The Santa Barbara High girls relay teams ran a season best for a first-place finish and placed in the top five in two other events at the Simi Valley Invitational track and field meet on Saturday.
The 4×100 relay team of Zia Frausto, Mila Speer, Anne Knecht and Arielle Feinberg got the day started by winning the Rated Division in a season-best of 52.76.
In the Invitational 800 sprint relay, race, Frausto, Speer, Knecht and Clara Aviani teamed up for fourth place. Frausto, Mackenna Show, Knecht and Aviani closed out the day with a second place in the Seeded 4×400 relay.
In an individual event, Knecht placed third in the Rated 400 meters at 62.95.
“The girls really showed up at a big meet in a big way,” said coach Olivia Perdices. “It was fun to see them seeded in fast races and step up to some big competition. They took the attitude that they were all in this together and just went out and got the batons around the track. For Anne especially, today was a huge day for what basically amounts to a red-shirt freshman.”
On the boys side, Blaise Winston was fourth in the Seeded 400 meters in 52.59 and second in the Seeded 300 meter hurdles in 43.71.
“Blaise got a chance to run in some fast, deep races today and that’s only going to help him as the year goes on,” said Perdices.”To be honest, I’m just thankful we got a chance to get some kids some experience in a big meet environment. They learned a lot today that you hope they can tap into later in the season.”
The Dons host Dos Pueblos on Wednesday in the first Channel League dual meet.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.