SANTA ANA – The track and field team titles in the Trinity League had already been decided in regular-season dual meets.
That did not deter the athletes from lighting up the lanes in the Trinity League Finals at Mater Dei High on Friday night.
JSerra’s Andrew Burkhardt produced meet records in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. The Cal signee scorched the 3,200 record with a time of 9:01.62. Danny Martinez (St. John Bosco) had set the previous best time of 9:11.56 in 2012.
Burkhardt moved up to second in the county in the 3,200. He broke his own record in the 1,600 by clocking in at 4:10.80. Both were personal bests.
Rosary’s Becky Obinma took her racing to a new level. She completed the 100 in 11.95 seconds, becoming the first girl to run a sub 12-second time at the meet.
The sophomore was overcome with tears of joy after winning the race, and she would go on to set a personal best (24.92) to win the 200.
“I’m really excited,” Obinma said. “I’m so proud of myself. I wanted it so bad. I wanted to PR. It’s with the grace of God that I have completed it.”
The top-tier sprints trio of Keyon Riley (Servite), Mason Mitchell (Santa Margarita), and Jerry Fitschen (Orange Lutheran) was something to behold. Riley held them off at 48.88 seconds in the 400.
Mitchell came back victorious against Riley on the anchor leg of the 1,600 relay.
“It’s just fun competing against him,” Riley said of facing Mitchell. “It was sort of like a boxing match, going back-and-forth, punch-for-punch. If you wanted to come out on top, you had to go to a decision.”
The third-ranked Mater Dei girls went 4-0 in dual meets to win the Trinity League. Monarchs coach Rick Martinez said the goal Friday was to push through as many athletes as possible to the CIF-SS Prelims. Mater Dei dominated the jumps, claiming seven of the nine automatic bids.
Getting through to CIF has proved a challenge for the county’s top 400 relay teams. It was county No. 1 Servite that failed to advance Friday, as the Friars dropped the baton.
“It’s part of the sport,” Martinez said. “You have to be ready today. The main purpose is to qualify, and you can’t take it too lightly.
“We saw that with one of the best 4×100 teams in the county and CIF. They didn’t get the baton around, and unfortunately, that’s it for them.”
