HUNTINGTON BEACH- Though the meets have differed in name and location over the season’s first four weeks, the victorious results put forth by Newport Harbor senior Marty Taylor have not.
Taylor won the shot put and discus titles for the fourth straight invitational Saturday at the Beach Cities Invitational at Huntington Beach High.
The state leader in the shot put entering the meet, Taylor set a new meet record with a winning distance of 59 feet, seven inches. That mark broke the previous record of 58-11¾ set by Dayshan Ragans of Foothill High of Bakersfield in 2007.
Later in the meet, Taylor recorded a throw of 174-4 to win the discus title.
Girls track and field: Edison’s Schaeffer soars at Beach Cities Invitational
“I was mentally prepared for some big throws and I feel really good,” Taylor said. “Winning is definitely helping my confidence, but I’m focused on the big meets coming up.”
Tustin senior Jacob Anderson was the county’s other two-event winner on Saturday. He grabbed a late lead and won the 110 hurdles in a time of 15.68. Later, he closed well down the stretch of the 300 hurdles to win in a time of 39.89.
“Both of those times are new PR’s for me and I thank my coaches for helping me,” Anderson said.
It was a stellar lifetime and county best effort for Mission Viejo senior Andrew Brown in the 800. Locked in close battle with Santa Margarita senior Jason Engel with 200 meters to go, Brown surged around the curve and down the final straightway to win in a county-leading time of 1:54.94.
“I feel that I have the potential to be a good athlete and I can’t wait to see what happens when I get some more speed training,” Brown said.
Engel would come back later in the meet to win the 1,600 in a time of 4:26.54.
Esperanza junior George Petsas held off a talented field to win the 200 in a wind-legal time of 22.46.
“I realized in the final 100 meters that I had to hold my technique and form because all those guys had strong finishes,” Petsas said.
Marina senior Paul Thenard has now won three straight invitational pole vault titles, as he cleared 15 feet Saturday. Santa Margarita junior Parker Curry cleared 14-6 to finish second.
Mission Viejo’s 400 relay team took home their fourth invitational win of the season, crossing the finish line in a time of 42.53. The Diablos (3:27.57) also claimed the 1,600 relay, edging Servite (3:27.61) who finished second.
Diablos junior Alex Suchesk ran a wind-legal 10.95 to win the 100, his third 100 invitational win this month.
“The focus for me was to keep my head down out of the blocks,” Suchesk said. “I didn’t feel that I started that well, but felt good in the back half of the race.”
Senior teammate Sage Stone won the high jump with a clearance of 6-6.
Marina junior Kyle Aube produced victory in the 3,200 in a time of 9:38.42, with Dana Hills junior Nick Van Vliet (50.23) winning the 400.
Mission Viejo (143.42) was the overall team winner of the meet. Dana Hills (76.85) and Servite (52½) rounded out the top three.
