Battle of the Regions Recap
The Track & Field teams opened their season this past Friday at the Battle of the Regions in Bakersfield. The Women's team saw PR's in the 800m from Yajaira Calderon (2:28.25), Bianca Biel (2:28.77), and Jamie Levin (2:29.95). They also took 3rd, 4th, and 5th place respectively in the 1500m. All-American Steeplechaser Phoebe Forsyth also had a PR in the steeplechase with a time 11:44.96. Her sister, Lydia Forsyth would run the 3000m in 11:42.56 and the 1500m in 5:28.95. In the field events, Samantha Torres had a mark of 92'3" in the Javelin, already putting in the top rankings of the conference. Vanessa Portillo also took part in the high jump and had a PR of 4'4", while also running the 100H in a time of 21.93. Probably the biggest highlight of the day on the women's side comes from first-year Elizabeth Switzer, who has already broken the school record in the Pole Vault with a height of 11'8". That passes the old record of 10'0" by almost 2 feet, giving her the top ranking in the state right now. Some of the other performances include Vanessa Chavez, a first-year from Lincoln High School, who would compete in the Long Jump (14'6"), Triple Jump (29'1.25"), and 100m (14.09). Paula Jaramillo would also compete in the 100m in a time of 13.60.
The men's side also saw some great performances. Sophomore Riley Center had two PR's in the hammer throw with a toss of 136'11" and in shot put with a toss of 47'2.5", giving him the state mark with a PR of almost 1 and a half feet. Angel Giron isn't far from his top mark after having a throw of 141'10" in the Javelin, with first-year Steven Ruiz finishing not far behind him with a toss of 137'3". Axel Menjivar, also a first-year, would be the team's top Pole Vaulter after clearing a height of 13'0". After not being able to compete last year, Hratch Abrahamian would start off the year clearing 5'10" in the High Jump, which is a PR for him. On the track, Ameer Mohammed would start off his track season running the 800m in 2:00.97 and the 1500m in 4:10.34, with Kevin Keller not far behind him in both events finishing the 800m in a time of 2:03.27 and the 1500m in a time of 4:12.48. Marvin Guardado would also have impressive finishes in the 800m and 1500m, finishing in 2:04.10 and 4:11.34, respectively. In the 3000m, Usiel Ulloa would have a very strong finish coming in at 9:14.20. Of course, All-American Steeplechaser Spencer Geck would kick off his campaign running a 9:54.54 with Abraham Martinez finishing behind Geck in the Steeple in a time of 10:23.86. In the hurdles, Vincent Lieberman took part in both the 110H (17.26) and 400H (1:02.27), with Cris Santiago (1:00.14) and Jesus Chavez (1:02.38) only running in the 400H.