After the first dual meet of the Foothill League, Valencia track and field’s Jaliyah Berkley said she sees room for improvement when it comes to her sprints.
But with a first-place finish in the 100- and 200-meter dash as well as a spot on the first-place 4×100 relay team, she’s still pretty satisfied with her first league outing of the season.
“I’ve still got to get my times down some more, so work on my start, my finish, just work on everything,” Berkley said.
As for the relay, the Vikings had to adjust to a new lineup this season after losing Cheyenne Cheshier to graduation. Nevertheless, the group of Juliana Anuakpado, Berkley, Aaliyah Burney Muhammad and Catelyn Edwards clocked a time of 49.43 seconds to help the Valencia girls to an 85-51 win over Canyon at Valencia.
“This is our first time running with the new group, so we’ve still got to get the chemistry down between us and work it out,” said Berkley.
The Canyon boys ended the evening with a 79-57 win over the Vikings.
Ethan Danforth and Patrick King raked in some points for the Cowboys as they finished as the first- and second-place runners, respectively, in the 1600 and 3200 races.
“It feels great,” Danforth, who logged a 4:27.77 in the 1600 and a 9:51.74 in the 3200, said. “I’m just running on the track, something different than cross country … We’ve got a lot of strong runners, definitely, as you probably saw in cross country. We’re prepared.”
Valencia girls sophomore Hailey Kirsch doubled in the 1600 and the 3200, logging a time of 5:21.17 in the former. Her teammate, Kristen Walker, came in third at 5:32.29 in the 1600.
“It seems like I’ve been waiting for it a long time,” Kirsch said. “Last season I was injured a lot, so I feel like this is definitely my season.”
The Cowboys also excelled in hurdles, with Jimmie Horton finishing first in the 110 (17.26) and Alex Giesler second (17.74).
Gabby Sanchez led Canyon girls throwers with a first-place toss of 131-04.50 in discus and a second-place throw of 33-05.50 in shot put. Selasi Mawugbe doubled in long jump (15-03.25) and triple jump (32-10.75).
The Valencia girls swept in pole vault with Ivie Sanchez in first, Sarah Cooper in second and Jordan Gerovac in third. The Vikes also swept in the 200, with Lauren Oseguera (26.46) and Aaliyah Burney Muhammad (27.33) finishing behind Berkley.
Canyon was without runners Taylor Tepesano and Troy Chairez, who are currently nursing hamstring injuries. Christian Valles, who competes in pole vault, long jump and triple jump, is also amidst a 30-day sit-out period after transferring in from Burroughs.
Saugus, Hart
The Centurions girls team earned a 100-35 win over the Indians on Thursday. Mariah Castillo came in first in the 400 and the 3200 and Jacqueline Cascione was first in the 800 and 1600.
Saugus’ Aylia Page was first in shot put and Kayla Medof topped all discus throwers.
For the boys, the Cents topped the Indians 76-60. Juan Enciso won the 800, clocking 1:59 and the 1600 with a time of 4:23.
Joel DeSantiago jumped 20-03 to win the long jump and also won high jump with a leap of 6 feet.
West Ranch, Golden Valley
The Wildcats beat the Grizzlies 82-54 on the girls side, with Haley Hunt running the 100 in 12.29 and the 200 in 25.0. Natalie Ramirez’s throw of 44 meet was good for first in shot and her 148-8 toss earned her first in discus.
Golden Valley wrapped up a boys win at 73-63, sweeping the 100, 200 and 400.
The Cats’ Timmy Sterkel won the 800 and 1600. Daniel Bryant won in shot put and discus.
