A lot happened at the Orange County Championships at Mission Viejo on Saturday — too much to fit in one story.
Here are some things/stories from the sprints and distances that were worth noting from Saturday:
The boys 110-meter hurdles was a very competitive race. Four runners were running essentially side-by-side as the finish line approached.
Los Alamitos’ Tyler Rios was able to barely surge ahead of the group, mainly Santa Margarita’s Austin Tinsley, and went on to cross the finish line first with a time of 14.99.
“Once I hit that last hurdle, it was just a sprint to the finish line,” Rios said. “It was a close one, but I knew I had it. It was a real close race, real fun, too.”
Tinsley’s 15.01 landed him in second place, while Canyon’s Nathan Arellano finished third with a 15.04, followed closely by Edison’s AJ Beynon’s 15.05.
Woodbridge pulled off an upset in the boys 400-meter relay. The team, led by Gabe Warner, outlasted Mater Dei, as Curtis Godin put pressure on Woodbridge as the race was ending.
The Warriors held on, though, and finished in 42.21. The Monarchs finished in second with a 48.12. Woodbridge also won the 1,600-meter relay, claiming the county crown with a time of 3:20.49. Dana Hills hung tough with the Warriors, and came in second, 3:20.59.
Mater Dei’s Tara Radan ran a county-best 56.03 in the girls 400. Radan finished ahead of Mission Viejo’s Kennedy Gillian. Gillian would avenge the loss in the 200, though, when she squeaked by Radan with a 24.98 to Radan’s 25.00.
In the boys 400, Warner was the county leader coming into the race, but Corona del Mar’s Matt Hurst left as the county champion.
Hurst grabbed the lead from Warner late in the race and was able to push himself to victory.
“We’ve had a few races, he’s amazing,” Hurst said. “It’s always neck and neck,and he’s been edging me out. So I wanted to finally do it (beat him).”
Los Alamitos’ girls had an impressive day with Mackenna Howard winning both the shot put and discus.
Sara Limp won the girls 100-meter dash as well. Limp ran a 12.35 (NWI). The second-best mark in the girls 100 came from Irvine’s Rai Ahmed-Green, who ran her time, 12.60 (NWI) in an earlier heat.
The Griffins also had a third-place finish from Sara Bass in the 800, and Ashley Willingham in the 400.
Godin tied the meet record time, 10.53, in the boys 100. The competiton in that race drew a 10.71 out of Costa Mesa’s Quinton Bell, which is now the second best time in the county this season.
Edison’s Eamon Smythe outlasted Brea Olinda’s Autsin Tamagno in the boys 800 and took the county title with a 1:53.44.
