SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Track & Field

Bennett leads Otay Ranch at league finals

South Bay League championship meet results

By Phillip Brents
Posted May 18, 2004

To say that Otay Ranch High School freshman Britney Bennett has had some kind of freshman season is a gross understatement. She scored 43 goals in 25 games during the girls soccer season to lead the Mustangs to the quarterfinals of the San Diego Section playoffs. All she did at this spring’s Metro Conference track and field championships was to win four events en route to being named the South Bay League’s Female Athlete of the Meet.

Bennett won three individual events, plus running one leg on a championship relay, to highlight the May 14 conference finals at Otay Ranch High School.

The Mustangs freshman sensation won both the 100- and 200-meter dash events as well as the long jump. She was also a part of the victorious 4x100-meter relay team.

Bennett timed 12.61 seconds in the 100 meters and 26.16 in the 200 meters and recorded a jump of 16 feet, 6 inches in the long jump.

Otay Ranch set a school record in the 4x100 relay with a time of 50.51.

“We were very happy with our performance. We had a very good week, a lot of personal records, ending with the championship meet,” Mustangs coach Ian Cumming said.

The championship week began with the conference prelims on May 11. In that meet, Bennett timed 12.3 in the 100 meters. She entered the prelims with a season-best clocking of 12.45, sixth best in the San Diego Section.

Trecia Owens won two individual events, plus one relay event. She took first-place honors in the girls 100 low hurdles (18.11) and high jump (4-10) as well as competing on the record-winning 4x100 relay.

Among the team’s distance runners, Ernesto Valdez finished second among South Bay League boys 1600-meter entrants while Matt Danielson placed runner-up in the boys 3200-meter run.

While individual glory is usually reserved for the postseason, the Mustangs’ biggest team achievement of their inaugural season was tying for a tri-championship for girls dual meets. Otay Ranch, Hilltop and Castle Park all finished with 4-1 dual meet records.

“Any time you have just freshmen and sophomores rise to the occasion to tie for a championship, it’s impressive. But it’s even more impressive that Hilltop beat us by a firm margin and that Castle Park beat Hilltop. It would have been easy for our kids to get down, thinking there was no way to beat Castle Park after Castle Park had beaten Hilltop after Hilltop had beaten us. But they wouldn’t let that get them down. It’s impressive that they did that with that type of work ethic and belief in themselves.”

The Otay Ranch boys team finished 2-3 in dual meet competition, with two narrow losses. The Mustangs junior varsity team, meanwhile, finished 6-0 in dual competition.

Southwest's Luis Urrutia and Mar Vista's Troy Swier earned honors as the South Bay League co-Male Athletes of the Meet. Urrutia captured individual titles in the 100 meters, long jump and triple jump while Swier tripled in winning the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter runs.

Athletes of the Meet
Southwest's Luis Urrutia and Mar Vista's Troy Swier earned honors as the South Bay League co-Male Athletes of the Meet. Urrutia captured individual titles in the 100 meters, long jump and triple jump while Swier tripled in winning the 800-, 1600- and 3200-meter runs.

Hilltop’s B.J. Roberson, who captured the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, set a league record in the 300 distance with his winning 40.32 time.

Bonita Vista’s Ryan Becijos and Joe Gaines shared honors as the Mesa League boys Athletes of the Meet. Eastlake’s Lisa Malchow and Jackie Parras were named Mesa League girls co-Athletes of the Meet.
Gaines set a league record in winning the 400 meters (49.98) while also running legs on the Barons championship 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Becijos won the 1600- and 3200-meter runs while also running a leg on the victorious 1600 relay team that set a league record with a time of 3:26.02.

Malchow claimed individual titles in both the 100 and 300 hurdles while Parras won the 400 meters and ran legs on two championship relays.

Other meet records were set by Eastlake’s Soledad Gonzalez (127-1, girls discus) and Joe Ziomek (14-6, boys pole vault) and Sweetwater’s Ernest Pierce (22-8, boys long jump).

Athletes now begin the road to qualify for the state finals June 4-5 in Sacramento by competing first in Saturday’s CIF divisional prelims at Poway High School, then returning the following Saturday for the Masters state qualifying finals.

South Bay League Championships

Friday, May 14 at Otay Ranch High School

Boys Finals
Track Events
100: 1. Luis Urrutia (Southwest) 11.46.
200: 1. Seybert (Hilltop) 23.38.
400: 1. T. O’Connor (Southwest) 53.31.
800: 1. Troy Swier (Mar Vista) 1:59.0.
1600: 1. Troy Swier (Mar Vista) 4:41.27.
3200: 1. Troy Swier (Mar Vista) 9:43.01.
110 hurdles: 1. B.J. Roberson (Hilltop) 15.4.
300 hurdles: 1. B.J. Roberson (Hilltop) 40.32.
4x100 relay: 1. Southwest 44.24.
4x400 relay: 1. Hilltop 3:36.08.
Field Events
Shot put: 1. P. Tufono (Hilltop) 43-2.
Long jump: 1. Luis Urrutia (Southwest) 21-10.5.
High jump: 1. Chris Wessel (Hilltop) 6-0.
Discus: 1. B.J. Hunt (Hilltop) 135-5.
Triple jump: 1. Luis Urrutia (Southwest) 42-3.25.
Pole vault: 1. Musui Endo (Hilltop) 11-6.
Male Athletes of the Meet: Luis Urrutia (Southwest), Troy Swier (Mar Vista).

Girls Finals
Track Events
100: 1. Britney Bennett (Otay Ranch) 12.61.
200: 1. Britney Bennett (Otay Ranch) 26.16.
400: 1. Janelle Millner (Marian Catholic) 58.86.
800: 1. Selina Munoz (Hilltop) 2:25.91.
1600: 1. Selina Munoz (Hilltop) 5:32.0.
3200: 1. Veronica Gonzales (Castle Park) 12:20.85.
100 hurdles: 1. Trecia Owens (Otay Ranch) 18.11.
300 hurdles: 1. Danielle Alvarado (Marian Catholic) 48.03.
4x100 relay: 1. Otay Ranch 50.51 (school record).
4x400 relay: 1. Marian Catholic 4:10.08.
Field Events
Shot put: 1. Alexus Watley (Hilltop) 33-6.5.
Long jump: 1. Britney Bennett (Otay Ranch) 16-6.
High jump: 1. Trecia Owens (Otay Ranch) 4-10.
Discus: 1. Kylie Rivers (San Ysidro) 100-2.
Triple jump: 1. V. Wilson (Hilltop) 31-2.
Pole vault: 1. Jamie Carbajal (Castle Park) 8-0.
Female Athlete of the Meet: Britney Bennett (Otay Ranch).