Personal records set, playoff tickets punched at CCAL track and field championships

Wednesday, May 1 marked the end of the Central California Athletic League Track and Field regular season as athletes from each of the six teams competed in 17 events to determine who will be named league champions and advance to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section postseason.

The top handful of qualifiers in each event advanced to the CIF-SJS Divisional meets, which started Tuesday and ends May 10. According to the section website, athletes gain at-large entry into the Divisional Meet if their mark at the league championships is equal to or better than the average sixth-place finisher in the D-II Finals for the three most recent years.

It’s time for each athlete to put their best foot forward as one mistake can be the difference between advancing or the end of their season. Divisionals for Divisions I and III are May 7 and 9 at Folsom and Vacaville high schools, respectively. Divisions II and IV-V compete May 8 and 10 at Bella Vista and Riverbank high schools, respectively. Top qualifiers from Divisionals advance to Masters May 17 and 18 at Davis Sr. High School where they compete for a chance to qualify for the state championships at Buchanan High School May 24-25.

The CCAL Championships were held at Downey High and saw several athletes set new personal and season bests. The boys and girls 100 meters had nearly 40 new individual records. A number of athletes also finished first in multiple events.

Here are some of the highlights from the 2024 CCAL Track and Field Championships.

39 individual records set in boys and girls 100-meter sprint

The boys and girls 100-meter sprint is usually the fastest race of a track meet and on May 1 it was also the most competitive. In the boys race, 21 of 25 participants throughout the three heats recorded either personal or season records. Each of the top 10 recorded new highs, led by top five finishers Pitman’s Blayne Siebert, Gregori’s Reggieon Foster, Pitman’s Sean Forte, Enochs’ Eric Myles and Modesto’s David Magana.

Turlock’s Angel Trefry Bet George set a personal record to lead a girls 100 field that included 18 personal records. Each of the top nine set new records. In addition to the race winner, Turlock’s Evelyn Ladine, Downey’s Jada Orona, Modesto’s Praise Ingram and Turlock’s Kealani Solis-Coelho finished in the top five.

Turlock’s Walker wins four events

Cal State Fullerton-bound Olivia Walker spent her afternoon bouncing from running events to the high jump. The Turlock High senior competed in the girls 400 and high jump individually and was part of a pair of teams that competed in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. She went perfect on the day, claiming league titles in every event she participated in. In the 4x100, she ran with fellow seniors Shaylan Roy-Williams and Evelyn Ladine and junior Angel Trefry Bet George, finishing in 48.23. In the 4x400, she and Roy-Williams ran with Ava Torres and Zoe Lamur in 4:04.30.

Downey’s Leach takes 3200 title

Downey junior distance runner Zoe Leach took home the 3200 league title on her home track Wednesday. It was Leach’s second first-place finish in the event this season after winning the 13th Annual Distance Wars on Feb. 23 in 11:20.64. At the CCAL Championships, she beat that time by nearly two seconds, finishing in 11:18.69. Leach set her personal record time of 11:06.49 March 16 at the Dublin Distance Fiesta. She has gotten better at the CCAL Championships each year, improving from fourth as a freshman and third as a sophomore.

Seibert wins with timely PR

Pitman sprinter Blayne Siebert picked the right time to have a PR, setting a new best time and claiming a CCAL title in the 100-meter dash to claim first place and a league title. The senior headed to UC Davis on scholarship next year ran a 10.46, beating out his previous time, set as a junior. He also took home league championships in the 200 (21.81) and the 4x100 relay, running with Sean Forte, Jonathan Williams and John Sylvester in 42.90.

In his senior season, Siebert has finished in the top three in eight 100-meter races, six 200-meter races and six 4x100 relays.

Gregori freshman thrower impresses

Naelani Thompson is just a freshman at Gregori, but she has already begun to impress in her varsity throwing career. She has seven top-five finishes in the discus, including second-place finishes at the Stanislaus County Champions Meet and Jaguar Invitational. In the CCAL Championships, Thompson went toe-to-toe with defending league runner-up and CIF-SJS Masters qualifier Julia Pedretti, setting a new personal record mark. Thompson threw 105’ 5” to finish as the runner-up Wednesday.

Gregori hurdler PR’s in two wins

Gregori High senior Zillion Johnson had arguably his best day as a track and field athlete May 1. He won league titles in the 110 and 300 hurdles and if that wasn’t good enough, he PR’d in both events. In the 110 hurdles, he clocked a 15.27, beating the time he ran at the Sacramento Meet of Champions by .02. He ran the 300 in 38.99. Johnson also helped the Jaguars win the 4x400 relay along with seniors Reggieon Foster and Guillermo Castaneda and sophomore Mihir Mathai. They finished in 3:31.88.

Modesto’s Pedretti repeats as throwing champion

Modesto High’s Julia Pedretti has one sister that played basketball at William Jessup University and another on the track and field team at MJC, but she’s blazing her own trail. At the CCAL Championships, the senior won league titles in the shot put and discus. After finishing as the runner-up in the discus as a junior, she threw 127’ 3” to finish first May 1. Her 33’ 6” secured back-to-back league titles in the shot put.

Other Notes

▪ Pitman’s team of Emerson Newton, Adelyn Persons, Avery Carlson and Aubrey Lascano won the girls 4x800 relay with a time of 11:08.58

▪ Enochs freshman Rylie Bethke took first place in the girls triple jump, recording a personal record 33’ 0.5

▪ Pitman sophomore Avery Carlson took first place in the 800 with a personal record 2:25.90 and won the 1600, finished second in the 3200 along with helping the Pride win the 4x800

▪ Turlock and Pitman finished first and second, respectively in both the boys and girls team results. On the boys’ side, Turlock scored 219 and Pitman tallied 141 points. Turlock’s girls totaled 272 points and Pitman finished with 133.