GCC Track & Field hosts 6th Annual Vaquero Classic April 8 at Sartoris Field
The track & field team hosted their annual Vaquero Invitational with 14 visiting schools taking part, including Allan Hancock, Antelope Valley, Bakersfield, Cuesta, Cuyamaca, El Camino, Fullerton, Moorpark, Pasadena, Saddleback, San Bernardino Valley, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, and West Los Angeles College. There were plenty of stand-out performances to cap off the team's final tune-up before post-season competition begins. On the men's side, Julius Largaespada continued his dominance with a win in the 1500m (3:52.88) and a 2nd place finish the 800m (1:55.54). Ezequiel Soto was close to Largaespada in the 800m (1:57.77) with a 4th place finish. Abdiel Quero was Glendale's top 5000m finisher coming in 7th with a time of 16:08.90. In the field events, Kevin Gomez had a season best 46.75m throw in the hammer to win and rank him 9th in the state for the event. He also had a personal best in the shot put with a toss of 12.95m. In the javelin, Willie Mejia had a personal best of 43.10m giving him 4th place.
On the women's side, Destiny Lopez also continues to dominate on the track with wins in both the 1500m (4:43.71) and the 800m (2:20.91). Her huge 1500m PR now puts her in 3rd place in the state for the event. Samantha Medrano also had a PR in the 1500m (4:57.33) for a 4th place finish and ranking her 20th in the state for the event. In the 5000m, Norma Martinez had a PR of over 1 minute with a time of 20:53.61. In the field events, Vanessa Portillo had a season best in the javelin with a throw of 32.98m, ranking her 9th in the state. Kaylyn Guerra won the discus with a throw of 38.78m, ranking her 9th in the state. The team will have a BYE week, and then will travel to Antelope Valley College on April 21 for the Western State Conference Preliminaries.
Recap by Assistant Coach Matthew Osherow