While Colusa County athletes made strong showings at the Northern Section CIF Finals at West Valley High School in Cottonwood last Friday, it wasn’t enough to advance to the state meet, and as a result brought their season to an end.
The lone local competitor in the women’s division was Williams sophomore Isabella Santillan, who despite running JV for most of the season, moved up to varsity for the Mid-Valley League and Division III championships, where she won both the 1600 and 3200 meter races.
In a three-week period, Santillan shaved 13 seconds off her 1600 time and 44 seconds off her 3200, posting to set personal records in both at the section finals.
Santillan ran a 5:55.66 in the 1600, which was good for 11th place, and crossed the line in 13:14.04 to finish seventh in the 3200.
Among the varsity boys, Pierce senior Alexis Palomares, the Sacramento Valley League and Division III 400 meter champion, finished third in a time of 52.44, while teammate junior Sebastian Ambriz, the SVL and Division III titleholder in the 200 meters, finished fourth with a mark of 23.30.
The Bears’ 4 x 100 relay team (44.50) also took fourth, finishing behind Pleasant Valley, Enterprise, and West Valley.
Colusa’s sole qualifier, senior Neo Harter (19.06) was seventh in the 110-meter hurdles, an event he only started competing in this season. ■
