Foothill League track and field teams descended upon College of the Canyons on Saturday to kick off the 2025 season.
The Golden Valley High School boys took the team title at the meet with 97 points, just four points ahead of Hart High School, while the Canyon High School girls won with 116 points, just 2.5 points ahead of Golden Valley.
The meet featured multiple returning state qualifiers who are aiming to get back to Clovis this year.
All seven Foothill League squads will meet again April 18 for the team championships, followed by individual preliminaries on April 25 to decide who will be competing in the league finals on May 1.
The CIF Southern Section preliminaries are set for May 10, followed by finals on May 17 and the Masters Meet on May 24 to determine who qualifies for the state tournament, set to be held May 30 and 31 in Clovis.
Here’s who stood out at the league kickoff on Saturday:
Canyon
The Canyon Cowboys saw multiple winners on the track, led by returning state qualifier Emoni Wright and freshman standout Lyric Scott.
A sophomore, Wright won the girls’ 100-meter dash and helped the 4×100 relay team to a victory. Scott was also part of the relay team, along with Lanai Gant and Alaya Graves-Hogains, that now holds the program’s third-best mark all-time at 47.54 seconds.
Scott also took first in the 400, and her time of 56.29 seconds now ranks third all-time for the program.
Junior Myles McCrory won the boys’ 400 with a time of 49.3 seconds, a mark that now ranks eighth all-time for the program.
Other winners from Canyon were: Owen Souther (boys’ 1600, 4:27.40); Andrea Racancoj Lopez (girls’ 800, 2:33.76); Alaya Graves-Hogains (girls’ 200, 24.74); and Angel Luna (boys’ discus, 115 feet, 1 inch).
Golden Valley
The Golden Valley Grizzlies dominated in field events, led by returning state qualifier Kiera Donovan.
A senior, Donovan took first in both girls’ discus, with a throw of 142 feet, 4 inches, and shot put, with a toss of 40 feet, 8 inches. Her throw in the discus was nearly 30 feet better than the second-place mark.
Nyah Fields placed first in both girls’ long jump and triple. The senior had a mark of 22 feet, 3.75 inches in the former event and 46 feet, 1.5 inches in the latter.
Senior Addae Ma’at also won both of those events in the boys’ competition, reaching 22 feet, 3.75 inches in the long jump and 46 feet, 1.5 inches in the triple jump.
Senior Keagan Lee was first in the boys’ pole vault, reaching a height of 13 feet, 6 inches.
Sophomore Ethan Hunt claimed the boys’ 300-meter hurdles title with his 44-second finish.
Valencia
After starring on the football field in the fall, junior Brian Bonner returned to the track to claim a couple of victories.
Bonner won the boys’ 200 with a time of 21.85 seconds and helped the 4×400 relay team to a first-place finish. Bryton Cole, Ronald Bruner and Symeon Wilkins were also part of that team, finishing in 3:28.16.
A couple of Valencia distance runners also showed out on Saturday. Freshman Nicole Chambers won the girls’ 3200 with a time of 13:18.82, while sophomore Emily Farrell won the girls’ 1600 with a time of 5:35.29.
Hart
The Hart Hawks saw their runners claim three victories on Saturday while competitors in the field also won three events.
The girls’ 4×800 relay team of Julia Redwine, Isabella Garcia, Kaitlyn Cottril and Sasha Berry finished in 11:19.51 to finish in first.
Senior Alejandro Cueto won the boys’ 800 with a time of 1:59.47, just ahead of senior Eli Ahten in third place.
Senior Josue Lopez claimed first in the boys’ 3200 with a time of 9:50.44, ahead of sophomore Nicholas Zamora, who placed second.
Senior Thurlee Bowers won the boys’ high jump, reaching 5 feet, 10 inches, while junior Taylor Chan took the girls’ pole vault with a mark of 10 feet.
Junior Graysen Rivera won the boys’ shot put, recording a toss of 42 feet, 8.5 inches.
West Ranch
The West Ranch Wildcats saw a sophomore in Avery Prestridge claim three girls’ titles on Saturday, standing out in both running and in field events.
Prestridge claimed first in the 100-meter hurdles (15.94 seconds), the 300-meter hurdles (45.76 seconds) and the high jump (5 feet, 4 inches).
The boys’ 4×100 relay team and the girls’ 4×400 relay team both placed first. Running in 43.56 seconds for the boys were: Jaay Hernandez, Tyler Lankford, Lucas Boggs and Khalil Calhoun. Running in 4:19.18 for the girls were: Alora Glass, Gianna Matranga, Alana Toliver and Tamea Crear.
Junior Aidan Lynch won the boys’ 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.02 seconds.
Castaic
The Castaic Coyotes had one team victory and one individual victory.
Senior Elijah Reid claimed first in the boys’ 100 with a time of 11.09 seconds.
The boys’ 4×800 team of Andrew Woods, Darryl Leogo, Jeremy Grande and Ramon Espinoza finished first with a time of 9:05.90.
Saugus
The Saugus Centurions had no winners on the day but had a few athletes get close.
Sophomore Aria Green took second in the girls’ 400.
A host of competitors finished in third place, including: freshman Callie Peterson (girls’ triple jump, 30 feet); junior Rachel Williams (girls’ 100-meter hurdles, 18.57 seconds); junior Karina Page (girls’ 100, 12.71 seconds); junior Christian Peterson (boys’ 110-meter hurdles, 18.02 seconds); and senior David Pineda (boys’ 300-meter hurdles, 46.25 seconds).
The girls’ 4×400 team, which includes Green and Page, placed second.
