05.08.08
south area meet highlights
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Smooth sailing
Ragans unleashes top state mark in discus; Centennial’s Alexander wins long, triple jumps
The Bakersfield Californian | Wednesday, May 7 2008 11:41 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 7 2008 11:57 PM
Foothill’s Dayshan Ragans wouldn’t have had a hard time convincing onlookers that his newly shaved head represented an increased focus for track and field’s postseason.
Ragans, after all, broke 200 feet in the discus for the first time in his career and then used a 60-31⁄2 throw in the shot put to become an impressive double winner at the CIF Central Section South Area meet Wednesday at Liberty.
But no, Ragans insisted, he had shaved his head for the most practical of reasons — to beat the heat.
“It’s just getting to that time where it’s too hot,” he said. “Just had lots of hair.” If that’s the case, the burly senior simply is finding his stride at the right time.
“Last week, I was having a rough practice,” Ragans said. “Stuff wasn’t clicking, I wouldn’t accomplish what I was expecting to accomplish. But I feel after this meet, I can finally do that.”
Saying the key was turning his right foot, Ragans unleashed a magnificent discus throw of 203-7, breaking his previous personal record by nearly 5 feet. The throw is easily the best in the state this year, and it set a South Area record, besting the 196-7 thrown by Bakersfield High legend Jeff Buckey in 1992.
Then Ragans survived a scare in the shot, where he fouled on his first two qualifying throws, prompting Trojans throwing coach Wayne Brewer to play it safe. Ragans didn’t wind up on his final qualifying chance, throwing from a standing position to earn a 54-foot mark — low by his standards, but easily enough to qualify for the finals. Then he hit 60 feet in the finals to move on to next week’s Central Section Grand Masters meet at Liberty.
“Really scary, because that hasn’t happened before,” Ragans said. “You get lucky every once in a while. I guess that was just luck.”
There was some drama over on the track, too, especially for those who stuck around for the 1,600-meter relays at the end of the meet.
Both the girls’ and boys’ races were classics, the kind of races that turn track and field rookies into instant fans.
In the girls’ race, Centennial beat nemesis Stockdale for the first time all season, earning the lead early, then losing it, then getting it back on a strong third leg from Alana Alexander. Bakersfield High joined the teams in a three-way race down the final stretch, with Centennial holding on for a victory in 4:05.35 — less than a second in front of Stockdale and only about three ahead of BHS.
“We exceeded our expectations today,” Centennial coach Ryan Renz said. “The kids really turned it up … Stockdale hasn’t lost that in a long time.”
The boys’ race might have been even better. This time, it was favored Liberty, BHS and Centennial racing for the win. Centennial stormed ahead early in the final leg, but Liberty’s Isiah Purvis — who also won the 200 and was second in the 400 — bided his time and pulled ahead in the final 100 meters.
Liberty’s time of 3:23.03 was less than a second ahead of Bakersfield and only 1.26 seconds in front of Centennial.
“Centennial came out of nowhere; I didn’t expect them,” said Purvis, who anchors a Liberty team with the top time in the section. “I just cruised off and got them at the end. I didn’t think anyone would attack me like that, coming out that fast, but I knew he was going to die eventually.”
The top four finishers in each event qualified for next week’s Masters, where they’ll join the top four from the Central and North areas and the top four from the South Sequoia (small school) meet.
Notable performances included:
Centennial’s Alexander, who set a PR in the long jump with an 18-3 and also won the triple jump in 37-8.75 before keying the relay victory. She also finished second in the 300 hurdles.
“I have a lot more expectations this year than last year,” Alexander said. “It’s just a matter of getting better by valley and hopefully PRing even more.”
Bakersfield continued its dominance of sprinting events, winning the boys’ 400 relay (42.43), girls’ 400 relay (49.67), boys’ 100 (Emanuel Turner, 10.80), girls’ 100 (Brushay Wandick, 12.32) and girls’ 200 (Wandick, 25.42).
In general, the Golden Hawks girls had a great day, placing 1-3-4 in the 800 (Ashlee Thomas won in 2:22.54), getting the surprising relay victory and sweeping the jumping events between Alexander and high-jump winner Jessica Crowe (5-0).
Stockdale freshman Alex Collatz already is showing off the versatility that her dad, Cal State Bakersfield track coach Alan Collatz, enjoyed in his career. Alex won the discus with a throw of 150-7 — 49 feet better than second place — and placed second in the triple jump.
Ridgeview finished 1-2 in the boys’ triple jump, with Chris Kelly the winner at 46-7.5 and freshman Johnny Carter second in 46-7.
Other double-winners were: Foothill’s Chris Schwartz, 4:28.72 in the boys’ 1,600 and 9:58.50 in the 3,200; and Frontier’s Taylor Jackson, 15.19 in the girls’ 100 hurdles and 44.81 in the 300 hurdles.
