Dos Pueblos track & field wrapped up regular season dual meets with a showdown against Oxnard and Buena on Wednesday.
The Charger boys defeated Oxnard 66.5-60.5 and fell to Buena, 73-54, while the girls team lost to both the Yellow Jackets (68-59) and the Bulldogs (62-56).
“In the closest meet scores of the season, the Chargers put together our best team performance yet,” Dos Pueblos head coach David Jackson said. “Despite the losses, we came together better than we have all season. Team-wide, they racked up 80 lifetime personal records.
“Our coaches and I are happy with our team and where we are as of today. The collective results mean we’re going the right direction with training.”
Ian McMurtry led the Charger boys as a double individual winner in the 1,600-meter (4:34.4) and the 3,200-meter (10:03,65).
“He’s been such a smart tactician in big meets, and now he’s taking the wins,” Jackson said of McMurtry.
Oliver Longbrake got it done in several events, winning the long jump at 20-6.5 and setting a personal-best time of 11.88 seconds in the 100-meter. Meanwhile, Oliver Saleh won the 800-meter at 2:01.36.
“[Longbrake] has a lot further to go this season. It’s a lot of fun to watch him make these gains,” Jackson said. “Oliver is a huge part of our team, able to cover any distance and pick up points for his team. He’s not afraid of the discomfort of running fast.”
Elliot McGuire rounded out the Dos Pueblos boys winners with a 42-6.25 mark in the triple jump.
As for the girls, Harper Wolfe Lyons pulled in a pair of victories in the shot put and the long jump. She threw 27-5 in the shot put and jumped 16-5 in the long jump. She also placed second in the high jump at 4-8.
Alex Hollingsworth came out on top in the discus with a personal-best throw of 100-1.
“She’s fired-up to get the most out of every throw, and that’s a great vibe to get at practice every day,” Jackson said of Hollingsworth. “We’re a better team with Alex on it.”
Dos Pueblos will compete in the Arcadia Invitational this weekend.
Santa Barbara High vs. Rio Mesa
The Dons girls squad ended in a 63-63 tie with the Spartans while the Santa Barbara High boys fell by a score of 66-61 in their final dual meet of the season.
Adeline Hoke and Itzel Rayos Jimenez spearheaded the girls’ efforts as double individual event winners. Hoke won the long jump and triple jump while Jimenez came out on top in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter.
“Great meet for both of them,” Santa Barbara High head coach Olivia Perdices said. “They understood what we needed and got it done.”
Krystal Valdez had a strong day in the throws with a pair of personal bests to take first in the discus and second in the shot put.
“It’s a good time of year for things to really start clicking for [Valdez],” Perdices said.
The trio of Elina Stump, Caitlyn Buist and Gwyneth Blumer swept the 100 hurdles and Olivia Arevalo finished first in the 300 hurdles. Jazmin Amirfazlian Denis rounded out the girls with a first-place high jump.
“Really nice racing from all of them,” Perdices said of her hurdlers. “It’s nice to have [Denis] back healthy and jumping well.”
The Santa Barbara High boys earned a pair of relay victories in the 4×100 and 4×400. The 4×100 team is Christopher Lopez, Roman Hoover, Benjamin Medina and Theo Harper, while the 4×400 squad consists of Angel Hernandez, Nico Tassos, Carter Battle and Christopher Lopez.
Battle also won the high jump while Hoover and Medina finished top two in the 100-meter race. Tassos capped off the track standouts with a win in the 800-meter.
“Really excited to have a couple of sophomores come through for us like that in the sprints and always love to finish a meet on a high note taking a competitive 4×4,” Perdices said.
Malachi Johnston continued his dominance in the throws with first-place finishes in the shot put and discus.
“[Johnston] has been so steady for us all season and I’m looking forward to what he can do through the championship meets,” Perdices said.
The Dons will compete in the Arcadia Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
San Marcos vs. Ventura, Pacifica
The Royals swept Pacifica but dropped both ends of the dual meet with Ventura on Thursday at Ventura High.
For the boys, TJ Deakyne won the triple jump and came in second place in both the long jump and high jump. Meanwhile, RJ Robles won the pole vault with a jump of 13-0 and came in third in the triple jump.
“TJ came up big for the Royals,” San Marcos head coach Marilyn Hantgin said. “RJ is one of my athletic athletes on the team. He can do so many different events. He was sure ready for the competition today.”
Cole Heckman placed second in the 1,600-meter with a personal-best time of 4:26. In the 800-meter, Ashton Johnsen came out on top at 1:58 while Gage Minne finished third at 2:00.
“Cole ran perfectly,” Hantgin said. “He led most of the race and had a great kick at the end to finish strong.”
Brody Green earned a pair of second-place finishes in the sprints and finished in first place in the high jump. He was also a member of the first-place 4×100 relay team with Remi Boykin, Bryan Antov and Ethan Ball.
“Brody was running against some of the fastest runners in our league, and he held his own,” Hantgin said.
The boys ended the meet with a first-place finish in the 4×400 relay team from Johnsen, Heckman, Logan Patterson Deakyne and Miles Dentinger.
As for the girls, Layla Llewllyn, Melina Vela and Autumn Richardson each ran solid 800-meter races. Meanwhile, Vela, Richardson and Sofie Hernandez all ran personal bests in the 1,600-meter.
“You can’t ask for more from these girls running so well today,” Hantgin said.
Elsie Tuttle and Hernandez finished first and second, respectively, in the 3,200-meter race for the Royals.
“Elsie has not run the 3,200 yet this season; it was a good challenge for her,” Hantgin said. “She ran it all alone, which makes it even more impressive that she ran so fast.
“I’m looking forward to seeing her run this again against some competition.”
In the throws, Ava Allen took third in the shot put and Harlyn Griffin came in third in the discus.