 300 low hurdles (48.42) and third in the 100 low hurdles (17.36).

Also for the Cougars, Belinda Pickens was second in the discus throw (107-7) and fourth in the shot put (32-7.75).

Steele Canyon’s Megan Meyer finished third in the girls 3200 by timing 11:39.42 while teammate Lauren Parr was third in the 1600 run in 5:34.09 and fifth in the 800 run in 2:31.09.

Granite Hills’ girls were led by pole vaulter Brittany Hamilton, who recorded a first-place mark of 10-9. Her best on the season is 11-7 (second in the section).

In relay events, Steele Canyon finished third in the 4x100 (50.31) and fourth in the 4x400 (4:24.36).

Section leaders
Helix’s Tia Knight owned the top mark in the section in the girls 100 low hurdles at 14.97 entering this week’s competition while Highlanders teammate Thoraya Maronesy ranks second in the girls triple jump (36-8.25).

El Capitan’s Kelsee Ramsey ranked third in the girls 300 low hurdles (46.61) while Vaquero teammate Brandice Draheim sixth in the section in the girls discus throw (122-9).

Steele Canyon’s Dylan Fitzgerald entered trhis week fourth in the section in the boys pole vault (14-0) while teammate Branden Brown was sixth in the section in the boys long jump (22-2).

Monte Vista’s Spates was the section leader in the boys shot put and discus throw (183-4). Steele Canyon's Reeves was sixth in the shot put (53-7).

Granite Hills’ Tori Taijeron ranked third in the girls 200 dash (25.4)and fourth in the 100 dash (12.41).

Granite Hills’ Jackie Thornton ranked fourth in the girls high jump at 5-3 while right behind was Eagles teammate Jennifer Vaupel at 5-2.

Also cracking the top 10 section leaders list are Vahalla’s Brian Randlett (boys 1600, 4:25.46) and El Capitan’s Katie Dudley (girls shot put, 36-4.5), among other notables.

Helix (42.3) ranked third behind Steele Canyon (42.0) and Lincoln (42.1) in the boys 4x100 relay.

Steele Canyon (49.87), El Cajon Valley (50.84) and Granite Hills (50.97) ranked as the East County leaders in the girls 4x100 relay. Granite Hills Erica Gove (59.9) and El Capitan’s Jamie Ferguson (1:00.57) were the Grossmont Conference leaders in the girls 400 dash.

Cougars on the prowl
Steele Canyon remained in first place in Grossmont South League dual competition by defeating Granite Hills, 95-40, in boys action April 23.

Top marks included those by Steele Canyon’s Klarer (110 high hurdles, 14.8), Granite Hills’ McCalmont (high jump, 6-6), Steele Canyon’s pole vaulting duo of Fitzgerald (14-0) and Ragsdale (13-6) and Granite Hills’ Aaron Harris (long jump, 22-4).

Metro Conference Report
Run, jump, hurdle ... Red Devils return to glory

Posted April 24, 2008
Gail Devers’ name will forever be associated with the glory era of the Sweetwater High School girls track and field team.
The Olympic gold medalist now has company.

Their names are Aylin Mejia, Maila Lucht, Alyssia Veiga, Geonisha Newkirk, Paola Aleman, Bianca Maela, Serena Cannon, Tamara Rojas and Sarah Guerrero, among many others.

The Red Devils ended a nine-year run of league titles by Bonita Vista in 1983. Devers single-handedly won the 1984 San Diego Section championship for the National City school.

Sweetwater took the inside track to what is believed to be its first league title in a quarter of a century after defeating defending Mesa League champion Otay Ranch, 71-65, on the Mustangs’ state-of-the-art oval Wednesday.

The Red Devils danced at midfield following the conclusion of the showcase dual meet and the hoisted diminutive Mejia — winner of four events — on their shoulders to show appreciation for their self-proclaimed “most valuable player.”

SuHi track coach Tim Latham understandably wore a wide smile after his team’s prodigious effort was completed.

“Every four or five years it seems we get a good group of girls who seem ready to do something special but never seem to get over the hump,” said Latham, whose squad carried a narrow one-point lead into the final event of the day.

The Red Devils finally got over that “hump” with a one-two finish in the meet-concluding triple jump as Veiga posted a winning effort of 32-6.5 and teammate Guerrero recorded a jump of 32-0.5.

“Whatever we did in that last event, we couldn’t let them have first place if we wanted to win,” Latham said.

The Devils had the right two athletes in that event. Veiga is the Metro Conference leader in the girls triple jump with a best effort of 33-6.5 on the season.
But it was SuHi’s domination of the distances that went a long way in determining the outcome. In fact, the girls relay team toppled one of Devers’ long-standing school records with a sizzling effort of 4:05.53.

“We won the 800, mile, and two-mile,” SuHi distance coach Raul Galindo said. “We took first and second in the 800, first and third in the mile and first and third in the two-mile.”

In dual meet scoring for non-relay events, first place is awarded six points, second place is awarded three points and third place is awarded one point.
In those three distance events, the Red Devils racked up a decisive 23-7 scoring edge.

Mejia’s four wins came in the 800 (2:27.35), 1600 (5:29.65) and 3200 (12:03.90) distances as well as in the 4x400 relay.

Lucht added support with runner-up finishes in both the 200 and 800 (2:30.88) while capturing the 400 dash in 59.24.

In the 3200, Mejia seemed to comfortably draft on Otay Ranch’s Tina Poole for several laps before finally taking the lead on the bell lap and winning by a six-second margin. Maela finished third in 12:30.85.

Sweetwater’s Veiga emerged with crucial wins in the high jump (4-8), long jump (16-6.5) and triple jump while Rojas, a freshman, took a first-place finish in the pole vault (8-0). Meanwhile, Cannon recorded a key second-place finish in the girls discus (96-10) while Guerrero was third in the long jump.
In the 300 low hurdles, SuHi captured first- and second-place finishes (Newkirk in 49.52 and Aleman in 51.29) ahead of Otay Ranch standout Erin Bjornsson (third, 52.39).

Latham said his team had been “making strides” this season in the 4x400 relay, entering Wednesday’s high profile dual meet three seconds off the school record.

The foursome of Mejia, Newkirk, Aleman and Lucht ran all over that record after besting the Mustangs unit by 18 seconds.
Lucht holds the No. 2 all-time SuHi times in the 400 and 800 distances.

Besides Lucht and Mejia, Aleman, Newkirk and Adriana Bush also competed in four events in workhorse fashion.

Wednesday’s dual started out in exciting fashion as the meet-opening 4x100 relay went neck-and-neck to the finish, with the Mustangs pulling out the win in 51.17.

Otay Ranch captured first-place finishes in the 200 dash (Bonnie Ayala, 27.68), discus throw (Jessica Soltysiak, 107-4), 100 low hurdles (Kia Gaither, 16.93), 100 dash (Nicole Crutchfield, 13.00) and shot put (Brittany Powell, 33-0.5).

Wednesday’s titanic match-up followed on the heels of the previous Saturday’s fifth annual Mustang/Phair Co. Relays where Sweetwater won the Silver Division title with 100 points and host Otay Ranch finished second in the Blue Division with 76 points .

Latham said it was the first invitational title for his girls team in a long time. “We had won the team title at the Sweetwater relays but that was a coed meet. This was the first time in a long time our girls won anything at an invitational, much less a trophy,” he said.

Sweetwater concludes the dual meet season this coming week against San Ysidro while Otay Ranch will match up against Chula Vista.
The league finals are in May.

Cougars set goal on CIF track title

Posted April 24, 2008
When Steele Canyon High School’s boys track and field team, buoyed by a large and talented junior class, finished runner-up at last year’s San Diego Section Division II championship meet, coach Gary Stathas figured his team would be favored to win this year’s division title.

The Cougars, buoyed by a large and talented senior class this season, may yet win a division title but it apparently won’t be the Division II championship after the section's '2007-08 enrollment figures were recently released.

“I was surprised when I saw we were Division I,” Stathas said. “I really thought we would be Division II this year. We’re the smallest Division I school.”

The surprise move upward against larger, talent-rich schools apparently has not sidetracked Steele Canyon’s desire to finish the season as CIF champions.

“We’ve decided to go out and try to win the Division I championship. That’s our team goal this year,” Stathas said.

The Cougars apparently have garnered the respect of the section’s coaches despite the enrollment size of the Rancho San Diego school. Steele Canyon owned the No. 1 dual meet ranking at the midpoint of the season.

The Cougars upheld their lofty ranking by out-scoring the section’s No. 2-ranked team, the Otay Ranch Mustangs, at last Saturday’s Mustang/Phair Co. Relays at Otay Ranch. Steele Canyon racked up 131 points to win the Blue Division title — 30 points in front of the runner-up Mustangs.

“We’re going to give it our best shot to win CIF,” Stathas said. “Otay Ranch is a great team. It’s important to stay focused.”

As for that large and talented senior class? Stathas said he saw the team’s potential when that group was still sophomores.

“We have been waiting three years for our sophomore class to become seniors. We knew they were going to be good,’ Stathas said. “They were juniors last year. We knew they were going to be something special when they got to be seniors. It’s going to be a little more difficult next year because we’re losing so many seniors. This senior group is exceptional.”

The talent parade, which is not restricted solely to seniors, starts with standouts Adrian Sherrod in the distance running events and Jamie Dale in the jumps and mid-distances and continues with hurdler David Klarer, jumper/sprinter Brandon Brown, jumpers Jesse Richards, Nick Stathas and Nick Mendoza, throwers Jack Reeves and Joe Morgan, pole vaulter Dylan Fitzgerald and sprinters Alex Perlin and DeAndrae Woods, among others.

Dale set the school record in the long jump at 22 feet, 1 inch, only to have Brown break that mark by going 22-2. Fitzgerald set a new school record in the pole vault by clearing 14-0 in a dual meet against Helix on April 17 while Morgan set a new school record in the shot put at 52-7. Sherrod, last fall’s Division II boys cross country champion, owns the school record in the 2-mile event at 9:27.89 while Klarer’s sizzling 39.10 is the top mark in school history in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.

Sherrod and Klarer both lead the section with their respective times

The Cougars have also set new school standards in both the 4x100 relay (42.0, tops in the section) and 4x400 relay (3:24, second in the section).

Moreover, Steele Canyon has three athletes who have cleared 6-0 in the high jump: Richards, Elijah Carter and James Mudd.

The Cougars captured both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay events at the April 19 Mustang/Pahir Co. Relays, timing 42.66 and 3:24.4, respectively.

Perlin, Dale, Klarer and Jason Cofield ran legs on the 4x100 relay while Perlin (a sophomore), Klarer, Richards and Dale comprised the 4x400 relay unit.

Sherrod, who placed fourth at last fall's state cross country finals, captured the Blue Division boys 1500 invitational in 4:04.9 (second on the day behind the 4:00.3 posted by Mar Vista’s Edgar Lopez) while leading the Cougars to victory in the grueling distance medley relay (comprised of legs of 1200, 400, 800 and 1600 meters). Joining Sherrod in the latter event were teammates Matt Corey, Joseph Cisneros and Tim Buckmaster. Corey finished fifth in the 1500 invitational with a time of 4:16.02.

Brown captured the top long jump mark of 21-3.5 while Richards cleared 6-2 to win the high jump.

Dale placed second in the open 300 (losing a battle against Otay Ranch's Paul Bryant in the final 50 meters) and finished second in the long jump (20-6).

Sherrod said his goal is to hit 9:15 or faster in the2-mile event. “I want to be a contender for the CIF finals and hopefully place in state,” he said.

The team’s success this season is not surprising, according to Sherrod. “We had a lot of juniors last year. We only graduated four seniors. The whole team is mostly seniors this year. We also have good underclassmen,” he said. “We want the CIF banner.”

Dale, who has already received the school’s male athlete sportsmanship award and has to be in the running for the male student athlete of the year award, has received recruiting interest from South Dakota and Cal Lutheran for both football and track. He captured the 2007 Grossmont South League Offensive Player of the Year award in football after rushing for 1,533 yards and 19 touchdowns and finished third at last year’s Division II finals in the long jump.

He said he personally likes the Cougars’ chances of winning the Division I title.

“We have a very high chance of winning CIF,” he said. “We need to stay focused on that goal. Everyone needs to keep their heads in what they’re doing to pull it off.”

Otay Ranch coach Ian Cumming said his team turned in a “strong performance,” considering his squad’s focus was on the upcoming Sweetwater dual meet.

“People have worked hard and we were looking for one or two strong performances from most of our athletes and we got that,” Cumming said. “We were very happy with how we competed and we feel that the rest of the season will go well.”

Jacob Roach (4:05.4) and Brandon Velasquez (4:10.4) posted the next two best times after MV’s Lopez and the Cougars’ Sherrod in the 1500 invitational run while Julian Samson captured the discus throw (155-3) and Niko Salazar (39.4) recorded the top time on the day in the 300 intermediate hurdles.

Saturday’s encounter with the No. 1-ranked Cougars only seemed to fire up the Mustangs’ competitive juices in an overwhelming 108-22 dual win against visiting Sweetwater on Wednesday. Otay Ranch captured first-place finishes in 14 of the 16 events, with highlight wins notched by Marvin Wright (6-2 in the high jump, 20-5.75 in the long jump and 40-8 in the triple jump), Julian Samson (169-6 in the discus throw and 49-2 in the shot put) and Bryant (22.97 in the 200 dash and 50.98 in the 400 dash). Other individual event winners included Roach (4:28.42 in the 1600), Marcus Vasquez (15.11 in the 110 high hurdles), Wesley Merlin (11.36 in the 100 dash), Alfred Haslerig (2:01.40 in the 800 run), Salazar (39.97 in the 300 hurdles) and Jon Limon in the 3200 run (11:04.11).

Mustang Relays
Bonita Vista finished second in the Blue Division (third overall) in the girls distance medley. The foursome included Pamela Castro, Katelyn Tatar, Jazmine Jurado and Cristina Hernandez.

Bonita Vista set a new school record in the boys 4x800 medley with a time of 8:10, besting last year’s mark of 8:14. The Baron quartet included Eric Osuna, David Garcia, Juan Garcia and Derek Groom (who took the lead with 500 meters remaining in the race as the team’s anchor runner).

Sweetwater’s Aylin Mejia posted the top Silver Division time in the girls 1500 while BV’s Hernandez and Otay Ranch’s Tina Poole finished first and second in the Blue Division race.

Chula Vista’s Marco Robles placed fourth in the Blue Division boys 1500 run.

Cumming said he would like to thank the 50-plus adult volunteers and the administration and staff of Otay Ranch High School, along with the school’s athletes, to help to make the meet a success.

“I am always amazed by how many adults are willing to give up their Saturday to help make the meet an organized and enjoyable experience for all of the student-athletes involved,” he said. “Movin’ Shoes was also an associate sponsor giving many gift certificates to the athletes. The coaches and athletes involved competed very well and almost without exception represented their schools very well. I want to say a very special thank you to The Phair Company for their continued support of South Bay youth activities. They are an amazing group of people and definitely a company dedicated to helping our youth grow into the leaders of tomorrow.”

Mustangs lead Metro’s track attack

Posted April 16, 2008
Ian Cumming has coached track and field for 27 years and in all that time, the veteran coach has accomplished many things with his teams. But one thing has eluded him: a San Diego Section divisional championship.

The long wait could be over this year.

“It could happen this year or any year,” said Cumming, who remains low key on the subject.

Midway through the 2008 season, Cumming’s Mustangs own the No. 2 dual meet ranking among the section’s Division I boys teams, trailing only Steele Canyon (No. 1 in the section).

Cumming said his team had the potential to win the Division I team title last year (carrying a No. 2 section ranking into postseason competition), though all the things that needed to happen to make it so unfortunately did not fall into place. Cumming said this year’s team has the same potential to be CIF champions.

“My main goal has always been to help make the kids on my teams the best people they can be, make sure they do well in the classroom and reach their potential as athletes,” he said.

Otay Ranch athletes rank among the leaders in most events throughout the Metro Conference once again this season.

Both the Mustangs’ boys and girls teams once again are favored to claim league titles — the girls team has won four league titles in a row while the boys team owns three consecutive league titles. Otay Ranch swept Bonita Vista in dual competition on April 10, with the Mustangs posting a 98-34 victory in the boys meet and topping the Barons 97-38 in the girls meet.

Otay Ranch opened Mesa League competition on April 3 by sweeping San Ysidro.

The Mustangs were scheduled to engage eastside rival Eastlake on Thursday in a critical meet before butting heads against a highly-talented Sweetwater squad this coming Wednesday in what could stand as the determining dual meet for this year’s league title.

“Eastlake is a team with young talent,” Cumming said. “Sweetwater is very solid with a number of good athletes.”

The Mustangs set a number of school records in the dual against Bonita Vista as well as in competition at Saturday’s Jaguar Invitational at Valley Center High School.

Brittany Powell set a school record in the girls shot put with a mark of 36 feet, 2.5 inches in the dual meet at Bonita Vista while Jessica Soltysiak set a new school record in the girls discus at 132-3.

Julian Samson set a school record in the boys shot put (52-6) while just coming up short of his school record 172-8 in the discus with a throw of 172-3.25.

At the Jaguar Invitational, Marcus Vasquez set a school record in the boys 110-meter high hurdles with an electronic time of 14.46 seconds. Paul Bryant set a school record in the 200-meter dash of 22.50 while also winning the 400 in 51.84.

Other school records set this year include those by Niko Salazar (39.29 in the boys 300 intermediate hurdles) and Marvin Wright (22-11.5 in the boys long jump).

Vasquez and Salazar are the section leaders in their events.

Wright also has recorded a 43-10 triple jump that ranks among the best marks in school history in the event.

The Mustang boys team is loaded in the distances.

Jacob Roach finished third in the boys 1,600-meter run at last weekend’s Arcadia Invitational with a time of 4:23.72 in a field of elite freshmen and sophomore “rising stars.”

Brandon Velasquez currently holds the top time of 9:39.9 in the 3,200 run, followed by Roach (9:46.58), Jon Limon (9:58.13) and Leon Medina (10:10.81).

Alfred Haslerig ran 2:00.13 in the 800 meters at the Mt. Carmel Sundevil Invitational. A.J. Castillo has gone 2:02.63 in the same distance while Roach owns a 2:03.50 time in the event.

Haslerig has timed 50.90 in the 400 dash while Bryant’s best time in the event is 51.05.

Wesley Merlin, the defending Mesa League champion in the 100 dash, has run 11.22 this year — second in the conference to Sweetwater’s Marcus Pierce (11.19).

Also for Otay Ranch, Teray Sam (15.36) and Sean Rush (15.43) both own fast times in the 110 hurdles while Ali McTar has solid marks in both the shot put (48-9) and discus throw (146-4).

Besides Powell and Soltysiak, top performers on the Otay Ranch girls team include sprinters Nicole Crutchfield and Shauna Stevenson, Bonnie Ayala and Karla Gadea in the mid-distances and Tina Poole in the distances.

Poole has the top marks on the team in both the 1,600 run (5:31) and 3,200 run (11:55.43) and the No. 2 time in the 800 run (2:32). Crutchfield (12.96) and Stevenson (13.14) both own fast times in the 100 dash while Ayala has sped to a time of 1:01.69 in the 400 dash and Gadea has a team-leading 2:30.95 time in the 800 run.

Erin Bjornsson has become somewhat of a utility standout. Her best time in the 100 low hurdles is 16.77; she has run 52.17 in the 300 lows. The star hurdler also ran anchor leg on the Mustangs’ mile relay team in the dual against Bonita Vista.

Kia Gaither posted a 16.95 time in the 100 lows at the Jaguar Invitational to finish third overall behind Bjornsson (second overall).

“We’ve got a lot of talent,” Cumming said. “If I can do my job and keep it together, we should be in pretty good shape at the end of the year. We’ll be in great shape with numbers in all events. We’ve got to keep it together at the end of the season.”

If the Mustangs do not win the Division I team title, the worst case scenario is that the team should net several individual state qualifiers. “We will have some state qualifiers and we will have some people who don’t make it to state but who will have some very good marks,” Cumming said.

Otay Ranch will get a barometer reading of just where it stands at Saturday’s Mustang/Phair Co. Relays when it collides against Steele Canyon in the large school division.

Sweetwater Coed Relays
Jumping ahead of the rest

Posted Marcxh 21, 2008
Bonita Vista’s Bernie King is a man for all events, it seems, this spring track and field season. Fans attending the Barons’ dual meets can see him compete in two hurdles events, the long jump and on the 4x400 relay. In weekend invitationals, he competes in the triple jump as well.

He captured top individual honors in the Division I boys long jump at last Saturday’s Sweetwater Coed Relays with a personal record jump of 20 feet, 5 inches.
Being an all-around athlete doesn’t hurt.

King played the wide receiver and fullback positions as a freshman and junior for the BVHS football team. This past fall, he gave up his pads to run cross country.

He finished fifth on the team at the Mesa League finals and 14th overall in league.

“I was surprised,” he said, smiling.

King hopes he can improve his times enough to qualify for the section finals. “I’d like to get to CIF and get a medal,” he said.

The Baron utilityman said competing in cross country actually has proved quite beneficial during the track season.

“Hurdles are my big thing,” he said. “It helps me prepare for my 400 leg. I practice jump a couple times each week. Cross country helped me a lot with the hurdles, especially building up my endurance for the 300 hurdles.”


Sweetwater Relays
•Otay Ranch captured the Division I team title with 148 points. Morse finished second with 128 points, followed by Chula Vista in third place with 82 points, Granite Hills in fourth place with 77 points, Hilltop in fifth place with 70 points, Eastlake in sixth place with 64 points, Bonita Vista in seventh place with 61 points and San Ysidro in eighth place.

•Sweetwater claimed the Division II team title with 170 points, followed by Christian with 113 points, Clairemont with 76 points, Olympian with 73 points, Monte Vista with 52 points, Imperial with 51 points, Mar Vista with 31 points and La Jolla Country Day with 23 points.

Familiar faces turned in some impressive early season performances among Metro Conferendce teams.

•Eastlake’s Anthony Quintero turned in a pole vault mark of 12-6 to finish second to Granite Hills’ Kevin Finley (13-0).

•Sweetwater won the girls distance medley race ahead of Otay Ranch, Granite Hills, Eastlake and Bonita Vista. The Red Devils quartet included Brianna Maela, Seida Carrillo, Maila Lucht and Aylin Mejia.
•The Mustangs’ runner-up team included Vivi Martinez, Shauna Stevenson, Vanessa Martinez and Tina Poole.

•Jackie Villa ran anchor for Eastlake while Bonita Vista’s foursome included Cristina Hernandez, Sarah Close, Cynthia Alvarez and Jasmine Jurado.
•Sweetwater won the boys 440 relay in 44.7.

•Otay Ranch’s Julian Samson recorded the top boys shot put mark of 48-11 ahead of Granite Hills’ Landon Turley (46-8). Samson doubled by winning the discus throw (162-9).

•Sweetwater’s Alyssia Veiga enjoyed a successful day in the girls jumps, winning the long jump (15-9.5) and finished second in the triple jump (32-6).

•Otay Ranch’s Jessica Soltysiak placed first in the girls discus throw (105-9) and second in the shot put (33-2). Otay Ranch’s Marvin Wright finished second in the boys high jump at 6-0.

Soaring Eagle
Pole vaulter Kevin Finley follows in his brother’s footsteps

Granite Hills sophomore Kevin Finley has set his sight on one number: 16 feet, 6 inches. That’s the school record height in the boys pole vault set by his older brother Scott, now attending the University of Washington on a track and field scholarship.

“I want to break it,” the younger Finley said matter-of-factly.

The two siblings are following in the footsteps of their father Paul, who pole vaulted in high school in the San Francisco area.

With high tech materials unavailable in their father’s day, the brothers have soared to heights undreamed of by their father, who likely used a bamboo pole in competition as a prep.

Kevin Finley could end up with the better marks of the three before his vaulting career is finished. He set the meet record at 12-6 as a freshman at last year’s county frosh/soph championships and has already bettered that by a full foot in the opening weeks of competition this season after clearing 13-6 in the Eagles’ preceding dual meet against El Capitan.

He captured top individual honors in the event with a height of 13-0 at this year’s Sweetwater Coed Relays, held March 15 at the National City school.

The younger Finley, who also competes in hurdles events, began vaulting in middle school. His older brother, a 2005 GHHS grad, acted as his mentor.

“He taught me pretty much everything. He’s pretty much my hero,” Kevin Finley said.

Records are meant to be broken, as the old saying goes. And the younger Finley would like nothing better than to match the marks set on the Eagles’ leader board by his elder sibling. Scott Finley placed third at the state finals as a senior after first finishing second at the San Diego Section finals.

“I want to beat his records. I want to go higher than my brother,” Kevin said. “There’s a real rush when you get up in the air.”

Kevin currently stands six feet tall while Scott is 6-4. As Kevin reaches his adult height, it would seem the best is yet to come as both his body and skill technique matures. He is a favorite to shatter his county frosh/soph record this year.

“I’ve set a goal this year to get to 15 feet -- I want to set the bar high,” he said.

Kevin Finley is not the only soaring Eagle this season. Senior Brittany Hamilton cleared a career record 10-6 in recent dual meet competition and is looking to challenge for a top finish at this year’s section finals. She won the girls pole vault at the Sweetwater Relays by equaling her career-best mark.

The reigning Grossmont South League champion placed sixth at last year's section meet by clearing 8-6.

***

Granite Hills' Aaron McCalmont won the boys high jump at 6-9 despite intermittent high wind conditions. The meet ended in a hail storm.

College Track & Field/Cross Country
Where are they now?
Eric Avila: still running fast

Last year, Bonita Vista High School alumnus Eric Avila completed one of the best running careers in South County history, earning high school All-American honors after winning the 2006 San Diego Section Division I cross country championship and finishing as the two-mile champion at the 2007 state track and field championships.

Avila is continuing that success in college.

Now a freshman at Northern Arizona University, Avila competed in the 2008 USA cross country championships held Feb. 16 in Mission Bay Park. Four hundred forty-six men from around the United States competed in three races (junior men, men’s open and masters). More than 50 collegiate All-Americans and six U.S. Olympic team runners competed in the men’s races, including world record holder Ryan Hall. The men’s open race was won by Olympian Dathan Ritzenheim, 26, by averaging 4:53 per mile.

In the junior men’s race, featuring the top 100 collegiate freshmen and sophomores in the United States, Avila finished 45th in the field by averaging 5:31 per mile. In the process, Avila ran a faster pace than many collegiate All-Americans and former Olympians competing in the national championships.

Fifty-nine San Diego men competed. San Diego finishers were led by former collegiate All-Americans Travis Laird, 26, and Jon Rankin, 26, who both averaged 5:08 per mile. Avila, 18, was the youngest of all San Diego competitors. He finished eighth overall among male runners from San Diego. The top 10 San Diego male runners averaged 24 years of age.

Avila followed up his outstanding race at the USA men’s cross country championships by returning to Arizona a few days later and running a 4:09 mile on an indoor track. Avila’s time on a short 200-meter oval track is one of the fastest indoor mile collegiate times for a freshman in the United States this year.

“Most people don’t realize that Eric is a year younger than most of his collegiate freshman competitors, having just turned 18 a few months ago,” said Jeff and Julie Phair, his former coaches at Bonita Vista High School. “Eric had a phenomenal race at the USA men’s cross country championships in San Diego. But his best races will be several years from now. At 18, Eric is still growing and susceptible to minor injuries, which limited his training load in high school and his first year of college. Despite these nagging minor injuries, Eric has placed in the top-50 two years in a row at the men’s national cross country championships against men who, on average, are 10 years older than him.”

“Eric will not physically mature until he is at least a senior in college,” Jeff Phair said. “If Eric can stay patient and realize that he is in a sport where athletes peak in their mid to late 20s, I have no doubt that Eric will have a long and very successful running career beyond college. Eric has great self-motivation and focus, in addition to his physical talents.”

Can Eric Avila be the second Metro Conference runner to represent the South County in the Olympics, joining Gail Devers of Sweetwater High School?
“My goal is to qualify for the United States Olympic team in 2012 or 2016,” Avila said.

Is this too lofty of a goal?

Not at all, according to the Phairs.

“Eric has a tremendous work ethic which has allowed him to set and then achieve very high goals,” the Phairs said. “We are not surprised by his success in his early collegiate career. But it is way too early to predict if the Olympics are in his future. If Eric stays healthy, he has as much talent as any young runner in the United States right now.”