04.26.08
foothill invite 2008
Going to great lengths
Ragans dominates Foothill Invitational with season-best 63-73/4 in shot put and 193-0 in discus
BY STEPHEN LYNCH, Special to The Californian | Friday, Apr 25 2008 11:19 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Apr 25 2008 11:49 PM
Frontier sophomore Matt Darr took his gray towel and briskly dusted the discus throwing circle at Friday’s Foothill Invitational Track and Field Meet.
Foothill High’s Dayshan Ragans puts the shot put Friday at the Foothill Track and Field Invitational. He won the event with a mark of 63-foot, 7-3/4-inch.
But it was Foothill’s Dayshan Ragans that swept away the competition, winning both the discus and shot put by beating out Darr and Bakersfield’s Collin Ellis.
Ragans won the shot with a season best mark of 63 feet, 73/4 inches before easily outdistancing his two biggest rivals and everyone else in the discus with a throw of 193-0.
“I felt like it was an excellent day in the shot,” Ragan said. “I came out there. I was ready to go. I had some big spin, big half turns, big warm-ups. Then I got in there and ended up throwing a 63. I expected to throw a 65 today but I guess things happen.”
Ragans topped his previous season best by three inches.
Darr finished second in the event with a personal best 53-1. His previous best was 50-5.
But it may have came with a price, as Darr finished third in the discus (156-8), well short of his season-best 180-5.
“I had a really good day in the shot put and I think it took a lot out of me and affected me in the discus,” Darr said.
Ellis set personal bests in both events. He finished second in the discus (167-5), topping his previous best by half an inch. He was third in the shot with a personal best 50-9.
Ragans fouled on his attempt in the discus before rebounding to finish with a throw about five feet shy of his personal best of 197-11.
“The discus was going kind of sloppy in the beginning,” Ragans said. “My first two throws were not so great…And then my third throw went over 180. On my last throw I wasn’t really doing technique. I was just trying to go for it and give it my all.”
Darr and Ellis give Ragans a reason to continue to give it his all.
“Me and the guys get along real good, Ragan said. “We push each other even though our marks are apart from each other. We still push each other. We still make other try to throw farther.”
Darr finds the strong competition beneficial too.
“It’s great,” Darr said. “Last year I was so overwhelmed. I through against Dayshan a few times and it was awesome to be in the same ring as him. Of course Collin Ellis is an excellent thrower too and we’ve always battled out.”
Boys results
PV–1. Woodard, Garces 12-6; 2. Valencia, Wasco 12-0; 3. Bussey, Foothill, 11-0; 4. Towery, Garces, 10-6; 100 hurdles– 1. Wemberly, Wasco, 16.52; 2. Williams, Arvin, 16.54; 3. Guiles, Tehachapi, 17.1; 4. Singh, Ridgeview 17.2; 5. Towery, Garces, 17.9; HJ–1. Leclair, Taft, 5-8; 2. Moreno, Highland, 5-4; 2. Williams, Arvin, 5-4; 4. Gapper, Garces, 5-2; 5. Moore, Ridgeview, 5-1; 100–1. Robertson, Ridgeview, 10.34; 2. Williams, Ridgeview, 10.39; 3. Esparanza, Delano, 10.8; 4. Roy, Highland, 11.0; 5. Cabalona, Delano, 11.2; TJ–1. Leclair, Taft, 42-2; 2. Flores, Taft, 41-5; 3. Strauss, Tehachapi, 41-1; 4. Williams, Arvin, 40-11; 5. Kolb, Taft 40-7; 300 hurdles– 1. Singh, Ridgeview, 42.5; 2. Williams, Arvin, 43.8; 3. Lopez, South, 44.4; 4. Hurtado, Highland, 45.6; 5. Olofson, Tehachapi, 46.1; SP– 1. Ragans, Foothill 63-73/4; 2. Dar, Frontier, 53-11/2; 3. Ellis, Bakersfield, 50-91/4; 4. Turrubiates, Bakersfield 48-7; 5. Austin, Highland, 47-53/4; Discus–1. Ragans, Foothill, 193-1/2; 2. Ellis, Bakersfield, 167-51/2; 3. Darr, Frontier, 156-8; LJ– 1. Leclair, Taft, 20-91/4; 2. Flores, Taft 20-41/4; 3. Andrade, Foothill 19-111/2; 4. Leon, Arvin, 18-91/4; 5. Richmond, Garces, 18-8; 3200– 1. Schwartz, Foothill, 10:01.5; 2. Solis, Ridgeview 10:33.0; 3. Sanchez, Tehachapi, 10:36.6; 4. Colditz, Tehachapi, 10:52.1; 5. Moreno, Tehachapi, 11:01.8
Girls results
100 hurdles–1. Jackson, Frontier, 15.8; 2. Ellis, Frontier, 17.9; 3. Fiorini, Garces, 18.2; 4. Swope, Taft 18.4; 5. Tafoya, Garces, 18.7; HJ–1. Ellis, Frontier, 4-0; 2. Blackshere, Ridgeview, 4-6; 3. Doak, Taft, 4-0; Vasquez, Arvin, 4-0; Espinoza, Taft, 4-0; 100–1. Herron, Highland, 12.90; 2. Alexander, South, 12.91; 3. Reed, Ridgeview, 13.01; 4. Fechner, Tehachapi, 13.35; 5. Christi, Tehachapi, 13.39; 300 hurdles–1. Jackson, Frontier, 47.2; 2. Peort, Frontier, 50.9; 3. Swope, Taft, 52.2, 4. Tafoya, Garces 52.3; 5. Lopez, Delano, 53.4; SP–1. Tuairau, Delano, 33-8; 2. Juarez, Foothill, 32-5; 3. Valencia, South, 31-8; 4. Tuuamalemalo, Taft, 31-6; 5. Luna, Delano, 30-11; Discus–1. Collatz, Stockdale 146-2; 2. Tuuamalemalo, Taft, 113-11; 3. Tuairu, Delano, 106-4; 4. Tafarrela, Stockdale, 100-3; 5. Valencia, South, 90-4; LJ–1. Campos, Taft, 15-21/2; 2. Espinoza, Taft 14-31/4; 3. Maduema, Tehachapi, 13-61/2; 4. Cortez, Foothill, 13-1; 5. Morales, Frontier, 12-91/2; 3200–1. Diaz, Delano, 12:23; 2. Fernandez, Foothill 12:29; 3. Guzman, Garces, 12:49; 4. Duran, Ridgeview, 13:29; 5. Lazo, Ridgeview, 13:38; PV–1. Doaks, Taft, 8-0; 2.Bascot, Taft, 7-0; 3. Tafoya, Garces, 6-6.
