Foothill League track and field athletes got well-acquainted with the podium over the weekend at the Redondo Nike Track Invitational.
School, meet and personal records were shattered as Santa Clarita’s standouts did just that.
From Canyon, senior sprinter Mikaela Warr set a new personal and meet record in the girls’ 100-meter dash with a first-place finish of 11.56 seconds.
Warr smashed her previous PR by over 0.2 seconds, stunning Canyon coach Chris Jackson.
“We knew (Warr) was ready to break her PR of 11.8 but dropping into a 11.56 at this point in the season, when she’s not being trained to peak yet, is a very encouraging sign,” Jackson said in a phone interview. “It was delightful to watch her improve by that much. She just ran away from a very talented field.”
Cowboys junior Jordehn Gammage earned a spot on the podium in both hurdle races, while also finishing fifth in the boys’ 4×100-meter relay. Gammage beat the previous meet record in the 110-meter hurdles race with a 14.34-second PR while finishing third in 300-meter hurdles with a mark of 38.9 seconds.
Valencia sophomore Brian Bonner has had an amazing week in the athletic world. Bonner picked up football offers from UCLA and Oregon earlier in the week before nearly breaking the school’s record in the 100 with his 10.65-second finish. The sophomore finished third in the event but the wind velocity keeps him out of the Vikings record books for now.
Bonner was also part of the third-place 4×100-meter relay team that finished in 42.41 seconds and beat Canyon at 42.68.
Valencia coach Josh Pikes knows his sophomore has a bright future as he is already on the heels of the record of former Vikings track star and New England Patriot Shane Vereen.
“I’m excited for him,” Pikes said via text message. “Getting a UCLA football scholarship and then turning around and running a PR is super surprising. The sky’s the limit for B, he’s a really humble guy and hasn’t let any of this change him at all.”
In discus, Golden Valley junior Kiera Donovan took home a gold medal in girls’ discus after her throw of 133 feet and 5 inches cleared her PR and the competition by over 12 feet. Donovan also earned a third-place finish in shot put after a 37-foot, 7.25-inch mark.
The day mostly belonged to the Cowboys, who boasted several records. Senior Saul Jimenez finished bronze in the boys’ 800-meter run with his new PR mark of 1:56.20.
Jimenez also finished third as part of the boys 4×800-meter team, which set a new school record with its 7-minute, 58.75-second finish. Jackson believes his team of Adrian Rodriguez, Erick Leal, Anthony Alarcon and Jimenez can all still improve on their time, but nonetheless their names will be up on Canyon’s wall of record holders of the newer event.
Canyon throws standout George Stansell finished fourth in discus after a heave of 155 feet and 8.5 inches, and finished seventh in shot put after a throw of 51 feet and 4.75 inches.
Foothill League cross country champion Cynthia Herrera finished sixth overall in the girls’ 3200-meter run with her finish of 11:03.76 for the Cowboys.
Canyon freshman Alaya Graves-Hogains was also a pleasant surprise in the girls’ 400-meter dash after her sixth-place, 57.54-second finish. The freshman was just off from her PR, which ranked her sixth in CIF earlier this season despite primarily being an 800-meter runner.
In jumps, Castaic senior Regan Thompson finished third overall after clearing the 5-foot, 2-inch bar in the girls’ high jump. West Ranch senior David Farag also had some solid leaps after finishing fifth in the triple jump with a 45-foot, 0.5-inch mark and an 11th place long jump of 20-feet, 6.5 inches.
Vikings freshman Emily Farrell put her name on the map after her 12th-place finish in the girls’ 1600 with a time of 5 minutes, 17.6 seconds.
“Emily Farrell is one of the great young distance runners that coach Klinger is coaching in that group right now,” Pikes said. “I think she will be a name you will continue to hear in the Foothill League for a long time.”
Canyon is riding high but is locking back in for league competition this week.
“It’s very exciting,” Jackson said. “We’re getting some great marks that are gonna get us into some big invitationals, but tomorrow is Castaic. They have Meagan Humphries, who arguably could be called the best athlete in California track right now. They’ve got Regan Thompson, Mallory Palm and Lauren Lazzarato. They’ve got all these kids and girls so we can’t enjoy this too much because it’s back to work trying to prepare for our next meet.”
The stars all return to Foothill League action on Thursday as Saugus heads to Golden Valley, Valencia hosts Hart and Castaic travels to Canyon.
