COTTONWOOD, CA (MPG) – Pierce’s varsity boys track team continued its dominance over its Northern Section Division III opponents last Friday at West Valley High School when it came away with its third consecutive championship.
Despite some tough competition the Bears totaled 114 points and were able to hold off second place Trinity which accumulated 92.
Jonathan Vazquez Hernandez had a big day for Pierce winning the 100 and 200 meters in respective times of 11.45 and 23.80 in addition to taking third in the long jump with a mark of 20-03.75.
JR Figueroa took first in the 110 meter hurdles crossing the line in 16.40 then was second in the 300 meter hurdles with of time of 43.16, while Thomas Sweet posted a winning jump of 43-06.25 in the triple jump and finished second in long jump with a leap of 20-06.
Another triumph for the Bears was in the 4×100 relay, where the quartet of Nate Macintosh, Kashius Nunley, Noah Sucevich and Sweet, ran 43.93 their fastest time thus far.
Also garnering individual medals for Pierce was Nunley (11.72) who earned a silver in the 100 meters, along with Samuel Corona (52.96) with a bronze in the 400 meters and Joel Haro (40-10) who was third in the shot put.
For first year head coach Anthony Tapia, it was an enjoyable experience to watch his team continue the Bears’ winning tradition as he explained, “First, I’d like to give credit to the program I inherited from Lisa Burnum and Michael Barber. They helped set a standard for the team and our athletes knew what the expectations were and never waivered from the belief that they would come out victorious. They were focused, stayed positive and strategized on what they needed to do to win. I also really liked how they encouraged each other and came together. It’s exciting to be able to send athletes to compete against the section’s best.”
In addition to the Bears, Williams saw two athletes earn spots on the podium with Anthony Gonzalez racing to second and third in the 110 and 300 meter hurdles with subsequent times of 16.55 and 44.58, while Esteban Rodriguez (11.92) was third in the 100 meters.
Likewise, Colusa also had two athletes claim third place finishes including Mason Jennings (24.56) in the 200 meters and William Griffith (11:13.38) in the 3200.
Meanwhile, in the varsity girls division, the RedHawks fell short to CORE Butte, despite some strong individual performances.
Kendall Marengo continued to shine picking up wins in the 100 and 200 meters with respective times of 13.04 and 26.41 in addition to anchoring Colusa’s first place 4×100 relay team which also included Shaheen Orr, Peyton Miller and Itzel Cruz to a team record time of 49.59.
Another RedHawk gold medal came from Abby Coronado who uncorked a personal best toss of 101-02 in the discus.
Yet, there were plenty more strong performances from the Colusa girls, starting with Cruz, who ran a personal best 1:01.92 to take second in the 400 meters, then took third in the 200 finishing in a time of 27.38, while Miller (13.25) earned silver in the 100 meters and Baylee Guizar (28-04.75) took home a bronze in the shot put.
For the fifth place Pierce girls, Lyla Maldonado (2:38.12-PB) was second in the 800 meters, Areliz Martinez (95-10-PB) was third in the discus and Ashley Jensen (33-06-PB) earned bronze in the triple jump.
A small contingent of Williams girls made some noise as well, with Daisy Ruiz (17:00) crossing the line second in the 100 meter hurdles and Lucia Vidrio-Mederos (2:42.14) coming in third in the 800 meters.
Those with qualifying times and marks return to West Valley High School on May 22 for the CIF Northern Section Finals.