Stanislaus District track and field stars shine at Masters, qualify for state championships

Central Catholic sprinter Zachary Early extended his track and field season this past Saturday at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet. You could tell by his smile.

As he stood on the 400-meter podium on the Davis High School turf, he couldn’t help but feel like all of his hard work was worth it. He’s done an impressive amount of improving in the past few seasons.

His second-place finish secured a spot at this weekend’s CIF State Championships at Buchanan High School in Clovis, but that is not something he would have envisioned for himself even a few months ago.

Last season as a junior, he did not qualify for the section’s championship meet, after finishing 15th at the Division III prelims. His season ended without even competing for a Division III title. As a junior, Early’s season best in the 400 was 51.98.

He was around that mark to start his senior season as well. But that wouldn’t cut it for him. He wanted to get better.

He started putting in extra work with other coaches and hitting the weight room in addition to practices at Central Catholic. After just five top-five finishes in his junior season, Early has not only cut his time to under 50 seconds, he has 10 top-three finishes this season to go with Stanislaus County and County Clash championships, a Sacramento Meet of Champions title, a VOL title, D-III title and a Masters runner-up finish.

“Little by little, with some big jumps, too,” Early said of his improvement over the past few years. “I’m definitely excited for the future. Seeing how much I’ve improved now, I’m optimistic about how much I’m going to improve.”

Saturday Early ran a 48.69, 0.02 off his personal record set at the Meet of Champions, in a culmination of years of hard work.

“Even if I don’t do good (at the state championships), I’m happy I made it,” the senior said. “It’s such a blessing that I was able to work hard all season and have the coaches and support from people around me. I’m happy about how everything turned out.”

Early was one of the many storylines from Saturday’s Masters Meet. The top three finishers in each event qualified for the State Championships along with others just outside the top three that met CIF-assigned qualifying marks.

Some athletes qualified for the first time on Saturday and others qualified in multiple events. A select few are heading to the state meet for the second or third time as they look to cap the 2024 track and field season on the highest note possible.

Here are some of the key stories from Stanislaus District state qualifiers:

Turlock’s Olivia Walker heads back to state with PR

Turlock’s Olivia Walker qualified for this weekend’s state meet in three events. The sprinter, headed for Cal State Fullerton next year to run, will race in Buchanan individually in the 400 and with teams in the 4x100 and 4x400.

“I really want to PR,” Walker said after the 400-meter race of her goals at the state championships. “I want to do well, no matter what place that gets me. I want to finish strong.”

Walker finished second in an ultra competitive 400 race. In the final 100 meters, she was right with fellow senior Ihe Okho from Franklin of Elk Grove. Walker, who finished second Saturday, entered the race with the best time in the section and though she did not win, she still set a new personal record, finishing in 55.41.

“I’m happy,” Walker said. “I’m happy I was able to break 56 (seconds). It’s been a goal of mine this season to get here. I’m super proud of myself.”

In the 4x100 Walker, Angel Trefrey Bet George, Shaylan Roy-Williams and Evelyn Ladine finished second and set a new school record of 47.66. The Bulldogs took home the 4x400 section title, finishing in 3 minutes, 53.62 seconds.

Pitman’s Siebert battles through injuries for double championships

Pitman High senior Blayne Siebert has been pushing through injuries all season. He has dealt with a sports hernia for the majority of the season and recently fractured his left wrist.

“It’s been more of a mental battle,” he said of performing despite injuries. “Constantly, saying in my head top three is automatic. Anything under, it’s got to be better.

“I fought through it because it’s my last year. I don’t want to go out with an injury.”

All season, he’s kept his head down and worked. Saturday it paid off. He ended the day as a double champion, winning titles in the 100 and 200.

“That’s all I was focused on was winning,” Siebert said after taking the 100-meter title.

He collected his ninth first-place finish in the 100, posting a 10.47. He nearly equaled his personal best of 10.46, which he set at this year’s CCAL championships. He has not finished outside the top 3 in any 100 he participated in this season.

In the 200, he earned his eighth first-place finish and 10th top-four finish. He won a competitive race over Twelve Bridges’ Anthony Gallagher. Siebert finished in 21.75 and Gallagher ran in 21.90.

He did all this in what will be his new hometown as he will spend next season running track for UC Davis. As a junior, he finished sixth in the 100 finals and did not make the finals in the 200. He will compete at this year’s state meet in both events.

“That was literally my goal since last year,” he said.

Riverbank’s Fernandez sets new personal best

A personal best in the biggest race of her career landed Riverbank’s Giselle Fernandez a spot at this weekend’s state championships.

The sophomore finished third in the 1600-meter race in 5:03.19, claiming her sixth top-three finish this season. Fernandez is also a Stanislaus County champion, TVL champion and the Division IV/V runner-up.

“I’m proud of myself, this is something I’ve been working for,” she said after the race. “I knew I was going into a race with a lot of good girls so sticking with them and finishing with them was a proud moment for me.”

A Masters qualifier last season, Fernandez placed eighth, finishing in 5:08.66. She will attend her first state meet.

“It was a possibility for me,” she said. “Being able to place top three was one of my dreams that I was able to reach.”

Ripon’s Skiles leans on experience

After two years of not qualifying for the state meet, Ripon’s Starla Skiles relied on her experience in her junior season. She fixed everything from her preparation to her nutrition.

“I definitely took it more seriously,” she said. “I spent long hours at practice, worked out more, made sure I was drinking water and eating well on race days. Taking care of my body.”

Skiles recorded personal records in both of the finals in which she participated, running a 14.46 in the 100 hurdles and a 44.98 in the 300 hurdles. Usually, the top three qualifiers in the section events get automatic bids to the state meet. Anyone finishing after must receive an at-large bid by finishing in an “At-Large” standard time. Skiles met that time in the 100 despite finishing fourth. Her 14.46 sent her to state by 0.02.

“I’m really excited,” Skiles said of qualifying for the state championships. “I came (to masters) my freshman and sophomore years and fumbled. I was young, anxious, new. I’ve worked hard all season and tried my best.”

Patterson sophomore wins 3200 wire-to-wire

Patterson’s Natalie Arriaza didn’t need a personal best to claim a wire-to-wire win in the girls 3200 Saturday. Just a sophomore, Arriaza qualified for the state meet in track and field for the first time. She has competed in cross country, an experience with similarities and differences.

At the state cross country meet she ran on an outdoor course, finishing eighth in girls Division II and 34th overall. Saturday, she will run eight laps in a stadium.

“Cross country is on a course and track kind of gets in your head a little because you’re running in circles,” Arriaza said. “It’s a really big accomplishment for me and I thank my coaches and my parents for it.”

At Masters, she quickly jumped out to an early lead, seemingly widening the gap every two laps. By the time the race ended, she was eight seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, running in 10:50.38. Races like these are what the section’s best dream of participating in.

“I start thinking about (the race) the night before or the beginning of the week. It’s always in the back of my head,” Arriaza said. “Throughout the race, I try to stay in it (mentally). Sometimes it gets really tiring, but I like to think it’s going to be over soon.”

Other notes

▪ Modesto High CCAL champion thrower Julia Pedretti qualified for state with a second-place finish in the discus throw. She threw 130-07

▪ Turlock’s Shaylan Roy-Williams finished first and advanced to state in the girls long jump, clearing 18-04.50

▪ Zillion Johnson was the only state qualifier from Gregori, making it in the boys 300 hurdles after finishing third with a personal record time of 38.45

▪ Turlock’s Max McFarlane won the boys pole vault section title, leading a field of seven state qualifiers from the Sac-Joaquin Section

▪ Ripon sophomore Clara Schoolland finished second on the masters girls high jump podium, qualifying her for this weekend’s state meet. She reached 5-04.00

▪ Turlock’s girls finished second in the 4x100 and dominated the 4x400, winning by nearly four seconds. They ran the 400 in a winning time of 3:53.62

▪ Oakdale senior Omar Alsaidi is state-bound in the boys 3200 after finishing second in a tight race with a time of 9:09.10

PERSONAL RECORDS

▪ Gregori’s Guillermo Castaneda ran a personal best in the 800 finals (2:00.67)

▪ Gregori’s Zillion Johnson ran a personal best in the 110 hurdles finals (14.87)

▪ Turlock’s Maya Day ran a personal best in the 1600 finals (5:15.62)

▪ Pitman’s Avery Carlson (11:21.55), Turlock’s Maya Day (11:23.52) and Riverbank’s Jessica Vigil (11:54.95) all ran personal bests in the girls 3200 finals

▪ Escalon’s Chloe Farley threw a personal record in the discus finals (105-08)

▪ Turlock’s Alex Sandoval recorded a personal record in the pole vault finals (10-03.00)

▪ Pitman’s Kayla Thompson recorded a personal record in the long jump finals (16-07.50)