Local high school track & field squads hit the road and competed in different non-league meets on Saturday.
While the San Marcos Royals made their way to Oxnard for the Spartan Relays, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria High participated in the Thousand Oaks Invitational.
San Marcos
The Royals continued their non-league season with a strong showing at the Spartan Relays.
Logan Patterson Deakyne had a record-breaking day for San Marcos, winning the 400-meter race with a time of 50.53 seconds and taking first in the 300-meter hurdles at 39.45 seconds.
Patterson Deakyne is now the second fastest 300 hurdler in program history, trailing just Tommy Richards’ time from 1988.
His stellar day rolled on when he registered a fourth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.82 seconds.
“Logan is very fit and strong. He has been working extremely hard on his hurdle technique and it’s paying off,” San Marcos head coach Marilyn Hantgin said.
TJ Deakyne also had a strong all-around day for the Royals, placing first in the high jump (6-2), fourth in the long jump (20-07) and sixth in the triple jump.
“TJ had some great attempts at 6-5 today. He has the tough job of having to be in two to three places all at once during a meet. His season is starting off great,” Hantgin said.
In the 800-meter race, Elsie Tuttle came in third (2:23), Layla Llewellyn came in fifth (2:25) and Samara Shalhoub came in seventh (2:30). Tuttle also placed second in the 400-meter with her time of 60.07 seconds.
The Royals shined in the 1,600-meter race as well as Autumn Richardson (2nd, 5:19), Llewellyn (3rd, 5:22), Shalhoub (4th, 5:26) and Abby Herbst (5th, 5:29) all finished in the top five.
“Autumn is so hard working and has dedicated herself to the sport of running. I am so proud of her and can’t wait to see how much more she improves the rest of the season,” Hantgin said. “All of these girls ran amazing. They continue to improve and challenge themselves each week.”
San Marcos will be on the road against Oxnard for a Channel League meet on Wednesday.
Santa Barbara High
Malachi Johnston was the lone double individual event winner for the Dons, winning the shot put at 53-1 and the discus with a throw of 145-0.
“Really solid day for Malachi with a consistent series in both events,” Santa Barbara High head coach Olivia Perdices said.
Meanwhile, Jarrod Shalhoob Conaway earned second place in the triple jump (40-7.25) and high jump (5-10). Chris Lopez also came in fifth in the long jump at 20-7.5.
“Jarrod has been aiming at 40 feet for a while. It was fun to see him get it and he’s already looking for more,” Perdices said. “[Lopez] is putting in a lot of work and it’s coming together really well.”
The Santa Barbara High boys sprint medley relay team of Ben Medina, Roman Hoover, Ethan Walp and Lopez rounded out the standouts with a third-place time of 1:39.45.
“It’s an event those guys love to run and they did a great job,” Perdices said of the sprint medley relay.
“There was a good atmosphere and competition all day. Great experience going into our first league meet of the season Wednesday at Buena with Buena and Pacifica.”
While the team was competing in Thousand Oaks, Santa Barbara High junior Elina Stump was at the Nike Indoor Nationals at the Armory in New York.
Stump qualified for Sunday’s championship semifinal in the 60-meter hurdles, and earned 33rd place in the championship long jump with a mark of 17-4.75, which is the fifth best in California.
“It’s an awesome experience for [Stump] to get to compete in that environment and on that level,” Perdices said.
Carpinteria High
Marely Avalos secured a pair of medals for the Warriors, taking second in the shot put (30-2.25) and third in the discus (86-0). Nathalie Hernandez’s throw of 28-2.5 was good for fifth in the shot put, and Gia Sharma rounded out the field event medalists with a 14-8.75 long jump.
The Carpinteria girl sprint medley relay team of Isla Moore, Izzy Scott, Giarys Gomez and Kaydance Gardner ran the second-fastest time in school history of 1:55.12 to finish third.
Scott’s time of 50.41 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles secured fourth, while Leighla Richter’s 18.79-second mark in the 100-meter hurdles was also a fourth-place showing.
Isaac Sanches was the lone medalist for the Warrior boys, taking fifth in the 110-meter hurdles at 18.61 seconds.
“It was our first big Saturday meet of the year. I was pleased how we handled the atmosphere of a big invitational,” Carpinteria High head coach Van Latham said. “We performed well against quality competition. We came away with quite a few medals and numerous PRs.
“The frosh girls had an outstanding day, winning two events and medaling in a handful of others.”