GCC Men and Women's Track & Field competed in Saddleback Invitational March 4

The Vaqueros competed at the Saddleback Invitational this past Saturday March 4.. The men's team saw a lot of PRs on the track, leading off with Aaron Flores with a 11.19 in the 100m. Sione Manu also competed in the 100m finishing in a time of 12.15. In the 200m, Xavier Rojas finished with a time of 22.82 for a 19th place finish. Aaron Flores also ran the 200m in a time of 23.03. Others taking part in the 200m were Renee Cedeno (23.25), Sean Miller (23.80), Sione Manu (24.68), Willie Mejia (25.43), and Kevin Valenzuela (26.60). In the open 400m, Renee Cedeno finished in a time of 52.46, while Kevin Valenzuela came across in a time of 1:03.13. The 800m saw a handful of runners, including Julius Largaespada who took 4th place in a time of 1:57.27. Ezequiel Soto took 8th in a time of 1:58.29. Others in the 800m were Abdiel Quero (2:04.77), Kevin Vasquez (2:05.36), Jeremiah Galloway (2:08.34), and Alexander Ibarra (2:10.56). Julius Largaespada took 2nd in the 1500m with a time of 3:55.74. Other 1500m finishers included Ezequiel Soto who took 9th place in a time of 4:01.75, Abdiel Quero (4:09.02), Jeremiah Galloway (4:13.77), and Kevin Vasquez (4:17.50). The 4x100 relay team took 11th place in a time of 44.03. In the field events, Kevin Gomez took 2nd in the hammer with a throw of 43.79m, and 8th in shot put with a toss of 12.54m. Lincoln Guerrero took 3rd in the hammer with a 38.35m throw, 20th in shot put with a 9.93m throw, and 19th in discus with a 29.34m throw. Julius Dawoodtabar took 12th place in the discus with a throw of 34.26m, and a 10.22m toss in shot put for a 19th place finish. John Westwood finished in 20th place for discus with a throw of 28.85m, and a 14th place finish in shot put with a throw of 11.12m. In Javelin, Willie Mejia finished in 9th place with a 41.66m throw in his first competition. Zaven Shakenians had a throw of 22.32m in javelin, an 8.35m throw in shot put, and 20.88m toss in discus.

On the women's side, Destiny Lopez led the way with two PRs in the 1500m (4:55.87) and 800m (2:21.07), which ranks her 8th in CA in the 1500m and 4th in the 800m. Samantha Medrano also competed in 1500m with a 3rd place finish in time of 4:59.33. She also took 9th place in the 800m with a time of 2:28.92. Norma Martinez took 20th in the 1500m with a time of 5:31.78, and 27th in the 800m with a time of 2:46.07. Daniela Ponce-Barban ran a PR in the 1500m with a time of 6:25.65. In the field events, Kaylyn Guerra took 5th place in the discus with a throw of 35.81m, 14th place in the hammer with a throw of 28.97m, and 10th place in the Javelin with a toss of 24.02m. Vanessa Portillo finished in 3rd place in the Javelin with a throw of 31.62m. The track team will compete at the Occidental College Spring Break Classic on Saturday the 11th.

Recap by Assistant Coach Matthew Osherow

Photo by Kevin Guerrero