The Metro Conference’s top track and field athletes will put it all on the line at Saturday’s San Diego Section championship meet at Mt. Carmel High School.
The top three place-finishers in each event, plus those student-athletes who meet a predetermined qualifying standard, will advance to the following weekend’s state championship meet in Clovis.
Also at stake at this weekend’s event will be team championship titles in both the Division I and Division II fields.
For each event, there will be two heats or flights to determine state meet qualifiers. Only those athletes entered in A-heats will be able to qualify for the state championship meet, though athletes competing in B-heat finals also will score points for their respective teams.
Eastlake High School junior Jalyn Jackson and Olympian senior Michael Hull-Littlejohn both have a strong belief they have what it takes to make it through this weekend’s state qualifying process.
Jackson earned four medals at this year’s Mesa League finals — three gold and one silver — to earn recognition as the Mesa League Field Athlete of the Year. He recorded the fourth-best mark in the long jump (22-3.5) and the top mark in the triple jump (45-11) at last Saturday’s section prelims.
Hull-Littlejohn, who earned three medals at this year’s Mesa League finals (two gold and one bronze) to earn recognition as the Mesa League’s Track Athlete of the Year, posted the fifth-best mark in the long jump (22-2.5) at the section prelims.
“My goals are to do personal records in my events and qualify for state either with the qualifying standard or by finishing in the top three,” explained Jackson, who will compete in the A-flight in both the boys long jump and triple jump this Saturday.
“I did well coming back from league,” Hull-Littlejohn said. “I’ve improved my form — I’m consistently jumping 22 feet in the long jump. Hopefully I can qualify for state by jumping 23 feet.
“This has been my goal from the beginning of the season. I want to go as far as I can. I don’t want to limit myself.”
At the league finals, held May 11 at Otay Ranch High School, Jackson won the boys 110-meter high hurdles in 15.61, recorded a winning mark of 22-4.75 in the long jump and topped the field in the triple jump with a mark of 45-11.75. He also ran a leg on Eastlake’s league runner-up 4×100 relay team.
Hull-Littlejohn captured a first-place finish in the boys 100-meter dash (11.16) and third place in the long jump (21-3) at the league finals. He also ran a leg on the Eagle’s victorious 4×100 relay team.
Jackson ranked second overall in the section with a regular season mark of 46-8 in the triple jump while Hull-Littlejohn posted the second-best regular season mark of 23-9.75 in the long jump.
“The triple jump is my best event,” Jackson said. “I have good bounces and good power in my legs.”
Metro Conference athletes qualified to compete in 11 A-heat running events and six A-flight field events at Saturday’s finals.
Joining Jackson and Hull-Littlejohn in boys events are San Ysidro junior Jake Curtis (100 and 200 dash), Eastlake junior Jeffrey Page (800 run), Otay Ranch sophomore Justin Mulvany (3200 run), Olympian senior Diego Arriola (3200 run), Otay Ranch senior Jeremiah Suzara (3200 run), Otay Ranch senior Cale Parise (3200 run),Otay Ranch junior Jace Fuamatu (shot put), Olympian senior Jason Miller (shot put) and Mater Dei Catholic junior Gustavo Carranza (triple jump).
Curtis is the reigning South Bay League Track Athlete of the Year.
Based on prelim results, Olympian ranks third overall in the boys 4×100 relay (42.46) and second in the 4×400 relay (3:24.34) while Eastlake is seventh in the boys 4×400 relay (3:26.10).
Page qualified for the state meet in the 800 run last year. He posted a personal record time of 1:55.93 in winning the Mesa League title in the event at the league finals but timed 2:00.01 in a relatively slow field at last weekend’s prelim meet, placing sixth overall.
Another slow heat will likely not get the job done.
“The South Bay athletes better be ready because everyone will step it up at the finals,” Sweetwater head coach Tim Latham said. “I think they can.”
Mulvany, Arriola and Suzara posted the fourth- through sixth-best qualifying times in the 3200 at last weekend’s section prelims while Parise logged the 15th best prelim mark. They’ll have to place higher at this weekend’s section finals to punch their ticket to the state meet.
Local A-heat/flight qualifiers in the girls field include Eastlake freshman Patricia Miessner (1600 and 3200 run), Otay Ranch junior Alani Johnson (100 low hurdles and triple jump), Olympian sophomore Adaeze Noble (400 dash), Eastlake junior Leyla McFarland (400 dash), Olympian junior Kolumbia Page (400 dash), Olympian junior Alyssa Meeks (200 dash), Olympian sophomore Mariana Beltran-Picos (3200 run), Otay Ranch senior Carlie Judge (discus throw), Otay Ranch senior Ryann Mojica (triple jump) and Otay Ranch senior Roquel Holloway (shot put).
Olympian ranks third in the 4×400 relay with a prelim time of 4:01.36 while Eastlake ranks ninth in 4:08.46.
Mojica recorded the second-best prelim mark in the triple jump at 37-1.25 while Miessner posted the third-best prelim mark in the 3200 run at 11:06.23. Judge ranks fifth in her event with a prelim mark of 119-2.
Miessner won honors as the Mesa League Track Athlete of the Year while Holloway earned honors as the Mesa League Field Athlete of the Year.
Three Mesa League runners will compete in the girls 400 dash finals to possibly jumble the order of finish in favor of a South County state qualifier.
Field events start at 10 a.m. at Saturday’s section finals, followed by running events at 12:30 p.m.
Besides able-bodied competition, para-athletes will compete in the 100, 200- and 400-meter wheelchair dash as well as wheelchair/ambulatory events in the shot put.
For results, visit the websites at www.sdtrackmag.com and www.athletic.net.
San Diego Section Prelims
May 20 at Mt. Carmel High School
Boys Running Events
Division I
100: 3. Jake Curtis (San Ysidro) 10.97; 5. Michael Hull-Littlejohn (Olympian) 11.01; 11. David Derby (Olympian) 11.25; 14. Hugo Sobernas (Olympian) 11.29
200: 3. Jake Curtis (San Ysidro) 22.01; 8. Hugo Sobernas (Olympian) 22.50; 13. Mikael Tyler (Olympian) 22.98; 14. Blake Yamamoto (Olympian) 23.05; 16. Sebastian Avila (Otay Ranch) 23.22
400: 9. Deven Sanchez (Olympian) 51.30; 12. Kyree Decanay (Sweetwater) 51.82; 13. Ryan Sanchez (Olympian) 52.07; 19. Adrine Sermons (Olympian) 53.27; 22. Mathias Cien-Mayer (Hilltop) 54.05
800: 4. Jeffrey Page (Eastlake) 2:00.01; 9. Harold Thomas (Otay Ranch) 2:00.38; 14. Quentin Cruz-Boyer (Olympian) 2:02.46; 23. Cristian Alcantar (Chula Vista) 2:06.56; 24. Oswaldo Felix (San Ysidro) 2:06.80
1600: 10. Isaiah Labra (Bonita Vista) 4:27.90; 13. Justin Mulvany (Otay Ranch) 4:28.58; 20. Victor Raygoza (San Ysidro) 4:34.32; 22. Cristian Alcantar (Chula Vista) 4:35.45; 27. Evan LeDesma (Otay Ranch) 4:47.12
3200: 2. Justin Mulvany (Otay Ranch) 9:39.95; 3. Diego Arriola (Olympian) 9:40.30; 4. Jeremiah Suzara (Otay Ranch) 9:40.35; 10. Cale Parise (Otay Ranch) 9:48.24; 25. Armando Campos (Bonita Vista) 10:32.98; 26. Andres Zamudio (San Ysidro) 11:26.70
110 high hurdles: 17. Daniel Langlais (Otay Ranch) 16.47; 22. Jonathan Alvarado (Sweetwater) 16.76; 24. Moses Medina (Chula Vista) 17.17; 25. Myles Hendricks (Eastlake) 17.85
300 intermediate hurdles: 24. Alex Herrera (Eastlake) 44.66; 25. Daniel Langlais (Otay Ranch) 44.74
4×100 relay: 2. Olympian 42.46; 9. Eastlake 43.80; 11. Otay Ranch 44.44; 17. San Ysidro 44.90
4×400 relay: 2. Olympian 3:24.34; 6. Eastlake 3:26. 34; 18. Sweetwater 3:36.27
Division II
400: 11. Adam Ibarra (Montgomery) 52.32; 21. Drake Prince (High Tech High Chula Vista) 53.92
800: 10. Jacob Fierro (Southwest) 2:03.15; 21. Jose Valenzuela (Southwest) 2:08.06
1600: 7. Jacob Fierro (Southwest) 4:28.58
110 high hurdles: 17. Nathan Lopez (Mar Vista) 16.47
300 intermediate hurdles: 17. Jovani Chavez (Castle Park) 43.28
4×100 relay: 15. Castle Park 45.00; 20. Mater Dei Catholic 45.70; 22. High Tech High Chula Vista 45.96
4×400 relay: 21. Mar Vista 3:40.72
Boys Field Events
Division I
Shot put: 6. Jace Fuamatu (Otay Ranch) 47-5.5; 7. Jason Miller (Olympian) 47-5; 17. Rudolph Castaneda (Sweetwater) 42-2.5; 19. Dominic D’Andrea (Otay Ranch) 41-8.25
Discus throw: 13. Faufano Autele (Otay Ranch) 131-4; 19. Jason Miller (Olympian) 127-3; 20. Jace Fuamatu (Otay Ranch) 125-8; 24. Ediberto Sanchez (Hilltop) 118-3; 26. Carson Lively (Eastlake) 109.6
High jump: 11. Kevin Bateman (Eastlake) 5-11; 13. Adriane Rodriguez (Otay Ranch) 5-9; 18. Ezekiel Cruz (Otay Ranch) 5-9; 20. Chayin Osgood (Olympian) 5-9; 26. Vince Cruz (Bonita Vista) 5-5
Pole vault: 19. Nathan Sison (Otay Ranch) 12-6
Long jump: 2. Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake) 22-3.5; 3. Michael Hull-Littlejohn (Olympian) 22-2.5; 9. Jordan Mathis (San Ysidro) 21-2.25
Triple jump: 1. Jalyn Jackson (Eastlake) 45-11; 7. Darian Williams (Otay Ranch) 43-2.75; 15. Kevin Bateman (Eastlake) 41-8; 16. William Yancey (Olympian) 41-6.75; 18. Jordan Mathis (San Ysidro) 41-1.5; 21. Jordan Ingco (Bonita Vista) 40-4
Division II
Pole vault: 7. Ezekiel Campos (Mater Dei Catholic) 12-0
Long jump: 9. Airrien Smith (Castle Park) 20-9.25
Triple jump: 1. Gustavo Carranza (Mater Dei Catholic) 44-0; 11. Airrien Smith (Castle Park) 41-5
