Skip to content
Author

**Results at the bottom of the story**

WALNUT – The healthy competition of the invitational season is exactly what the county’s top track and field athletes had been looking for.

It helped Canyon’s Rachel Baxter, who took home the girls pole vault title at the Mt. SAC Relays on Saturday night.

Baxter was the only competitor to conquer the bar at 12 feet, 6 inches, besting Mater Dei’s McKenna Caskey (12-0) for the individual honor.

Victories are few and far between for those who have to face state leader Kaitlyn Merritt (Santa Margarita) in the event. Merritt did not participate Saturday.

“It felt pretty good,” Baxter said of getting the win. “At Arcadia last week, I felt happy competing against (Merritt) to give me that push. With McKenna today, it also pushed me.”

“It felt good to win, but also to have the competition.”

One week after setting the national pace in the distance medley relay, Dana Hills’ boys saw a new national leader take its throne as Great Oak (10:05.35) came away victorious in the 4,000-meter event.

“We definitely wanted to back that up,” Dana Hills runner Mason Coppi said, referring to the Dolphins’ performance at Arcadia. “We had hopes of breaking the meet record (10:02.73).”

The Dolphins (10:13.63) posted the nation’s 7th leading mark.

Connor Meech (San Juan Hills) maintained a positive progression curve going into next week’s Orange County Championships. The Stallions’ hurdler set a personal record with a 37.81 in the 300 to place second.

Meech still believes he has room to improve.

“I’m right there to get down in the low 37’s,” he said. “I know I can. I’ve just got to fix the first hurdle a little bit. I’m feeling very confident.”

The return of AJ Beynon (Edison) set up an exciting battle with fellow county standout Sean Lee (Trabuco Hills) in the high jump. The matchup never took place as a muscle twinge in Lee’s hip took him out of the competition in warmups. The freshman and county co-leader in the high jump (6-9) was not planning to compete in the O.C. Championships.

Beynon cleared his first jump of 6-2 before exiting the contest.

Bolsa Grande’s Jeanette Zambrano produced the third-best time in the county with a 10:48.33 in the 3,200 on Friday night.

The Mt. SAC Relays have been held at Hilmer Lodge Stadium since their inception in 1959, but a renovation project will force the meet from its home until at least 2017. Given the meet’s reputation as the competition “Where the world’s best athletes compete,” veterans of the sport have weighed in about what the stadium’s history means to them.

“There’s always been amazing things here, amazing performances,” Servite coach Richard Gibbs said.

Gibbs has coached the Friars for 21 years. He competed at the Mt. SAC Relays in high school, and he has high hopes for the stadium at the conclusion of its rebuilding.

“It’s hard to compete with Oregon’s Hayward Field, but I imagine when they’re done, it will be one of the nicest track facilities in the United States, if not the nicest.”

***********************

BOYS AND GIRLS TRACK

Mt. SAC Relays
Saturday, April 18, 2015
At Mt. San Antonio College

BOYS RESULTS

100m – 1. Brock (Chaminade) 10:20; 2. Mack (Green Valley) 10.43; 3. Reid (Notre Dame/SO) 10.48

200m – 1. Mack (Green Valley) 21.11; 2. Smith (Damien) 21.32; 3. Woodard (Upland) 21.48

400m – 1. Campbell (Chaminade) 47.97; 2. Niederhaus (St. Francis) 48.33; 3. Repp (Los Osos) 48.38

800m – 1. Trevino (Centennial) 1:51.51; 2. Sotomayor (Roseville) 1:51.54; 3. Orange (Memphis University) 1:51.75

1600m (1 mile) – 1. Benedict (McQueen) 4:09.16; 2. Braxton (Centennial) 4:09.18; 3. Brandt (Loyola) 4:10.81

3200m – 1. Ernst (San Luis Obispo) 9:06.21; 2. Jakowec (Loyola) 9:12.20; 3. Williams (Carlsbad) 9:14.79

110HH – 1. Anderson (Upland) 13.69; 2. Billing (Simi Valley) 13.91; 3. Collins (Carson) 13.95

300IH – 1. Collins (Carson) 37.44; 2. Meech (San Juan Hills) 37.81; 3. Alexander II (Canyon Springs) 38.16

440SH relay – 1. Walnut 1:01.60; 2. Simi Valley 1:02.06; 3. Moorpark 1:03.36

400m relay – 1. Chaminade 41.16; 2. Upland 41.75; 3. Loyola 41.92

800m relay – 1. Cathedral 1:27.54; 2. Chaminade 1:28.21; 3. Centennial 1:29.05

1600m relay – 1. Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks 3:16.33; 2. Long Beach Wilson 3:17.0; 3. Cathedral 3:17.16

3200m relay – 1. Great Oak 7:37.09; 2. Davis 7:48.94; 3. Corona 7:49.05

6400m relay – 1. Palos Verdes 17:23.21; 2. Canyon 17:23.26; 3. Ventura 17:29.78

SMR – 1. Centennial 3:28.91; 2. Damien 3:30.21; 3. Rio Mesa 3:30.42

DMR – 1. Great Oak 10:05.35; 2. Westview 10:12.18; 3. Dana Hills 10:13.63

HJ – 1. Burke (Lemoore) 6-08; 2. Sears (Alemany) 6-08; 3. Clancy (Davis) 6-06

LJ – 1. Monroe (Cibola) 23-10.75; 2. Vann (Rio Mesa) 23-10.25; 3. Miller (Oceanside) 22-04.50

TJ – 1. Alumbres (Vista Murrieta) 48-02.50; 2. Young (Rancho Verde) 45-10.50; 3. McLaurin (Bonita) 45-06.25

PV – 1. French (Long Beach Cabrillo) 15-06; 2. Zapien (California) 15-0; 3. Harper (Davis) 15-0

SP – 1. Katnik (St. John Bosco) 66-06.5; 2. Bultman (West Ranch) 63-08.25; 3. Coghill (Valencia) 59-05.75

DT – 1. Pertusati (Los Osos) 192-08; 2. Hickel (Desert Vista) 181-03; 3. Valenzuela (La Quinta/LQ) 181-0

****************

GIRLS RESULTS

100m – 1. Francis (Rio Mesa) 11.45; 2. Williams (Oaks Christian) 11.46; 3. Acolatse (Mission Hills) 11.52

200m – 1. Williams (Oaks Christian) 23.19; 2. Francis (Rio Mesa) 23.61; 3. Acolatse (Mission Hills) 23.88

400m – 1. Stauffacher-Gray (North Canyon) 54.85; 2. Chandler (Santa Ynez) 55.23; 3. Willingham (Los Alamitos) 56.01

800m – 1. Jones (Desert Vista) 2:08.85; 2. Durgy (Huntington Beach) 2:11.70; 3. Magnani (Moorpark) 2:12.46

1600m (1 mile) – 1. Williams (Palisades Charter) 4:54.52; 2. Bowen (Sonoma Academy) 4:54.96; 3. Snyder (Park City) 4:59.39

3200m – 1. Graves (Citrus Valley) 10:39.05; 2. Lopez (Desert Vista) 10:48.20; 3. Zambrano (Bolsa Grande) 10:48.33

100HH – 1. Graham (Roosevelt) 13.29; 2. Williams (Serra) 13.69; 3. Mosley (Monrovia) 13.73

300IH – 1. Graham (Roosevelt) 41.92; 2. Woodward (Vacaville) 41.99; 3. Hale (St. Mary’s Academy) 42.65

400SH relay – 1. Carson 1:02.85; 2. Crescenta Valley 1:07.05; 3. Walnut 1:07.29

400m relay – 1. Long Beach Poly 46.02; 2. Upland 46.06; Eleanor Roosevelt 46.47

800m relay – 1. Long Beach Poly 1:38.76; 2. St. Mary’s Academy 1:39.19; 3. Arcadia 1:39.41

1600m relay – 1. Arcadia 3:48.90; 2. Cathedral Catholic 3:53.06; 3. Mira Costa 3:56.48

3200m relay – 1. Centennial 9:17.85; 2. Great Oak 9:19.23; 3. Dana Hills 9:21.17

6400m relay – 1. Great Oak 19:53.81; 2. Campolindo 20:07.23; 3. Palos Verdes 20:25.11

SMR – 1. Centennial 4:05.49; 2. Cathedral Catholic 4:05.81; 3. Great Oak 4:08.21

DMR – 1. Great Oak 11:46.92; 2. Saugus 11:48.18; 3. Campolindo 11:48.29

HJ – 1. Cunningham (Bishop Gorman) 6-04.50; 2. Lefebvre-Oatis (College Sainte-Anne) 5-10; T3. Palmer (Riverside North) 5-4; T3. Fritz (Desert Vista) 5-4

LJ – 1. Corrin (Harvard-Westlake) 20-08.5; 2. Jones (Redlands) 20-04; 3. Boardingham (El Camino Real) 19-04

TJ – 1. Stevenson (Great Oak) 40-03; 2. Jones (Castro Valley) 39-04.75; 3. Russell (Tumwater) 38-10.75

PV – 1. Baxter (Canyon) 12-06; T2. Caskey (Mater Dei) 12-0; T2. Davis (Desert Vista) 12-0

SP – 1. French (Vacaville) 46-08.75; 2. Britt (Notre Dame/SO) 45-11.25; 3. Tausaga (Mount Miguel) 45-00.75

DT – 1. Tausaga (Mt. Miguel) 137-09; 2. Hall (James Logan) 136-09; 3. Williams (Paramount) 135-08