By Loren Kopff
Eight individual athletes plus three relay teams competed in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Track and Field Divisional Finals last Saturday at Cerritos College. But only two finished above fifth place in their respective divisions and none were among the automatic qualifiers for the today’s Masters Meet.
Artesia senior Jaydon Logan finished in third place in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles for Division III with a time of 38.65. That was the 10th best mark out of 36 hurdlers with the top nine claiming the automatic advancement to the Masters Meet. Logan also competed in the 100 meter high hurdles and placed fifth with a time of 14.81.
In other track events, Gahr senior Anthony Alfaro, who was an alternate, ran the 1600 meter race in 4:18.14 while fellow senior teammates Jhamani Long and Meka Story competed in the 400 meter race and 100 meter dash with times of 48.68 and 12.30 respectively.
The Gahr girls 4 x 100 relay team finished in fifth place in Division III with a time of 48.75 while the boys 4 x 400 relay team ran a 3:26.85. The Whitney girls 4 x 400 relay team competed in Division IV and ran a 4:09.02.
In the field events, Valley Christian sophomore Ashley Dirksen competed in the long jump and triple jump where she had marks of 14’ 11 ½” and 33’ 9” respectively in Division IV. V.C. sophomore Maya Archer came in fourth place in the discus with a throw of 117’ 4” while V.C. junior Anthony Wesley had a mark of 20 feet in the long jump. The final area athlete, Artesia senior Julia Alvarez, did not place in the pole vault.
SWIMMING
Cerritos senior Angel Alcala picked up 27 points in two events in the first ever CIF State Swimming and Diving Championships last Saturday at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex. Alcala finished in third place in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 49.03 and came in eighth place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 48.93. The 27 points were tied for 27th place out of 84 schools that competed in the championships.
RECREATION SOFTBALL
The Cerritos Girls Softball Association 14-Under All Stars began the summer by capturing the championship of the Orange Canyon Memorial Day Classic. Cerritos defeated Santee 7-2 and Placentia/Yorba Linda 11-2 in pool play action last Saturday, then knocked off Charter Oak 11-2 in the finals this past Monday at Peralta Park. The game was cut short after five innings due to the mercy rule.
The Cerritos 8-Under All Stars lost to Rancho Trabuco 4-1 and Charter Oak 5-1 while the 10-Under All Stars fell to Orange Canyon 7-3 and Cypress 9-3 in pool play action last Saturday. Both teams would be eliminated by Santee in the first round of the playoffs this past Sunday.
All three CGSA teams will compete in the South Huntington Beach Tournament this weekend.