Several local high school track & field squads competed in the CIF-SS Prelim meet on Saturday at Ontario High School.
Many student-athletes punched their tickets to the CIF-SS Championship meet next Saturday.
Santa Barbara High (Div. 2)
The Dons had a trio of athletes move on to the CIF-SS Div. 2 Championship meet on Saturday.
Elina Stump led the way in three events, taking second in the 100 hurdles at 14.85 seconds, sixth in the long jump at 17-8.5 and ninth in the triple jump at 36-0.5.
“It was a challenging day with the temperature at 101° and a lot of time out on the field,” Santa Barbara High head coach Olivia Perdices said. “[Stump] handled it so well, especially at triple jump where our jump coach Matthew Oatis had to change the start of her approach to fit onto a short runway.”
Carter Battle qualified in the high jump as one of five athletes to jump over 6-4 in their first attempt.
“[Battle] looked great out there,” Perdices said. “It’s his first CIF track meet, but you’d never know it. The prelims are strange in that you only jump until it gets to nine guys, then you stop and come back next week.”
Malachi Johnston rounded out the Santa Barbara High qualifiers by taking eighth place in the shot put with a mark of 48-2.
“None of the guys threw their best today, but Malachi did what he had to do to buy himself another week,” Perdices said. “With the field events especially, it’s always a little unpredictable and comes down to who shows up and competes regardless of the conditions at this point in the year.
“These three kids have taken everything we’ve thrown at them this season and I’m excited to see what they can do in the finals.”
Dos Pueblos (Div. 2)
Cullen Gully was the lone automatic qualifier for the Chargers, who had several student-athletes turn in strong individual performances.
“I’m proud of the Chargers for how they handled the high temps at Ontario today,” Dos Pueblos head coach David Jackson said. “They were focused and supportive of each other. When we were here last year, we only had four students. The program is on the rise, there’s a lot to celebrate.”
Gully earned a spot in the CIF-SS Finals in the 800-meter and 1,600-meter races after two of his top career finishes. He placed fifth in the 1,600-meter with a time of 4:20.52 and finished in eighth with a personal record in the 800-meter witha time of 1:57.79.
“In each event, Cullen surged ahead of the competition with a powerful closing kick, showcasing his strength and racing instincts,” Jackson said.
Julian VanDeVeiere earned a 10th place finish with a clearance of 9-6 in the pole vault, slotting her as the first alternate for next week’s championship.
Hazel Burgess will also serve as an alternate next week after placing 11th in the 200-meter with a personal-best time of 25.8 seconds.
Eamon Gordon slotted into 11th place in the 3,200-meter race, crossing the finish line in 9:34.44 to serve as a second alternate in next week’s championship meet.
Other standout Dos Pueblos individual performances included Kaley Orquiola (long jump, 16-0, 24th), Luna Gnagy (pole vault, 8-6, 15th), Phil Contakes (1,600 meter, 19th) and Owen Abbott (1,600 meter, 26th).
The girls 4×100 relay team of Tabby Weller, Lucia Riley, Clehann Howard and Burgess ended their year with a season-best time of 49.51 seconds to take 12th place.
San Marcos (Div. 2)
The Royals braved the heat and had several athletes move on to next week’s Division 2 championship meet.
“The conditions were probably the worst I’ve been in for a track meet in years,” San Marcos head coach Marilyn Hantgin said. “The heat was pretty unbearable.”
Ethan Ball won his heat in the 110-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.66 seconds to move on to the championship meet.
“This was a great race for Ethan. He looked so smooth and race a perfect prelim race to get him into the finals,” Hantgin said.
In the pole vault, San Marcos’ Dalton Shupe and RJ Robles each clinched spots in the finals with marks of 13-6 and 13-00, respectively.
“Both of these guys have been improving week by week. I’m really looking forward to seeing how things go next week at Moorpark,” Hantgin said.
Brody Green qualified for the high jump with a ninth-place mark of 6-2, while Logan Patterson Deakyne will serve as an alternate in the 300-meter hurdles after running a personal best of 40.09 seconds on Saturday.
Carpinteria High (Div. 4)
A pair of Warriors advanced to the CIF-SS Div. 4 Finals with strong performances on Saturday.
Melanie Avalos qualified in both the discus and the shot put, placing third in the discus and sixth in the shot put. Her throw of 127-0 in the discus was a personal record, and she threw 34-4 in the shot put.
“Melanie is peaking at the right time of the season,” Carpinteria High head coach Van Latham said. “She had a solid week of practice and it was evident in her performance.”
Meanwhile, Nathan Carrillo qualified in the pole vault after he cleared 10 feet and finished in ninth place.
“Nathan has had consistent performance the last few weeks,” Latham said. “He is primed to raise the bar next week.”