CHICO, CA (MPG) – Pleasant Valley High School’s Asgard Yard served as the backdrop for 24 track and field teams competing at the Vern Regier Invitational hosted by the Colusa RedHawks last Friday afternoon.
Regier, a longtime teacher, administrator and coach in the Colusa Unified School District in addition to being a decorated USA Track and Field Masters athlete, passed away in 2020 at the age of 92, but the passion he displayed for the sport lives on at the annual meet.
In the varsity girls’ division, Williams’ Daisy Ruiz had a record-breaking day, winning the 100-meter hurdles in a personal best time of 16.55 to eclipse the school record of 16.6, which had been held by Margie Manor since 1987.
Colusa, which was third in the overall standings behind West Valley and Orland, made a strong showing in the sprints with Kendall Marengo taking first in the 200 after crossing the line in a time of 26.73 and was second in the 100 with a 13.05, the fastest of her career thus far.
Itzel Cruz won the 400 meters finishing in 1:03.19 and was third in the 200 with a 27.22, while at distance, Eloise Guerrero claimed third in the 3200 with a personal best effort of 14:06.47.
For Pierce, Lyla Maldonado (1:05.57) took third in the 400-meter race.
Meanwhile on the boys’ side, the Bears secured second place in the team competition with eight top three finishes.
Nate Mcintosh was third in the 100 and 200 with respective marks of 11.66 and 23.70, then anchored the 4 x 100 relay team that also included Noah Sucevich, Kashius Nanley and Jonathan Vasquez Hernandez, which finished second in a team record time of 44.44.
Pierce’s JR Figueroa was second in both the 110- and 300-meter hurdles with subsequent times of 16.57 and 42.86-PB, while in the discus, Joel Haro also took second with a personal best toss of 134-3.
As for the Yellowjackets, Phillip Santillan (11:17.72) ran his fastest career time in the 3200 and Rafael Moreno ran a personal best of 44.21 to take fourth in the 300-meter hurdles and in the process broke a school record set by Pedro Boites back in 2008.
Colusa’s Emi Guzman was the lone RedHawk boy to make the podium, running a personal best 53.39 en route to a second-place finish in the 400 meters.
All local teams are back in action on Friday with Pierce and Williams making their way to Cottonwood for West Valley’s Eagle Classic Relays, while Colusa and Maxwell head to Butte College for the Durham Invitational.