06.21.08
Posted in Profiles, Athletes, Schools, Kern Track Results, Foothill, Shafter, Taft, North, Golden Valley, Liberty, Stockdale, Centennial, South, Rankings, Track, Garces, Frontier, Burroughs, Bakersfield, Bakersfield Christian at 7:04 am by Administrator
2008 All-Area girls track and field selections
The Bakersfield Californian | Friday, Jun 20 2008 8:35 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jun 20 2008 8:51 PM
Athlete of the Year
ANNA JELMINI
Shafter, junior
– Dominated California with 169-4 discus and 48-3.5 shot put throws
– Could have won both state championships with any of her shot throws and three of her discus throws
– Despite the state’s best competition, easily won area and section meets
– Fired a 183-11 at Salinas for a provisional Olympic Trials qualifying mark
ALANA ALEXANDER
Centennial, junior
– Qualified for state finals in long jump and triple jump, finishing seventh and ninth
– Central Section champion in triple jump with 38-3.75
– Was top three in four different Southwest Yosemite League events: third in 100 hurdles, second in 300 hurdles, long jump and triple jump champion
ALEX COLLATZ
Stockdale, freshman
– Perhaps area’s most versatile athlete, she qualified for state in discus and triple jump
– Finished fourth in state discus finals with throw of 150-3
– Best discus mark of 159-4 ranked in nation’s top 10 and was No. 8 freshman throw in state history
– Ended state triple-jump run in 17th place
TAYLOR JACKSON
Frontier, sophomore
– Dominated hurdles in Kern County, with best time in 100 and 300 by nearly a second
– Was second in 300 hurdles and third in 100 hurdles at section meet and finished in state’s top 25 in both
– Double champion at league and area meets
AMANDA KLINCHUCH
Liberty, junior
– Area’s premier pole vaulter cleared season-best 11-6 at Central Section meet, finishing second in a vault-off
– Hit 11-3 in state prelims to finish in a tie for 13th, one spot from a vault-off for the finals
– Won South Area meet by nearly three feet
KAYLA KOVAR
Burroughs, junior
– Threw better than 150 in discus five times at state meet, finishing third with 154-10 in finals
– Finished second in Southern Section with 153-1
– Season-high throw of 157-8 in state prelims ranks top 10 in nation
ASHLEE THOMAS
Centennial, senior
– South Area champion in 800 and second in 400
– Fourth in section in 800 (2:19.77) and seventh in 400 (58.90)
– Southwest Yosemite League champion in both events
CAREY TUUAMALEMALO
Taft, senior
– Qualified for state meet in discus with 130-9 throw at section meet
– Finished 13th in state prelims with 128-1 throw
– Led Wildcats to South Sequoia League team title with top-three finishes in both throwing events
BRUSHAY WANDICK
Bakersfield, junior
– Triple champion at area meet, winning 400 relay, 100 and 200
– After narrowly missing state in 400 relay and 100 (fourth in both), finished third in 200 meters in 24.69
– Finished 21st in state, running a 25.60Second team
SECOND TEAM
Shanea Anderson, Stockdale
Sarah Baker, Bakersfield
Candace Carlson, North
Shinead McDonald, Bakersfield
Melissa Merrill, Bakersfield Christian
Monica Morley, Centennial
Cassandra Salazar, Shafter
Erica Wilcox, Liberty
HONORABLE MENTION
Boron: Morgan Frier
Foothill: Natalie Fernandez
Frontier: Kirby Ellis, Halle Meadows
Garces: Monica Guzman, Kelly Hosey, Victoria Riley
Golden Valley: Shanesha Epps
Rosamond: Jasmine Moore
South: Candice Nichols
Stockdale: Jenise Anderson
Taft: Bryanna Bacot
Shafter’s Jelmini named All-Area Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year
BY ZACH EWING, Californian staff writer
zewing@bakersfield.com | Friday, Jun 20 2008 10:33 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jun 20 2008 10:53 PM
Everything Anna Jelmini did this year — from the undefeated season to the 183-11 discus throw to, of course, the double state championship — can be traced back to a crowded, noisy Body Xchange gym on Calloway Drive and the next set of weights.
“Every time it got hard,” Jelmini said, “I thought of the state meet. Then I kept working harder.”
That singular determination in the fall made the spring’s competitions a formality. Jelmini went unbeaten — and never really was tested — in winning state championships in the shot put and discus.
The Shafter junior, who single-handedly lifted the Generals to fourth place in the state, is an easy choice for The Californian’s Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Jelmini herself can tell you how dominant she was with a story of how other throwers treated her — if you don’t mind her blushing.
“Everyone was really nice, and they’re like, ‘If you want to see real throwing, look at her,’” Jelmini said. “It sounds weird hearing them say that.”
Competitors so impressed they turned into fans? Yowza.
“I didn’t expect to come out and dominate right away; I had to work after it,” Jelmini said. “But once I was up there, I just continued to work to stay up there.”
“Up there” meant having top-5 marks nationally in both events, and, after a mid-season trip to Salinas, the No. 1 mark in the discus, a spectacular 183-11 that sent her into the Central Section record books and allows her to compete in this month’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore.
“It was unreal,” Jelmini said of the big throw. “It was amazing. I was like, ‘Was that me? Did that really go that far?’”
Salinas is famous for its windy discus arena, often propelling throwers to big marks, but Jelmini is no fluke. She won the state discus crown with a throw of 169-4 (no one within eight feet) and the shot put title with a 48-3.5 (winner by more than five feet). She had a discus throw well past 180 at state, but it was a foul by inches.
“She is very athletic, she’s very responsive, she picks things up well and she’s very quickly able to adjust,” Shafter throwing coach Matt Godbehere said.
Godbehere or his wife, former Bakersfield High and UCLA great Dawn Dumble, have been coaching Jelmini since she was in grade school. After she finished fourth in the discus and seventh in the shot at last year’s state finals, he primed for a breakout junior season.
“We sat down last summer and discussed goals and how we were going to get there,” Godbehere said. “Based on that conversation, we set a schedule for training. … Numbers I wanted in the weight room that I was shooting for this time of year, she was doing it in the fall.
“From the get-go, she stayed way ahead of the curve. It was exciting.”
Now, Jelmini has bigger meets in mind than even the state. She won the discus Friday at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio, and will compete in the shot put today. Next is the World Junior Championships July 8-13 in Poland — and the Olympic trials.
When she’s done with that, she’ll come back to Shafter, Bakersfield and Body Xchange and continue working on a career that already has her on the short list of Kern County greats.
“It seems like those other people are on a whole different pedestal,” Jelmini said. “But it’s pretty cool that I’m up there with them.”
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06.18.08
Posted in Schools, SEYL, Foothill, North, East, Golden Valley, Liberty, Stockdale, Centennial, SWYL, South, Ridgeview, Frontier, Noise Flash!!!, Bakersfield at 10:40 pm by Administrator
Boys track and field
Southeast Yosemite League
Track Athlete of the Year: Chris Schwartz, Foothill
Field Athlete of the Year: Dayshan Ragans, Foothill
First team
Isaiah Purvis, Liberty; Emanuel Turner, Bakersfield; Kevin Norwood, Golden Valley; Eddie Morrow, East; Collin Ellis, Bakersfield
Southwest Yosemite League
Track Athlete of the Year: Anthony Mitchell, North
Field Athlete of the Year: Chris Kelly, Ridgeview
First team
Matt Darr, Frontier; Johnny Carter, Ridgeview; Cody Gragg, North; Daniel Lozano, Stockdale; Steve Silva, Stockdale
Girls track and field
Southeast Yosemite League
Track Athlete of the Year: Brushay Wandick, Bakersfield
Field Athlete of the Year: Shanesha Epps, Golden Valley
FIRST TEAM
Erica Wilcox, Liberty; Natalie Fernandez, Foothill; Sarah Baker, Bakersfield; Amanda Klinchuch, Liberty; Shinaed McDonald, Bakersfield
Southwest Yosemite League
Track Athlete of the Year: Taylor Jackson, Frontier
Field Athlete of the Year: Alana Alexander, Centennial
FIRST TEAM
Alex Collatz, Stockdale; Candace Nichols, South; Candace Carlson, North; Ashlee Thomas, Centennial; Shanea Anderson, Stockdale
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06.08.08
Posted in Invitationals, Schools, Results, Kern Track Results, Track Meets, Foothill, Results, Stockdale, Ridgeview, Burroughs, Noise Flash!!! at 7:44 pm by Administrator
complete results HERE
meet website HERE
Event 25 Boys Triple Jump -A Section
===============================================================================
Name Year School Finals Wind
===============================================================================
1 CHRISTIAN TAYLOR GA,Sandy Creek High 15.53m 0.6 50-11.50
14.25m(+0.0) 15.19m(0.6) 15.14m(-0.0) 15.44m(-0.0) 15.45m(0.6) 15.53m(0.6)
2 KASEN COVINGTON 11 ID,Capital High Sch 14.75m NWI 48-04.75
14.19m(0.7) 14.14m(+0.0) 14.75m(-0.0) FOUL 14.51m(-0.0) FOUL
3 JOSH BUTLER 11 NV,Damonte Ranch 14.55m 0.6 47-09.00
14.12m(0.8) 14.55m(0.6) 13.88m(-0.0) FOUL FOUL FOUL
4 DUKE WILLIAMS NV,Hug High school 14.49m 0.6 47-06.50
14.18m(0.7) 14.49m(0.6) 13.71m(-0.0) 13.78m(-0.0) FOUL 14.33m(-0.0)
5 CHAD JONES 11 CA,Bishop O’ Dowd 14.29m 1.1 46-10.75
14.29m(1.1) 13.74m(+0.0) 13.84m(+0.0) 13.25m(-0.0) FOUL 13.91m(-0.0)
6 PHILIP BURKS CA,Royal High Schoo 14.11m NWI 46-03.50
14.08m(0.8) 13.82m(+0.0) 14.11m(-0.0) 13.93m(-0.0) 13.99m(-0.0) FOUL
7 RYAN SWAFFORD JR 12 CA,Vista Murrieta H 14.07m NWI 46-02.00
13.36m(0.8) 13.93m(+0.0) 13.85m(-0.0) 13.85m(-0.0) FOUL 14.07m(-0.0)
8 GARY ELLIS 12 GA,Collins Hill Hig 14.03m 0.7 46-00.50
14.03m(0.7) 13.83m(+0.0) FOUL 13.81m(-0.0) 13.67m(-0.0) FOUL
9 JOHNNY CARTER 9 CA,Ridgeview 13.60m +0.0 44-07.50
Event 27 Boys Discus Throw -A Section
==========================================================================
Name Year School Finals
==========================================================================
1 JORDAN CLARKE 12 AK,Bartlett High Sc 62.17m 204-00
50.81m 56.24m FOUL FOUL 62.17m FOUL
2 COLIN QUIRKE 12 CA,Los Gatos 55.81m 183-01
55.81m 51.55m 52.23m 54.42m 55.76m 52.56m
3 MATT DARR 10 CA,Frontier High Sc 54.87m 180-00
Event 33 Boys Shot Put -A Section
==========================================================================
Name Year School Finals
==========================================================================
1 JORDAN CLARKE 12 AK,Bartlett High Sc 19.77m 64-10.50
FOUL 19.38m FOUL 19.77m 19.73m FOUL
2 COLIN QUIRKE 12 CA,Los Gatos 18.95m 62-02.25
17.77m FOUL FOUL 17.94m FOUL 18.95m
3 MICHAEL CARDINAL 12 ID,Blackfoot High S 17.13m 56-02.50
16.53m 17.13m FOUL 16.47m 16.79m 17.06m
4 LEVKIV ANDREY 11 WA,Hazen 17.01m 55-09.75
15.73m 16.84m 17.01m 15.45m FOUL FOUL
5 DANE CHOBANIAN CA,Scripps Ranch Hi 16.95m 55-07.50
16.95m 16.64m 15.72m FOUL 15.84m FOUL
6 MATT DARR 10 CA,Frontier High Sc 16.84m 55-03.00
Event 65 Girls Discus Throw -A Section
==========================================================================
Name Year School Finals
==========================================================================
1 JESSICA SHARBONO 10 MT,Billings West Hi 47.99m 157-05
41.44m 47.99m 34.63m 45.34m FOUL 41.81m
2 ALEX COLLATZ 9 CA,Stockdale H.S. 47.73m 156-07
42.45m 47.73m FOUL 42.41m 45.34m 42.98m
3 KAYLA KOVAR 11 CA,Burroughs High S 45.84m 150-05
41.58m 45.84m FOUL 44.94m 43.20m 40.10m
Event 71 Girls Shot Put -A Section
==========================================================================
Name Year School Finals
==========================================================================
1 KATIE EVANS 11 MO,Putnam County HS 13.38m 43-10.75
12.54m FOUL 13.38m FOUL 13.16m 13.24m
2 SARAH BELLA 12 CA,West Morris Mend 13.25m 43-05.75
FOUL 13.25m 12.92m 13.02m 12.34m 13.21m
3 BROOKE GRITTERS 11 IA,Pella Community 13.04m 42-09.50
11.40m FOUL 12.80m 13.04m 12.68m 12.63m
4 SHANNON WATT 11 NJ,Jackson Memorial 12.21m 40-00.75
11.56m 11.22m 12.10m FOUL 12.20m 12.21m
5 JACKIE AH LOO 12 CA,St. Mary’s High 12.02m 39-05.25
11.22m 11.89m 10.74m FOUL 11.39m 12.02m
6 KAYLA KOVAR 11 CA,Burroughs High S 11.48m 37-08.00
11.22m 11.48m FOUL FOUL FOUL FOUL
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06.03.08
Posted in Schools, Foothill, North, East, Centennial, West, Noise Flash!!! at 7:59 am by Administrator
Independence, whose nickname is the Falcons, will open in the fall in southwest Bakersfield. Bill Parviainen for boys and girls cross country (West). Jason Henry (East) will be the school’s first throwing coach in track and field. The other track coaches have not yet been announced.
Mira Monte High School Track and Field: Wayne Brewer attended CSUB on a track scholarship and was a 3 time Division II National qualifier in the shot and discus. He has coached at North High and Foothill High.
Also Randy Jones of Centennial is retiring from coaching this year. His programs were always top notch and this past fall both his teams won valley in cross country. Plus I believe his 800 record (North High) survived the Anthony Mitchell onslaught this season. I know I and many others will miss this great coach.
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06.01.08
Posted in Profiles, Athletes, Schools, Championships, State, Kern Track Results, Track Meets, Foothill, Noise Flash!!! at 11:17 am by Administrator
Foothill senior answers call with roar heard ’round Cerritos College
BY ZACH EWING, Californian staff writer
e-mail:zewing@bakersfield.com | Saturday, May 31 2008 11:39 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, May 31 2008 11:55 PM
Dayshan Ragans used a few bunny hops to dispel some early drama on championship Saturday. He saved the dancing for later, when his double state championship was sealed.
Foothill’s Dayshan Ragans lets it all out as he twirls following his state-winning throw in the shot put Saturday afternoon.
Ragans took his last throw Saturday to something he may have never heard before — wild cheering from his competitors in the event. With the title already in hand, they wanted to see him launch a monster throw, and he obliged with a toss over 203 feet.
With the CIF State Track and Field State Championships at Cerritos College under way for less than an hour, Ragans was locked in a tense shot put battle, the favorite from Foothill actually trailing Los Gatos’ Colin Quirke’s 62-foot throw by about eight inches.
“Oh man,” Ragans said later with a laugh. “That one was not going very well at the beginning.”
With Foothill throwing coach Wayne Brewer urging him on, Ragans, a burly senior headed to Cal State Bakersfield next year, answered the call. He unleashed a screaming 62-10 that gave him the lead and left him bouncing in the ring.
But Ragans wasn’t out of the woods. Quirke threw a 63-6 in the preliminaries Friday.
“It’s such a mental sport,” Brewer said. “You never know what can happen, especially with that kid, Colin. You never know what he’s going to do.”
The tension wasn’t released until Quirke’s final throw — and the final throw of the competition — resulted in a foul and gave Ragans a state championship to cap his high school career.
“I’m thinking, ‘Oh man, I screwed up, and he’s gonna pop a 63, 64 and win it,’” Ragans said. “To my surprise, he didn’t have such a good throw, and I’m like, ‘Did he just foul? Did I just win?’”
Ragans added a second, more lopsided victory and state title in the discus. He had about a three-foot lead with an early 196-10, but that was a subpar throw — for him — that might have soured the state title a little.
No problem. Ragans, who normally only screams when he lets a shot put go, took the advice of one of his defeated competitors and screamed on his last discus throw to the tune of a 202-6.
“I’m kind of speechless,” Brewer said. “It’s one of those things coaches dream about.”
He’s the first male in California to pull off the shot-discus double championship, and, along with Chris Scwartz’s second-place finish in the 3,200 meters, gave Foothill 28 team points and a fourth-place finish in state.
Ragans’ championships conclude a career that has several marvelous story lines.
First, he’s continued the line of Kern County greats in throwing. A list of names like Jeff Buckey, Van Mounts and Leon Patterson must now also include Ragans.
“It’s good to be up there, and it’s good to bring that state title back to Bakersfield,” he said. “It’s been coming back to my head more and more: I want to be on that list too.”
The other story line is how Ragans has defied the odds to get to this point. He comes from a nearly broken home, one that has struggled with finances and drugs and one from which he’s used throwing to distance himself. He started throwing as a freshman and might have won a state title last season, but he fouled out in the shot put finals and settled for second in the discus.
“It’s been a long three years,” Brewer said. “There’s been a lot of obstacles to overcome. To finally be here and be put in this situation, everything just came together. It was a perfect situation.”
This year, everything came up roses. Even Ragans’ grade-point average for his final quarter of school was a 3.5, his highest ever. And his two gold medals, up on the podium at Falcon Stadium in front of a throng of 10,712? Those look pretty good, too.
“That was a little embarrassing, because I’m a shy person,” Ragans said. “That’s a lot of people cheering. I was like, ‘Hey, did I do that?’ But I feel honored. So honored.”
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Posted in Schools, Championships, State, Kern Track Results, Track Meets, Foothill, Results, Shafter, North, Centennial, Ridgeview, Burroughs, Noise Flash!!! at 10:02 am by Administrator
Foothill’s Schwartz has a great view of history
BY ZACH EWING , Californian staff writer
zewing@bakersfield.com | Saturday, May 31 2008 11:39 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, May 31 2008 11:41 PM
NORWALK — It was just like any of the other distance races Foothill junior Chris Schwartz has won this season.
He played along with the front-runners for most of the race, had a big kick in the final lap and then held off any challengers.
The only problem this time: German Fernandez, the distance machine from Riverbank, was nearly half a lap ahead of Schwartz shattering a national high school record.
“He’s insane,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz finished a distant second in the boys 3,200 meters race at the CIF Track and Field State Championships on Saturday despite a personal-record time of 8:58.50.
“I felt like I could have done better,” Schwartz said. “But I ended with the best I did this year. Next year, I’m definitely going to go for it.”
Doing Kern County proud
Schwartz’s performance gave Foothill 28 team points and momentarily placed it first in the boys team race with just two events to go.
The Trojans finished fourth — Compton-Dominguez (36 points), Long Beach-Poly (32) and Los Gatos (32) passed them after the pole vault and 1,600 relay were completed — but it was still part of a memorable Kern County showing.
Between Anna Jelmini of Shafter, Dayshan Ragans of Foohill, and Ridgeview’s Johnny Carter, the county brought home nearly one-sixth of the state’s titles, a great result for a county that makes up roughly two percent of California’s population.
Add to those five titles Schwartz’s second place, two thirds, a fourth and a fifth.
Shafter’s girls finished fourth in the girls race because of Jelmini’s championships in the throwing events. Long Beach-Poly won the girls title with 39 points, followed by San Jose-Mount Pleasant with 30 and Oakland-St. Elizabeth with 26.
Mitchell’s lead evaporates
For a few seconds in the first lap of the boys 800, North’s Anthony Mitchell pulled out ahead of a fast-paced race, showing the state what he could do. But it was only a few seconds.
Mitchell faded around the 400-meter mark and couldn’t make up ground in the second lap. He was able to hold off L.A.-Loyola’s Elias Gedyon for fifth place, finishing in 1:54.01. Charles Jock of San Diego-Mission Bay won the race in 1:51.64.
Coming up inches — actually less than an inch — short of the podium was Centennial’s Alana Alexander, who finished seventh in the long jump with a mark of 18-4.5. That was a quarter of an inch behind sixth-place Jackae Bridges of Santa Ana-Mater Dei. The top six in each event were given medals.
Alexander fouled her first and last attempts in the triple jump, thought to be her stronger event, and finished ninth of the nine finalists with a 37-2.
Fleetest of foot
Of all the spectacular shows put on at the state meet, the two that had half the crowd of 10,712 talking on cell phones afterwards were Christine Babcock of Irvine-Woodbridge and Fernandez in the 1,600.
Babcock won her race in the first lap, then began to pull away. The crowd rose to a crescendo as she began her last lap, a national high school record easily a possibility. At that point, she picked up the pace even more, finishing in an unbelievable 4:33.82 — a full 4.5 seconds better than the previous national record.
Not to be outdone, Riverbank phenom Fernandez quickly left his competition in the dust. The crowd, still abuzz from Babcock’s run, tasted another record. Fernandez missed it by about three-quarters of a second, his 4:00.29 just slower than a 3:59.51 ran by Alan Webb (South Lakes, Va.) in 2001.
Fernandez’s seemingly endless energy left him enough to power past the field in the 3,200, maybe an even more astounding performance. His 8:34.23 crushed the previous national high school record of 8:41.10. And — get this — he still had enough energy to take a lap around Falcon Stadium before his medal ceremony to give some newfound fans high fives.
BY A HAIR: Just before Babcock and Fernandez ran at their records in the 1,600, Long-Beach Poly held off a charging Compton-Dominguez team by one-hundreth of a second, 41.26 to 41.27 in the boys 400 relay.
There was another spectacular finish at the end, with San Luis Obispo-Mission Prep’s Jordan Hasay holding off Davis’ Laurynne Chetelat by less than a half-second in the 3,200, 9:52.13 to 9:52.51. Both times bested the old meet record.
The other meet record that fell came in the boys pole vault, where Los Gatos’ Nico Weiler cleared 17-3.
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Posted in Schools, Championships, State, Kern Track Results, Foothill, Ridgeview, Noise Flash!!! at 12:08 am by Administrator
i have a weird knack for being in the right place at the right time at track meets that is. i wish i was a better writer so i could tell the stories better.
but hey, the state cif officials said i am not a media outlet and that i lack orginal content so i should live up to their 1 minute appraisal of the value of my blog.
anyways, it is late and i need to hit the sheets but i wanted to write down a brief summary of what i mean by ”right place right time”.
on friday, i park at the state meet and who gets out of the car next to me? german and his coach! i walk behind them all the way into the meet. i took some photos and even talked to his coach. his coach was asking aloud about who advance in the 1600 and i chimed in what i thought was correct.
i thought it was amusing that he evened wanted to know being that german was a lock. (btw his 4 flat in the 1600 was amaing.) plus his coach asked about bakersfield’s interest and reaction to german’s running. i guess the t-shirt my athletes gave him says it all.
other cool things that happen was i sat in the stands next alex kosinski’s coaches and heard some interesting info about her great season last year.
on saturday, i walk in just in time to find a spot to watch the shot right next to ragan’s coach. it was wonderful to see this great kid win!
then during the 3200, i stand at the homestretch turn and schwartz’s family and coaches end up watching the race right next to me. so glad chris broke nine and got second. so nice to see his mom and coaches watch him do so well. another great kid too!
then i walk over to find my team and get a ringside seat to the jordan post race interview (another great race!) and took the photo of german wearing my athlete’s tshirt.
lastly, as i am walking out, i see the ridgeview coach and his amazing freshman triple jumper enjoying the win of a lifetime!
this is just a few amazing things that i stumbled into. i hope to write more about these RpRt moments later on and others but i got to get some sleep.
oh and photos and videos are being loaded asap, so ceck back later and please support my sponsers too!
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05.31.08
Posted in Profiles, Coaches, Athletes, Schools, Championships, State, Kern Track Results, Track Meets, Foothill, Results, Shafter, North, Stockdale, Ridgeview, Burroughs, Noise Flash!!! at 11:40 pm by Administrator
Local throwers take center stage at State Track qualifying
BY ZACH EWING, Californian staff writer, e-mail: zewing@bakersfield.com | Friday, May 30 2008 11:19 PM
Last Updated: Friday, May 30 2008 11:23 PM
NORWALK — It was Kern County’s own little game of “Can you top this?” right here at the wide world of the CIF State Track and Field Championships outside Falcon Stadium at Cerritos College.
Kayla Kovar of Burroughs High was one of three Kern County girls to qualify for today’s state finals at Cerritos College.
Burroughs junior Kayla Kovar started things off Friday with an impressive discus toss of 147 feet, 10 inches. Shafter’s Anna Jelmini, the state’s leader in the event, calmly took the lead with a 155-9 — mediocre by her lofty standards. Then Stockdale freshman Alex Collatz threw in a 150-10.
“It’s pretty cool,” Kovar said. “It’s amazing, because you hardly ever see three girls from the same county do so well.”
Things got really interesting when Kovar unleashed a personal record 157-8 with her final throw — and taking the lead on the second-to-last throw of the day.
The last belonged to Jelmini — and she wasn’t about to go into today’s state finals with anything but the top seed. So she arced out a beautiful 166-4 to reclaim her spot atop the leader board.
“I had in my mind what I needed to do before she went,” Jelmini said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, she passed me, I need to pass her right now.’ … But I kind of keep in my mind what everybody else is doing. I like it when other people are coming close to me. It just pumps me up more.”
Or, as Kovar said with a laugh: “Anna’s very competitive. She didn’t (say anything), but I could just tell.”
When the dust settled, three of the top four throwers in the event were from Kern County, not to mention Taft’s Carey Tuuamalemalo, who finished 13th. The top nine in each event advance to the finals, which begin at 2 p.m. today for field events and at 4 p.m. for running events.
Jelmini also reached the shot put final on just one throw, a 47-1 that beat anyone else by more than four feet. She has the state’s best mark by a wide margin in both throwing events.
“The marks don’t even count (today); they just get erased,” Jelmini said. “So I just passed on those last two. I did what I needed to do.”
Also into the finals is Foothill’s Dayshan Ragans, who took it easy on qualifying day. He threw a 60-2 on his first throw in the shot, then passed on his final two to qualify in third.
In the discus, he forgot to change his shoes and missed nearly all of his warm-up time, but then tied his PR with a 203-7 on his first throw.
“I was standing in line (for warmups), I look down, and someone says, ‘You’re throwing in New Balances?’” Ragans said. “I was like, ‘Oh. My. God.’ That’s exactly what I said. So I ran all the way down to the fence and changed my shoes and … had like four minutes left to warm up.”
The forgetfulness didn’t cause Ragans any problems. After his big first throw and a foul on his second, Ragans passed on the third to rest up for today.
“Throwing takes so much out of you mentally and physically,” Foothill throwing coach Wayne Brewer said. “There’s no reason to wear yourself out when you’ve already qualified.”
Inside the stadium, in front of 8,542, Centennial’s Alana Alexander also reached the finals in two events. In one, the triple jump, she came with the fourth-best seed and reached the final in eighth place (38-1).
The other, the long jump, was a bit more of a surprise. Alexander had the 22nd seed and was nowhere to be found on the list of top-25 marks in the state this year. But Alexander, jumping in the first heat, put up an 18-1 that stood up in eighth place.
Also in the jumping pit, Ridgeview’s Johnny Carter and Chris Kelly qualified with the exact same mark — 47-10.5, tying them for fifth heading to the finals.
“It’s kind of strange that we would get the same mark,” said Carter, a freshman who entered with the top seed. “But I’m happy with what I did today. I was real nervous through the whole process. I should come out better (in the finals).”
The happenings on the track weren’t nearly so prosperous for the Bakersfield area, at least until North’s Anthony Mitchell took off his jacket. Not a single local runner qualified until Mitchell won his heat in the 800. That performance, a 1:53.77, will give him the No. 2 seed in the finals. He had the eighth-best time in the state coming in.
“I could see myself winning it,” Mitchell said. “We’re all right there. It could be anybody’s race.”
He will be in one of only two races that involve locals today. The other is the boys 3,200, where there is no qualifying and where Foothill’s Chris Schwartz carries the third-best time in the state.
But while Mitchell and Schwartz will have to carry the local torch on the track, the girls discus outside the stadium will have a distinct southern San Joaquin Valley flavor. And this time, “Anything you can do, I can do better” will be played with a state championship at stake.
“It’s kind of interesting,” said Collatz, who has the state’s second-best mark this season. “I’m number two to Anna, and she’s right close to me (in Shafter). It’s all I know.”
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Posted in Profiles, Coaches, Athletes, Schools, Championships, Valley, State, Kern Track Results, Track Meets, Foothill, Results, North, Liberty, Centennial, Ridgeview, Garces, Frontier, Burroughs, Noise Flash!!!, Bakersfield at 11:20 pm by Administrator
Ridgeview’s Carter, Stockdale’s Collatz ahead of the curve
BY ZACH EWING, Californian staff writer
zewing@bakersfield.com | Thursday, May 29 2008 9:01 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, May 29 2008 9:10 PM
Johnny Carter could see this coming.
No, not the entire explosion of freshman and sophomore talent headed to this weekend’s CIF State Track and Field Championships. But at least his part of it.
“When I was around eight years old, I would get (an empty) TV box and jump into it,” said Carter, a freshman phenom in the triple jump for Ridgeview. “Then I would tell my mom that I was born to run and jump.”
To even Carter’s surprise, it didn’t take long for that prediction to come to fruition. He landed a 48-foot, 3-inch triple jump at the Central Section Championships on May 14 to win the event and head to the state meet with the best seeding mark in California. The meet begins with qualifying today at Cerritos College in Norwalk.
Carter’s 48-3 jump was an inch shy of the section’s freshman record, which was set in 1968 by David Tucker of Fresno-San Joaquin Memorial.
“Nobody really knew he was going to do that,” Ridgeview coach Adam Setser said. “He just didn’t look back. He continued to be real consistent all during the latter part of the season, and then, going into that Valley meet, I kind of thought he might have a really big jump.”
Carter already has passed his right-hand man, Wolf Pack senior Chris Kelly, who finished third at the section meet and has also qualfied.
Even more amazing: Carter has only been jumping since last summer.
“My coach (club coach Kim Jenkins) put me in the California state games, and he said, ‘Go out and try it and show me something big,’” Carter said. “I was like, all right, I’ll go out and try, but I never knew I’d get where I am right now.”
And Carter isn’t the only young phenom headed to Cerritos from Kern County.
Stockdale freshman Alex Collatz is qualified in both the girls discus and triple jump, showing off the versatility of her father, Cal State Bakersfield track coach Alan Collatz.
“Isn’t that amazing?” Stockdale coach Dave Losinger said. “You don’t see hardly anybody doing that. That’s an incredible double.”
Throw in Fresno-Central sprinter extraordinare Brendon Bigelow, and you’ve got a trio of fabulous Central Section frosh.
“For these young kids to be hitting the marks they’re hitting, I have no answer for that,” Garces coach Phillip McCullum said. “It’s just amazing.”
There are sophomores to watch too — Garces sprinter Matt Sumlin, Bakersfield high jumper Isiah Griggs and Frontier shot putter Matt Darr and girls hurdler Taylor Jackson.
“It’s the year of the young athlete,” McCullum said.
The old ones, of course, haven’t given up on their dreams. Kern County’s best chance for state championships comes from Foothill senior Dayshan Ragans and Shafter junior Anna Jelmini, both of whom have the top marks in the state in the shot put and discus. Last year, Ragans was second in the diuscus and fouled out in the shot put finals. Jelmini was fourth in the discus and seventh in the shot.
“We’re looking for big things,” Foothill coach Arron Rietz said of Ragans. “He was disappointed he didn’t win both events last year. … If he doesn’t get hurt and he wants to, he’ll be in the Olympics someday.”
Also of note:
* Foothill junior Chris Schwartz dropped out of the 1,600 to rest up for the 3,200, his stronger event. He’s already won the Division I cross-country state championship and has the state’s third-best time in the 3,200.
If Schwartz can post a top-three finish — German Fernandez of Riverbank is the event’s heavy favorite — and Ragans can win both throwing events, Rietz thinks Foothill will finish in the top three of the team race. Long Beach-Poly is the favorite.
* Alana Alexander, a junior at Centennial, and Tyler Thompson, a Shafter senior, both qualified for state in the long and triple jumps.
* Likewise, Bakersfield High pulled Emmanuel Turner out of the boys 100 so he could focus on the 400 and 1,600 relays, and Liberty’s Isiah Purvis is out of the 400 so he can rest for the 200 and 1,600 relay. All three of those relay teams are capable of reaching Saturday’s finals.
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05.15.08
Posted in Schools, Championships, Valley, Grand Masters, Kern Track Results, Foothill, BHS, Shafter, Taft, North, Stockdale, Centennial, Ridgeview, Race Summary, Frontier, Noise Flash!!! at 9:39 am by Administrator
Locals claim 10 titles in Masters track meet
Foothill’s Ragans, Shafter’s Jelmini sweep weight events
BY ZACH EWING, Californian staff writer
zewing@bakersfield.com | Wednesday, May 14 2008 11:31 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 14 2008 11:41 PM
North High’s Anthony Mitchell shed the 400-meter race from his duties at last week’s Central Section South Area meet, preferring to concentrate on the 800.
The decision paid off Wednesday at the section Grand Masters meet, with Mitchell winning a championship in 1:54.19. But afterward, Mitchell was thinking back to his choice.
“I should have ran the 400, too,” he said, his mouth spreading into a grin. “Just from watching that race, I knew I could have done well.”
Mitchell’s 800 conquest was one of 10 section championships for Kern County, a run highlighted by double victories by Foothill thrower Dayshan Ragans, Foothill distance runner Chris Schwartz and Shafter thrower Anna Jelmini.
Team standings were unavailable at press time because of a scoring error, but it appeared Fresno-Central won the boys title and Clovis West easily took the girls. Foothill was in the boys’ top three, and Centennial’s girls were fourth.
Ragans, after launching a couple of discus throws around 210 feet in warm-ups, settled for a 199-2 and a second straight section title. He threw 60-7 in the shot put for an easy repeat victory there also.
“I felt good in both events,” Ragans said. “I feel I could be better, but I’m happy with my performance.”
As for Jelmini, she actually seemed slightly disappointed in her discus-shot put double victory. She threw 162-5 in the discus and 44-0.75 in the shot but felt she could have done better.
“There’s a couple things I need to work on, and I think I’ll have it,” Jelmini said.
As for Schwartz, he won two close races, the 1,600 in 4:15.80 and the 3,200 in 9:24.19. Schwartz, the state’s Division I cross country champion, said he had to slow himself down early in the two-mile race to keep a good pace. He was thrilled with the results.
“There’s state, the 9:01 (a PR in the 3,200), I tripled at league, and then here,” Schwartz said. “That’s four good things I’ve done this year.”
Schwartz, along with the two local throwers who own the best marks in California, have been turning in these kinds of performances all season long. Contrast that with Ridgeview triple jumper Johnny Carter, a freshman who came from near anonymity — his best mark of the season came in a frosh/soph meet — to be a section champion. He led the Wolf Pack’s 1-3 finish in the event with a personal-record 48-3.
“I’m just blessed to have the talent,” Carter said. “It’s only my second year jumping.”
Ridgeview’s Chris Kelly was third in 46-11.5. Shafter’s Tyler Thompson finished second in 47-3.
Bakersfield High’s 400 relay team opened the meet by edging Clovis East for the section championship in 42.28. The Drillers then closed running festivities with a surprise third-place finish in the 1,600, behind only section leaders Fresno-Edison and Liberty. Their time was a personal record by about three seconds (3:20.06).
“I knew it was going to be close coming in” Bakersfield High coach Steven Anderson said. “And just looking at our times, I had a guy I thought could be quicker.”
The other local section champ is Centennial’s Alana Alexander, who used an early 38-3.75 triple jump to edge Clovis’s Jenna Prandini by three-quarters of an inch. Alexander had to wait until the end to know she was a champion for sure; Prandini ended the competition with a 38-0.
The top three finishers in each event move on to the state finals May 30-31 at Cerritos College in Norwalk. There are also two statewide wild cards who will qualify — the best marks from any athlete not in a qualifying position.
Among notable local qualifiers:
* Versatile Isiah Purvis of Liberty, who lost the 400 in the final 20 meters, finishing five-hundreths of a second (with a 49.13) behind Edison’s Maurice Lewis, but then ran an astounding anchor leg of the 1,600 relay. He was hand-timed at a 47.6 and nearly erased Edison’s big lead in the race. In between, Purvis placed second in the 200 (21.96).
* BHS sprinter Brushay Wandick, after seeing her 400 relay team finish fourth and finishing in fourth in the 100 by one-hundreth of a second (12.01 to a 12.00 from Fresno-Bullard’s Lynn Williams), rebounded to earn a state qualification in the 200. She finished third in 24.69.
* Frontier’s Taylor Jackson, a sophomore who qualified in both the 100 and 300 hurdles. She finished third in the 100 (15.04) and second in the 300 (44.86).
* Stockdale freshman Alex Collatz, who also finished fourth in the triple jump, was part of a 1-2-3 Kern County finish in the discus. Jelmini was first, Collatz second (148-6) and Taft’s Carey Tuuamalemalo third (130-9).
* Centennial’s high finish in the girls team race was buoyed by plenty of high finishes, but the Golden Hawks had just one state qualifier: Alana Alexander, who was third in the long jump (17-6.75) before holding off Prandini in the triple.
* Shafter’s Tyler Thompson also qualified in the long jump and triple jump, finishing second in both.
Ridgeview’s Chris Kelly soars during one of his triple jumps at the section meet at Liberty Wednesday. Ridgeview’s Johnny Carter gets air during one of his triple jumps during the section meet at Liberty High Wednesday afternoon. Just a freshman, Carter and teammate Chris Kelly had the two best jumps heading into the competition.
Centennial’s Alana Alexander lands after one of her long jumps at Wednesday’s section track and field championships at Liberty High.
Chris Schwartz of Foothill had the eighth best qualifying time in the 1,600, but pulled away from top qualifier Jonathan Sanchez to win the event at the Central Section track and field championships Wednesday.
BHS anchor Johnny Norwood takes off after receiving the baton from teammate Jerek Johnson during the 4×100 relay at Wednesday’s Central Section Grand Masters. At left is Stockdale anchor Brandon Henderson (with baton) and teammate Adam Lewis.
Isiah Purvis of Liberty was so close to victory in the boys 400 meters, but Edison’s Maurice Lewis closed in the final yards to win the race. Stockdale’s Daniel Lozano (not pictured) was third.
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Posted in Driller of the Week, Schools, Boys, Girls, Championships, Grand Masters, Kern Track Results, Track Meets, Upcoming, McFarland, Foothill, Results, BHS, Wasco, Shafter, Taft, North, East, Golden Valley, Liberty, Stockdale, Centennial, Delano, South, West, Ridgeview, Highland, Driller Noise, Garces, South Area, Frontier, Tehachapi, Burroughs, Noise Flash!!!, Bakersfield, Bakersfield Christian at 6:28 am by Administrator
Central Section Grand Masters
At Liberty
Team standings–unavailable.
400 relay–1. Bakersfield (Hunt, Turner, Johnson, Norwood), 42.28; 2. Clovis East (Bourbon, Scott, Smith, Woods), 42.58; 3. Redwood (Stewart, Ray, Root, Coles), 43.07; 4. Central (Newsome, Bigelow, Hammack, Phillips), 43.15. 1,600–1. Chris Schwartz, Foot, 4:15.80; 2. Jonathan Sanchez, Buch, 4:17.48; 3. Eric Battles, CW, 4:20.34; 4. Jesse Arellano, Mad, 4:21.56. 110H–1. Ethan DeJongh, MtW, 14.49; 2. Sean Johnson, Buch, 14.66; 3. Jon Funch, CW, 14.81; 4. Isiah Crunk, Wash, 15.17. 400–1. Maurice Lewis, Ed, 49.08; 2. Isiah Purvis, Lib, 49.13; 3. Daniel Lozano, Stock, 49.35; 4. Jelani Hendrix, Ed, 49.62. 100–1. Brendon Bigelow, Central, 10.62; 2. Emmanuel Turner, Bak, 10.81; 3. Matt Sumlin, Gar, 10.91; 4. Chris Lopez, GW, 10.98. 800–1. Anthony Mitchell, North, 1:54.19; 2. Aric Champagne, MtW, 1:54.97; 3. Andrew Campbell, CW, 1:55.69; 4. Arturo Ramirez, Centennial, 1:55.83. 300H–1. DeJongh, MtW, 37.93; 2. Cody Alves, Sel, 37.94; 3. James Smith, CE, 39.03; 4. Sean Johnson, Buch, 39.28. 200–1. Brendon Bigelow, Central, 21.29; 2. Isiah Purvis, Lib, 21.96; 3. Mario Navarette, Sanger, 22.04; 4. Chris Lopez, GW, 22.29. 3,200–1. Chris Schwartz, Foot, 9:24.19; 2. Jonathan Sanchez, Buch, 9:24.99; 3. Jon Ross, CE, 9:26.42; 4. Danny Vartanien, Buch, 9:26.42. 1,600 relay–1. Edison (Hendrix, Carter, Boughton, Lewis), 3:17.86; 2. Liberty (Hill, Garside, Affentranger, Purvis), 3:18.95; 3. Bakersfield (Miller, Turner, Johnson, Gooden), 3:20.06; 4. Clovis East (Ellis, Defonska, Woods, Smith), 3:22.40. PV–1. Andrew Lohse, Mad, 15-0; 2. Michael Peterson, CE, 15-0J; 3. Jeff Brenner, Cl, 14-6; 4. Frankie Puente, Sel, 14-0. SP–1. Dayshan Ragans, Foot, 60-7; 2. Matt Darr, Fron, 52-8.75; 3. Troy Rush, CW, 52-8.5; 4. Christian Millard, CE, 51-10.5. TJ–1. Johnny Carter, Ridge, 48-3; 2. Tyler Thompson, Shaf, 47-3; 3. Chris Kelly, Ridge, 46-11.5; 4. Jordan Smith, Central, 46-10.5. D–1. Dayshan Ragans, Foot, 199-2; 2. Jacob Budwig, Fowl, 168-8; 3. Niko Gomes, Cl, 164-10; 4. Matt Darr, Fron, 157-7. LJ–1. Kenny Phillips, Central, 23-4; 2. Tyler Thompson, Shaf, 21-11.5; 3. Dillon Root, Red, 21-11; 4. Kevin Norwood, GV, 21-8.75. HJ–1. Kenny Phillips, Central, 6-8; 2. Isiah Griggs, Bak, 6-6; 3. George Robbins, West, 6-4; 4. Jeff Brenner, Cl, 6-4J.
Notes: Top three in each event advance to state meet, May 30-31 in Norwalk. The two wild cards with the best times/marks from all sections also advance.
Girls track
Central Section Grand Masters
At Liberty
Team standings–unavailable.
400 relay–1. Edison (Eng, Scott, Thompson, Sears), 47.16; 2. Bullard (J. Williams, Riddlesprigger, Baisch, L. Williams), 48.17; 3. Tulare Western, 48.73; 4. Bakersfield (Torres, Belt, Brown, Wandick), 48.80. 1,600–1. Saleh Barsarian, Cl, 5:02.98; 2. Meghan Marvin, Cl, 5:03.02; 3. Chloe Allen, CW, 5:04.62; 4. Allison Gonzales, Ex, 5:11.52; 100H–1. Alyssa Monteverde, CW, 14.59; 2. Brianny Williams, Ed, 14.60; 3. Taylor Jackson, Fr, 15.04; 4. Jen Melton, CW, 15.37. 400–1. Breanna Thompson, Ed, 56.64; 2. Dedrea Wyrik, Sun, 57.49; 3. Lasasha Aldredge, Central, 58.12; 4. Taylor Donaldson, Reed, 58.13. 100–1. Megan Del Pino, CW, 11.66; 2. Jenna Prandini, Cl, 11.74; 3. Lynn Williams, Bul, 12.00; 4. Brushay Wandick, Bak, 12.01. 800–1. Allysa Mejia, Reed, 2:17.47; 2. Molly Pahkamaa, ElD, 2:17.73; 3. Katie Fry, Ex, 2:18.74; 4. Ashlee Thomas, Centennial, 2:19.77. 300H–1. Alyssa Monteverde, CW, 43.92; 2. Taylor Jackson, Fron, 44.86; 3. Brianny Williams, Ed, 45.69; 4. Alana Alexander, Centennial, 46.12. 200–1. Megan Del Pino, CW, 23.94; 2. Dominique Whittington, Lem, 24.65; 3. Brushay Wandick, Bak, 24.69; 4. Breanna Thompson, Ed, 24.90. 3,200–1. Jordan Hasay, MP, 10:24.78; 2. Meghan Marvin, Cl, 10:59.96; 3. Chloe Allen, CW, 11:06.19; 4. Corina Mendoza, Mad, 11:32.06. 1,600 relay–1. Edison (Burk, Thompson, Scott, Smith), 3:54.89; 2. Stockdale (Cady, Anderson, Mello, S. Anderson), 3:58.26; 3. Clovis West (Laidley, Capriotti, Del Pino, Monteverde), 3:59.02; 4. Reedley, 3:59.07. D–1. Anna Jelmini, Shaf, 162-5; 2. Alex Collatz, Stock, 148-6; 3. Carey Tuuamalemalo, Taft, 130-9; 4. Janae Coffee, CW, 121-6. LJ–1. Jenna Prandini, Cl, 18-7.25; 2. Lynn Williams, Bul, 18-0.75; 3. Alana Alexander, Centennial, 17-6.75; 4. Ja’Nia Sears, Ed, 17-6.5. HJ–1. Alyssa Monteverde, CW, 5-4; 2. Cristina Muro, GW, 5-2; 3. Katherine Mahr, Buch, 5-2; 4. Marish Riddlesprigger, Bul, 5-2J. SP–1. Anna Jelmini, Shaf, 44-0.75; 2. Destanie Yarbrough, CE, 37-10; 3. Heather Vermillion, Red, 37-9; 4. Tasha Firstone, CW, 36-6.5. TJ–1. Alana Alexander, Centennial, 38-3.75; 2. Jenna Prandini, Cl, 38-3; 3. Goziam Okolie, 36-10.5; 4. Alex Collatz, Stock, 36-2. PV–1. Allison Berryhill, CW, 11-6; 2. Amanda Klinchuch, Lib, 11-6J; 3. Cheree Jones, King, 10-6; 4. Emily Falkenstein, Buch, 10-6J.
Notes: Top three in each event advance to state meet, May 30-31 in Norwalk. The two wild cards with the best times/marks from all sections also advance.
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